the reason for creeds

St Basil talks to us today about why saints are important in A Year with the Church Fathers. He says that it is a very common Christian practice to honor the saints and ask for their prayers, and this has been passed down to him from the apostles.

But the thing that struck me was his mentioning the creed. He starts off by saying he believes in the trinity, and delineates what that means. It brought up the question: why do we have creeds? And it also brings up the question of why the Bible isn't one.

Why do we have creeds? Well, anyone who has lived on planet earth for a few years knows how things change. From one generation to another... even from one YEAR to another, we humans have a way of changing what we think. Gender fluidity would have been unthinkable just a few years ago - now it's becoming the norm. Contraception was considered a sin in every Christian church just 60 years ago... now most Christian denominations accept it. So creeds are important because they take the important things that a faith believes, and they pass it to the next generation. It provides an anchor for faith. It keeps us from losing valuable tenets of what we believe.

The Bible is not a creed, even though it's tempting to treat it that way. But creeds explicitly and clearly state what we DO believe. Whereas the Bible forms our beliefs through stories and examples, both good and bad. We wouldn't want to say, "I believe that God wants us to kill all of the heathen in the land because we're holy and they're evil," even though that idea can be found in the Bible. We wouldn't want to say, "I believe that I should have hundreds of wives so that I can have more children," even though the story of Solomon might give us that impression. That's why it's important for our creeds to help us understand the Bible. And the Bible, in turn, informs and shapes our creeds. If it weren't for the Holy Spirit, the whole process might be so confusing and muddled that we wouldn't know what to believe. But thanks be to God, He gives us guidance. He teaches us through the Bible and through our creeds, and helps us to hand down the truth to the next generation.

God, please help us to be faithful in handing down the creeds You've given us.