Why Do We Have Creeds?

by Burk Parsons

Publisher:

P&R

, 2012

Overview

Burk Parsons insists that beliefs are important to not only know, but explain and defend. In this brief booklet, he explores our historic creeds and confessions and explains why they are desirable and necessary in our postmodern society.

Contents

Top Highlights

“A creed is a statement that describes our beliefs.” (Page 7)

“Christian doctrine, by its very nature, is an all-encompassing religion established on the entire system of doctrine, piety, and practice set forth in Scripture itself.⁹ It is crucial that we grasp this if we are to understand the nature of creeds, our use of creeds, and the church’s need for creeds. If we fail to see the all-encompassing nature of Christian doctrine, we certainly will not see the all-encompassing nature of creeds, which exist not only to affirm, confess, and proclaim the elementary matters of our faith, but to set forth the entirety of the doctrine, piety, and practice of the Christian religion.” (Page 12)

“This is why we have creeds, so that with unwavering resolve we might stand firm in the faith once delivered to the saints—to the end that we and our children would believe, confess, and proclaim God’s unchanging truth for his glory, for he is the source of everything we believe and, thus, his revelation is our creedal standard for all of faith and life.” (Page 7)

“Augustine advocated using the Latin word religio by highlighting its etymology re-ligare, which means ‘to join together’ or ‘to bind together’ as in a covenant bond between man and God.⁶ The word religion, rightly understood, joins together everything we believe as we live it out in all of life.” (Pages 10–11)

“Creeds serve to affirm the authority of God’s Word, not to stand alone as authorities unto themselves. Creeds are formulated and subscribed to as if they were theological mirrors of the Bible’s fundamental doctrine. As such, creeds exist to summarily reflect the truth, not to advance new truths. Moreover, the simple fact of the matter is that there is no such thing as ‘new truth,’ for if something is actually true, it is not new, and if something is actually new, it certainly is not true. Truth isn’t created by man, but only learned from God. Creeds merely serve to reflect and affirm, by way of systematic summary, the unchanging truth of God for the people of God.” (Pages 19–20)

Product Details

• Title: Why Do We Have Creeds?
• Author: Burk Parsons
• Edition: 1st ed.
• Series: Basics of the Faith
• Publisher: P&R
• Print Publication Date: 2012
• Logos Release Date: 2014
• Language: English
• Resources: 1
• Format: Digital › Logos Research Edition
• Subject: Creeds
• ISBNs: 9781596382022, 1596382023
• Resource ID: LLS:WHYDWHVCRDS
• Resource Type: Monograph
• Metadata Last Updated: 2023-09-27T17:15:32Z

About Burk Parsons

Burk Parsons serves as an editor of Tabletalk and associate pastor of Saint Andrew’s in Sanford, Fla., and he is the editor of Assured by God: Living in the Fullness of God’s Grace.