Dan Delzell: Liberal-Leaning Churches and the Apostles' Creed

Man has always wanted to "have his cake and eat it too." So it should come as no big surprise that some religious leaders today feel free to depreciate the authority of Scripture, while at the same time utilizing the historic Christian creeds as part of their ministry. But do they really believe it? That is, can they honestly say the creeds are absolutely true if they don't accept the literal nature of the Bible and Christianity?

The doctrines which are laid out in the Apostles' Creed are historic Christian doctrines derived from Scripture. These doctrines are fundamental to the Christian faith. The nature of God. The virgin birth. The death and resurrection of Christ. The forgiveness of sins. Eternal judgment. And life everlasting. Not exactly the stuff of skeptics.

We are dealing here with supernatural revelation which came to man through the Word of God. The Apostles' Creed lays out in broad strokes the most essential aspects of the Christian faith. These doctrines are either literally true, or not. A Christian stakes his soul on the truthfulness of these doctrines. He does this not because the creed says these things are true, but because the Bible says so.

So if you don't have a strong conviction about the veracity of Scripture, is it honest to use the Apostles' Creed as though you do? Is it appropriate to carry out ministry under the banner of Christianity if you question the reality of Christ's resurrection for example? And on the other hand, if you truly believe Christ was born of a virgin and rose from the dead, the rest of the literal revelation in Scripture shouldn't be too hard to swallow. The big stuff gets laid out in the creed. But do you really believe it? Keep reading