Creeds

Recently someone I know really railed upon the Creeds, making them sound as if they had no place in the church. To me the creeds are a great reminder for all  Christians to remind them of the Christian faith a heavenly perspective. In content the creeds do have some theological strength, and have a place in the church if a congregation wants to use them.  In fact they have been around for centuries.  The Apostles Creed was designed to show the nature of God in three parts, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit and how these three parts came together in providing the world a savior.  One of the criticisms of the creeds is that they leave out the whole story of Israel, and God's covenants with them, and it is these covenants that eventually provide the Savior Jesus Christ.  Is it a valid point?  Sure. I don't think the framers of the Creeds were really concerned about Israel as much as they were to help people understand what to believe about God. Are the Creeds incomplete?  Well, it depends on your view of the Trinity or if you are talking about the history of God's relationship with Israel starting with Abraham.

Now personally, I like to start my creed with the following:

God the creator of heaven and earth chose a Hebrew people and called them His people, from which the Savior of the world Jesus Christ came and provided a salvation for all humans by dying on the cross. He resurrected from the dead on the third day and promised  He will return to earth someday to judge both the living and the dead, and rule this world forever from Jerusalem. For now He has given us His Holy Spirit to help us build His church by making disciples in His Name.

I doubt this would catch on, but I think it gives a history of His story from an earthly perspective, bringing it back to the idea that Israel played an incredible role in God's dealings with human beings.  That part is left out in most creeds, and some would say it was intentional because the Church thought the Jews were no longer important to God or His plan here on earth.  Anyone who believes this is highly mistaken, and does not understand the nature of the scriptures, nor the theme of "to the Jew first and then to the Gentiles...Romans 1:16

The creeds have their place, but as a reminder, the next great awakening will come from within the church on the importance of Israel, and the fulfillment of Biblical prophecy in the return of Jesus Christ. As we get closer to His return, Israel becomes more important, so don't take your eyes off of the Middle East or His people the Jews. 

Keeping it honest and truthful...K