Exploring the Apostle’s Creed

Update 3/30/2014: In a post called Faith in the Dark, Ben has written a brief paragraph on each line of the creed, each as imaginative and insightful as they are concise.

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At the Faith and Theology blog, Ben Myers has released videos of 9 sermons which offer a remarkable 4-hour series of reflections introducing the Apostles’ Creed. See the videos all together at youTube, or together with brief descriptions at F&T.

Here’s the text of the Apostles’ Creed, from the Christian Classics Ethereal Library (cf. creeds.net):

I believe in God the Father, Almighty, Maker of heaven and earth;

And in Jesus Christ, his only begotten Son, our Lord;
Who was conceived by the Holy Ghost, born of the Virgin Mary;
Suffered under Pontius Pilate; was crucified, dead and buried: He descended into hell;
The third day he rose again from the dead;
He ascended into heaven, and sits at the right hand of God the Father Almighty;
From thence he shall come to judge the quick and the dead;

I believe in the Holy Ghost;
I believe in the holy catholic church: the communion of saints;
The forgiveness of sins;
The resurrection of the body;
And the life everlasting. Amen.

Here’s the creed again, with:

• links to poems (admittedly sometimes only indirectly relevant) from Malcolm Guite, Sounding the Seasons, since to reflect on the creed requires an integration of rational and imaginative modes of exploration; and
• links to Myers’ posts at the Faith and Theology blog, with brief descriptions; and
• Myers’ YouTube videos embedded.

1. I believe… (F&T)

2. in God the Father, Almighty, Maker of heaven and earth; (F&T)

3. and in Jesus Christ, his only begotten Son, our Lord; (F&T)

4. Who was conceived by the Holy Ghost, born of the Virgin Mary; (F&T)

5. Suffered under Pontius Pilate; was crucified, dead and buried: (F&T)

6. He descended into hell; The third day he rose again from the dead; He ascended into heaven, (F&T)

7. and sits at the right hand of God the Father Almighty; From thence he shall come to judge the quick and the dead; (F&T)

8. I believe in the Holy Ghost; I believe in the holy catholic church; the communion of saints; (F&T)

9. The forgiveness of sins; the resurrection of the body; and the life everlasting. Amen. (F&T)

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To follow up, here are a few further explorations of the creed:

• Alister McGrath, I Believe: Exploring the Apostle’s Creed
• J.I. Packer, Affirming the Apostles’ Creed
• Michael Morrison, “The Apostles’ Creed,” Grace Communion International (1999)
• Karl Barth, Dogmatics in Outline (1949).
• Michael Jinkins, Invitation to Theology (2001).
• George Rider, Lyra Anglicana, Or A Hymnal Of Sacred Poetry: Selected From The Best English Writers And Arranged After The Order Of The Apostles’ Creed, 1864 (Internet Archive)