January 17 - I Believe!

January 17 – I Believe!

Whoops – not ready to leave the second century yet.

In 150 AD, as a way to combat gnosticism and other heresies, an early form of what we now know as the Apostles’ Creed was developed. It was also called the ‘symbol of faith.’ It was another way for Christians to distinguish between true believers and those that followed various heresies. If you could affirm this creed, you were definitely a Christian.

One of the main ways the symbol of faith was used was during baptism – which is a very familiar time for many of us to speak these words.

Three questions were asked and then answered.

Do you believe in God the Father almighty?

Do you believe in Christ Jesus, the Son of God, who was born of the Holy Ghost and of Mary the virgin, who was crucified under Pontius Pilate, and died, and rose again at the third day, living from among the dead, and ascended unto heaven and sat at the right of the Father and will come to judge the quick and the dead?

Do you believe in the Holy Ghost, the holy church, and the resurrection of the flesh?

This is the core of what would later become the Apostles’ Creed and it was built around the Trinity. Since baptism occurred in the name of the Father, the Son and of the Holy Ghost, these questions were set forth to discern a true believer.

Because the Gnostics differed the most from Christians in their beliefs regarding Jesus Christ, this was the longest, most involved sentence. The reference to the virgin birth wasn’t inserted to affirm a belief in Mary’s virginity, but to affirm the fact that Jesus was actually born to a human woman and didn’t just appear on earth. The reference to Pilate was made in order to give a real date to His existence, to place Jesus in the context of history.

In referring the the holy church, Christians began to uphold the authority of the church.

The creed that is so familiar to many of us had its beginnings in the church’s long-standing fight against heresy.