Welcome to Breakpoint, a daily look at an ever-changing culture through the lens of unchanging truth. For the Colson Center, I'm John Stone Street. About a decade ago, BuzzFeed posted a video with testimonials that all began, quote, I'm Christian, but I'm not fill in the blank.
Now, the videos mostly trumpeted progressive virtues, claiming things like, I'm Christian, but I'm not homophobic, I'm not ignorant, I'm not closed-minded, etc., etc. Christianity, the video basically concluded, is all about love and acceptance.
Now, of course, Christianity is certainly centered on the love of God in Christ, but that love, like every central tenet of the Christian faith, has been revealed to us by God. As such, these are foundational truths that come to us predefined. They're not open to infinite interpretations and reinterpretations. Having wrestled with these foundational truths, the church formulated the essentials of Christian belief in the creeds, an invaluable tool for the faithful for thousands of years. The various creeds of the Christian faith emerged when individuals or groups would claim some new word from God or would innovate some new doctrine or practice.
Often, Christians were led astray and they needed to be pulled back to the truth. That happened when the new teaching was recognized to be out of alignment with accepted church practice or belief. In other words, the creeds clarified for the church and for Christians what was true.
Now some today see creeds as a kind of man-made obstacle between believers and the Word of God, or as an antiquated way to interfere with the working of the Spirit. Secular critics of Christianity often suggest that each new creed was a way for the powerful to triumph and suppress other equally valid versions of the faith. None of those claims are true. The best-known creed is the oldest. An old legend is that the Apostles' Creed came from the Apostles, who each, while gathered together after the Ascension, contributed a line.
That story is probably not true, but the Creed does faithfully record the Apostles' teaching. Historian Justo Gonzalez noted in his book, The Story of Christianity, that the very first version of the Apostles' Creed came in Rome around the year 150. That's early enough for the older people in that church to have actually heard it from the Apostles themselves. The Apostles' Creed distinguished Christianity from paganism. It was likely what a new convert would declare at their baptism.
It contains the basics of Christian doctrine. There's one I believe for every member of the Trinity. The focus is on the Father as Creator, the Son as Redeemer, and a mention of the Spirit as well. It also challenged groups who were trying to claim Jesus for their own movements, like the Marcionites, who wanted a Jesus without judgment, or the Gnostics, who wanted a God who wasn't really the Creator of the universe. Or the Docetics who wanted a Christ without flesh.
Each are excluded by the words of the Apostles' Creed. It was a few centuries later that the Nicene Creed distinguished Trinitarian Christians who believed Jesus to be fully divine from those who did not. Despite the rehashed claims of Dan Brown fiction, the Council of Nicaea was not when the Romans imposed their view of a divine Jesus on the rest of the Church. Christians believed that Jesus was God way before anyone had even heard of Constantine. The text of the Nicene Creed further elaborated on the Apostles' Creed with the same structure and the same Trinitarian focus.
It opposed the new ideas that had emerged, not from pagan sources this time, but from within the church. There was an Egyptian teacher named Arius who preached that Jesus was not really God, but his divinity was more honorary than actual. That might have been easier for philosophers to grasp, but it was not what Christ and the apostles taught. And so the Nicene Creed spelled out the truth about Jesus Christ in response to the rise of error. In other words, the creeds did not create new doctrine, nor do they fully express everything that Christians believe.
Rather, They really serve as fences to show where believers can safely disagree, while also clarifying which new ideas stray too far. Clear lines are still needed now, as in all times, because there are still individuals and religious groups who claim the name of Christ while adding or subtracting from what he said or from what he revealed himself to be. Creeds are also needed whenever second or even third tier doctrine is made to be some kind of litmus test of salvation. In Mere Christianity, C.S. Lewis offered a very helpful image of Christianity as a house with hallways and rooms.
Throughout the history of the church, the creeds have marked the boundaries of Christian belief, showing who's in one of the rooms of the Christian house and who is clearly in another house entirely. In that same way the creeds remain useful and essential to Christians to day. For the Colson Center, I'm John Stone Street with Breakpoint. Today's Breakpoint was co-authored by Dr. Timothy Padgett.
If you appreciate BreakPoint, please leave us a review wherever you download your podcast. And for more resources like this one, visit us at breakpoint.org. Hi, Breakpoint listeners. You've probably heard us talk about the Colson Fellows Program on Breakpoint. I'm excited to let you know that the Colson Fellows team is hosting a one-hour live informational webinar on November 12th at 1 p.m.
Eastern. These webinars allow you to hear an overview of the program and get your questions answered. The webinars are hosted by our Vice President and Dean of the Colson Fellowship, Michael Craven. Here at Breakpoint, we work hard to help you consider current events through a Christian worldview. If you want to go deeper to discover how to develop the wisdom and skills needed to walk wisely in this cultural moment, then the Colson Fellows Program might be for you.
This 10-month program takes you on a deep dive into Christian worldview through readings, devotionals, monthly cohort meetings, and more. If you're interested, an informational webinar is a great next step to learn more. Again, the webinar will be Wednesday, November 12th at 1 p.m. Eastern Time. Register today at colsonfellows.org slash webinar.
Colsonfellows.org slash webinar.
