Creed is not a dirty word

I speak in Merriam-Webster, so let's start with the definition.

Creed -
1 : a brief authoritative formula of religious belief
2 : a set of fundamental beliefs; also : a guiding principle
http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/CREED

I have heard (not talking about anyone specific here, just being very general) people say, "I don't believe in Creeds, because they are traditions of men." Like it is some kind of dirty word, forbidden man made invention. Yet a creed is simply a statement of belief, from the Latin word credo, to believe. Thus if you believe in anything you have a creed. Your creed could be: I don't have a creed. Because that is a guiding principle, fundamental belief, or creed on what you believe.

Too many times people think a creed is there to tell people what they should believe. It is just the opposite. People put in the creed what they believe.

An example of a creed could be Jesus' sermon on the Mount. Just like other creeds it is told many times, many ways (languages and translations vary), and is passed on through the generations. It is a set of beliefs and an authoritative formula.

Okay, so then let's think about some more creeds. Take for example: The Nicene Creed. You may or may not believe in it. Many Catholics and non-Catholics alike do believe this creed, but also many do not. Many argue, its not in the Bible. True you won't find the Nicene Creed word for word written in the Bible, but you will find its truths throughout the Bible. The Bible itself was not dictated word for word by God, only its Truths were dictated. The exact words are the words of each individual author and how they spoke. Well, the Nicene Creed was written to protect against heresy, by stating their basic beliefs of faith. Everyone states their basic beliefs of faith, this is something even Jesus did. Competely a biblical practice.

How biblical is the Nicene Creed?

We believe in one God,
Deuteronomy 6:4 4 " Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one!

the Father, the Almighty,
Matthew 6:9 9 "In this manner, therefore, pray: Our Father in heaven, Hallowed be Your name.

maker of heaven and earth,
Genesis 1:1 NKJ Genesis 1:1 In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.

of all that is seen and unseen.
Colossians 1:16 16 For by Him all things were created that are in heaven and that are on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or principalities or powers. All things were created through Him and for Him.


We believe in one Lord, Jesus Christ,
Acts 2:35-36 36 "Therefore let all the house of Israel know assuredly that God has made this Jesus, whom you crucified, both Lord and Christ."


the only Son of God,
John 1:18 18 No one has seen God at any time. The only begotten Son, who is in the bosom of the Father, He has declared Him.

eternally begotten of the Father, Through him all things were made.
John 1:1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 He was in the beginning with God. 3 All things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made that was made. 4 In Him was life, and the life was the light of men. 5 And the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it.

God from God, Light from Light,
true God from true God,
John 8:12 Then Jesus spoke to them again, saying, "I am the light of the world. He who follows Me shall not walk in darkness, but have the light of life."
John 14:6 6 Jesus said to him, "I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.

of one Being with the Father.
John 10:30 30 "I and My Father are one."

For us and for our salvation
Matthew 1:21 21 "And she will bring forth a Son, and you shall call His name JESUS, for He will save His people from their sins."

he came down from heaven:
John 3:13 13 "No one has ascended to heaven but He who came down from heaven, that is, the Son of Man who is in heaven.
John 6:41 1 The Jews then complained about Him, because He said, "I am the bread which came down from heaven."
John 6:51 51 "I am the living bread which came down from heaven. If anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever; and the bread that I shall give is My flesh, which I shall give for the life of the world."

by the power of the Holy Spirit
he became incarnate from the Virgin Mary,
Luke 1:31-35 And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bring forth a Son, and shall call His name JESUS. 32 "He will be great, and will be called the Son of the Highest; and the Lord God will give Him the throne of His father David. 33 "And He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of His kingdom there will be no end." 34 Then Mary said to the angel, "How can this be, since I do not know a man?" 35 And the angel answered and said to her, "The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Highest will overshadow you; therefore, also, that Holy One who is to be born will be called the Son of God.

and was made man.
Hebrews 2:14 14 Inasmuch then as the children have partaken of flesh and blood, He Himself likewise shared in the same, that through death He might destroy him who had the power of death, that is, the devil,
John 1:14 4 And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth.

For our sake he was crucified under Pontius Pilate;
Mark 15:14-15 14 Then Pilate said to them, "Why, what evil has He done?" But they cried out all the more, "Crucify Him!" 15 So Pilate, wanting to gratify the crowd, released Barabbas to them; and he delivered Jesus, after he had scourged Him, to be crucified.

he suffered death and was buried.
Mark 15:37 37 And Jesus cried out with a loud voice, and breathed His last.
Mark 15:44-47 44 Pilate marveled that He was already dead; and summoning the centurion, he asked him if He had been dead for some time. 45 So when he found out from the centurion, he granted the body to Joseph. 46 Then he bought fine linen, took Him down, and wrapped Him in the linen. And he laid Him in a tomb which had been hewn out of the rock, and rolled a stone against the door of the tomb. 47 And Mary Magdalene and Mary the mother of Joses observed where He was laid.

On the third day he rose again
1 Corinthians 15:1 Moreover, brethren, I declare to you the gospel which I preached to you, which also you received and in which you stand, 2 by which also you are saved, if you hold fast that word which I preached to you -- unless you believed in vain. 3 For I delivered to you first of all that which I also received: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, 4 and that He was buried, and that He rose again the third day according to the Scriptures, 5 and that He was seen by Cephas, then by the twelve. 6 After that He was seen by over five hundred brethren at once, of whom the greater part remain to the present, but some have fallen asleep. 7 After that He was seen by James, then by all the apostles. 8 Then last of all He was seen by me also, as by one born out of due time. 9 For I am the least of the apostles, who am not worthy to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God.

in accordance with the Scriptures;
Luke 24:26-34 26 "Ought not the Christ to have suffered these things and to enter into His glory?" 27 And beginning at Moses and all the Prophets, He expounded to them in all the Scriptures the things concerning Himself. 28 Then they drew near to the village where they were going, and He indicated that He would have gone farther. 29 But they constrained Him, saying, "Abide with us, for it is toward evening, and the day is far spent." And He went in to stay with them. 30 Now it came to pass, as He sat at the table with them, that He took bread, blessed and broke it, and gave it to them. 31 Then their eyes were opened and they knew Him; and He vanished from their sight. 32 And they said to one another, "Did not our heart burn within us while He talked with us on the road, and while He opened the Scriptures to us?" 33 So they rose up that very hour and returned to Jerusalem, and found the eleven and those who were with them gathered together, 34 saying, "The Lord is risen indeed, and has appeared to Simon!"

he ascended into heaven
Acts 1:8-11 8 "But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth." 9 Now when He had spoken these things, while they watched, He was taken up, and a cloud received Him out of their sight. 10 And while they looked steadfastly toward heaven as He went up, behold, two men stood by them in white apparel, 11 who also said, "Men of Galilee, why do you stand gazing up into heaven? This same Jesus, who was taken up from you into heaven, will so come in like manner as you saw Him go into heaven."

and is seated at the right hand of the Father.
Matthew 26:64 64 Jesus said to him, "It is as you said. Nevertheless, I say to you, hereafter you will see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of the Power, and coming on the clouds of heaven."
Colossians 3:1 If then you were raised with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ is, sitting at the right hand of God.

He will come again in glory to judge the living and the dead,
John 5:22-23 22 "For the Father judges no one, but has committed all judgment to the Son, 23 "that all should honor the Son just as they honor the Father. He who does not honor the Son does not honor the Father who sent Him.
2 Timothy 4:1 I charge you therefore before God and the Lord Jesus Christ, who will judge the living and the dead at His appearing and His kingdom:

and his kingdom will have no end.
2 Peter 1:11 for so an entrance will be supplied to you abundantly into the everlasting kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

We believe in the Holy Spirit, the Lord, the giver of life,
John 6:63 63 "It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh profits nothing.

Who proceeds from the Father and the Son.
John 15:26 26 " But when the Helper comes, whom I shall send to you from the Father, the Spirit of truth who proceeds from the Father, He will testify of Me

With the Father and the Son he is worshiped and glorified.
Matthew 28:19 19 "Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,

He has spoken through the Prophets.
Acts 28:25 25 So when they did not agree among themselves, they departed after Paul had said one word: "The Holy Spirit spoke rightly through Isaiah the prophet to our fathers,

We believe in one holy catholic and apostolic Church.
Matthew 16:18 8 "And I also say to you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build My church, and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it.


We acknowledge one baptism for the forgiveness of sins.
Acts 2:37-38 37 Now when they heard this, they were cut to the heart, and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, "Men and brethren, what shall we do?" 38 Then Peter said to them, "Repent, and let every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins; and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.

We look for the resurrection of the dead,
1 Corinthians 15:20-22 20 But now Christ is risen from the dead, and has become the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep. 21 For since by man came death, by Man also came the resurrection of the dead. 22 For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ all shall be made alive.

and the life of the world to come. Amen.
Philippians 3:20-21 20 For our citizenship is in heaven, from which we also eagerly wait for the Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, 21 who will transform our lowly body that it may be conformed to His glorious body, according to the working by which He is able even to subdue all things to Himself.

Now I am not writting to convert anyone to Catholicism or any other faith. I am not trying to get anyone to profess the Nicene Creed or believe in it. My point is simply this: Creeds can be good, biblically supported, and are done by everyone who is able to believe in anything. My purpose was simply to educate on a topic that seems to blurred by modern times. Everyone has a creed no matter what language or translation they use, because creeds are just statements of basic beliefs. Creed is not a dirty word.

False Prophets

I have found that Paul and many other parts of the Bible are especially concerned with False prophets. It was a early prediction of the splintering of Christianity. It's as if Paul knew about the Protestant Reformation before it began. And it did not start with a false church, the danger and pitfall began from a false prophet, namely Martin Luther. Notice: Jesus even began this warning by saying, "Beware of false prophets" (Matt. 7:15) not beware of false churches. The emphasis was on the teachers, not the systems they represented. Matt 7:15-16 ""Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep's clothing, but underneath are ravenous wolves. 16 By their fruits you will know them. Do people pick grapes from thornbushes, or figs from thistles?"

Why was there such a great concern? Wouldn't people just know by nature when they were being decieved? Couldn't they just pick up the Bible and know? Looking at the world today obviously, no matter how smart the theologian it doesn't matter. We can be tricked and even having the Bible does not help. (Galatians 1:8 But even if we or an angel from heaven should preach (to you) a gospel other than the one that we preached to you, let that one be accursed!) They carry a 'gospel' too. In fact, to decieve Christians they go so far as to disguise themselves as real apostles : 2 corinthians 11:13 For such people are false apostles, deceitful workers, who masquerade as apostles of Christ. 14 And no wonder, for even Satan masquerades as an angel of light. Satan quoted scriptures in the temptation of Jesus, but twisted their meaning. 2 Peter 3:16 This is what he says in all his letters when he writes on the subject. There are some difficult things in his letters which ignorant and unstable people explain falsely, as they do with other passages of the Scriptures. So they bring on their own destruction. 2 Peter 1:20 Above all else, however, remember that none of us can explain by ourselves a prophecy in the Scriptures. Acts 8:30-31 Philip ran over and heard him reading from the book of the prophet Isaiah. He asked him, "Do you understand what you are reading?" 31 The official replied, "How can I understand unless someone explains it to me?" And he invited Philip to climb up and sit in the carriage with him. The "Bible alone" theory was not believed by anyone in the early Church. It is new, having arisen only in the 1500s during the Protestant Reformation. The theory is a "tradition of men" that nullifies the Word of God, distorts the true role of the Bible, and undermines the authority of the Church Jesus established (Mark 7:1–8). The Protestant churches were established during the Reformation, which began in 1517. (Most of today’s Protestant churches are actually offshoots of the original Protestant offshoots.) matthew 24:11 Then many false prophets will appear and fool many people.

Now not all are trying to decieve, some really believe the false teachings they preach. They honestly seek and love God, but have fallen for lies. 1 Timothy 1:7 "They want to be teachers of God's law, but they do not understand their own words or the matter about which they speak with so much confidence."

So who then has the authority to interpret the scriptures for us? 1 Tim. 3:15 "But if I delay, this letter will let you know how we should conduct ourselves in God's household, which is the church of the living God, the pillar and support of the truth." The church of Christ that is the pillar and support of the Truth has that authority. Jesus promised to guide his Church into all truth (John 16:12–13). The Church has remained one, holy, catholic, and apostolic—not through man’s effort, but because God preserves the Church he established (Matt. 16:18, 28:20). 2 Tim 2:2 "And what you heard from me through many witnesses entrust to faithful people who will have the ability to teach others as well." So not everyone who picks up a bible has been entrusted to teach others, you need the authority of the Church. Malachi 2:7 "It is the duty of the priests to teach the true knowledge of God. People should go to them to learn my will becuase they are the messagers of the Lord Almighty" Back in the OT the preists were decendants of Levi and Aaron. The people gave 10% to the priests, verse 9. 11Even though the Law of Moses says that the priests must be descendants of Levi, those priests cannot make anyone perfect. So there needs to be a priest like Melchizedek, rather than one from the priestly family of Aaron. 12And when the rules for selecting a priest are changed, the Law must also be changed. 13The person we are talking about is our Lord, who came from a tribe that had never had anyone to serve as a priest at the altar. 14Everyone knows he came from the tribe of Judah, and Moses never said that priests would come from that tribe. There was a holy nation of peoples and an ordained priesthood. The ordained were to teach! And not just by letter, but by face to face 2 John 1:12. And these teachings could come by letter or word of mouth 2 Thessalonians 2:15. Not everything was written so that their joy may be full and because all the books in the world could not contain all the Jesus said and did. John 21:25 "Now there are many other things that Jesus did. If they were all written down one by one, I suppose that the whole world could not hold the books that would be written." Do not fall for the traditions of men. Mark 7:7 It is no use for them to worship me, because they teach human rules as though they were my laws!'

Which man started your “tradition”?

1968-1970, Independent Charismatic Church, Former Denominational Pastors, all around the USA

1914, Assemblies of God, Former Evangelical Pastors, Hot Springs, Ar.

1908, Church of the Nazarene, Phineas F. Bresee, California

1907, Church of God (Pentecostal), Ambrose J. Tomlinson, Cleveland, Tn.

1901, Pentecostal Churches, Charles Parham & John Seymour, Topeka, Ka.

1879, Christian Science Church, Mary Baker Eddy, Los Angeles

1865, Salvation Army, William Booth, London

1830, Mormon Church, Joseph Smith, New York

1827, Church of Christ, Thomas & Alexander Campbell, Kentucky.

1800, United Brethren Church, Philip Otterbein & Martin Boehm, Maryland

1739, Methodist Episcopal Church, John & Charles Wesley, England

1600, Congregational Church, Robert Brown, England

1600, Baptist Church, John Smyth, England

1560, Presbyterian Church, John Knox, Scotland

1534, Anglican/Episcopal, Henry VIII, England

1524, Lutheran Church, Martin Luther, Germany

A.D. 33, Catholic Church, Jesus Christ, Jerusalem

Control your tongue (Bible Study)

So often in today's culture words of gossip, cussing, blasphemy, and curses are thrown about casually. But we must learn to control our tongues and here are some thoughts from the Bible on why:

James 1:26-26 (Good News Translation)

26 Do any of you think you are religious? If you do not control your tongue, your religion is worthless and you deceive yourself. 27 What God the Father considers to be pure and genuine religion is this: to take care of orphans and widows in their suffering and to keep oneself from being corrupted by the world.

James 2:18-16

18 But someone will say, "One person has faith, another has actions." My answer is, "Show me how anyone can have faith without actions. I will show you my faith by my actions." 19 Do you believe that there is only one God? Good! The demons also believe - and tremble with fear. 20 You fool! Do you want to be shown that faith without actions is useless? 21 How was our ancestor Abraham put right with God? It was through his actions, when he offered his son Isaac on the altar. 22 Can't you see? His faith and his actions worked together; his faith was made perfect through his actions. 23 And the scripture came true that said, "Abraham believed God, and because of his faith God accepted him as righteous." And so Abraham was called God's friend. 24 You see, then, that it is by our actions that we are put right with God, and not by our faith alone. 25 It was the same with the prostitute Rahab. She was put right with God through her actions, by welcoming the Israelite spies and helping them to escape by a different road. 26 So then, as the body without the spirit is dead, also faith without actions is dead.

Entire Chapter of James 3

1 My friends, not many of you should become teachers. As you know, we teachers will be judged with greater strictness than others. 2 All of us often make mistakes. But if a person never makes a mistake in what he says, he is perfect and is also able to control his whole being. 3 We put a bit into the mouth of a horse to make it obey us, and we are able to make it go where we want. 4 Or think of a ship: big as it is and driven by such strong winds, it can be steered by a very small rudder, and it goes wherever the pilot wants it to go. 5 So it is with the tongue: small as it is, it can boast about great things. Just think how large a forest can be set on fire by a tiny flame! 6 And the tongue is like a fire. It is a world of wrong, occupying its place in our bodies and spreading evil through our whole being. It sets on fire the entire course of our existence with the fire that comes to it from hell itself. 7 We humans are able to tame and have tamed all other creatures - wild animals and birds, reptiles and fish. 8 But no one has ever been able to tame the tongue. It is evil and uncontrollable, full of deadly poison. 9 We use it to give thanks to our Lord and Father and also to curse other people, who are created in the likeness of God. 10 Words of thanksgiving and cursing pour out from the same mouth. My friends, this should not happen! 11 No spring of water pours out sweet water and bitter water from the same opening. 12 A fig tree, my friends, cannot bear olives; a grapevine cannot bear figs, nor can a salty spring produce sweet water. 13 Are there any of you who are wise and understanding? You are to prove it by your good life, by your good deeds performed with humility and wisdom. 14 But if in your heart you are jealous, bitter, and selfish, don't sin against the truth by boasting of your wisdom. 15 Such wisdom does not come down from heaven; it belongs to the world, it is unspiritual and demonic. 16 Where there is jealousy and selfishness, there is also disorder and every kind of evil. 17 But the wisdom from above is pure first of all; it is also peaceful, gentle, and friendly; it is full of compassion and produces a harvest of good deeds; it is free from prejudice and hypocrisy. 18 And goodness is the harvest that is produced from the seeds the peacemakers plant in peace.

Being Biblical

One of the greatest things I've learned from a good friend and relative is: Where's that in the Bible? While I truly am not a Bible only Christian... I do believe that more Catholics need to be more Biblical.

I can recall a sad high school memory... I had a bunch of Christian friends that I would eat lunch with and junior year we were adding some non-christians to our group. They didn't want to join by reason of being told they 'were going to hell' or not understanding all our 'Bible talk'. But they were comforted by the fact that we agreed not to be like that. So on our first lunch with them, my friends starting listing different verses. I looked to my friend and said..."you know I really don't have a clue what all these verses say" and she replied "niether do we, we're just picking on them in good spirits." Then finally someone said John 3:16 and finally we all knew at least what that one was "For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him might not perish but might have eternal life." It was immature/funny at the time and our new friends had a dark sense of humor about it. But looking back How Sad that we didn't know our Scriptures!

CCC Ignorance of the Scriptures is ignorance of Christ.112

We were ignorant. Catholics, non-Catholics alike...a bunch of high school teens without knowledge. No one taught us, no one instilled the yearning to know it either. The neglect of religious education is even worst. Where were our spiritual leaders? Two of us at least in the group had taken RE or CCD classes at our parish and still walked away ignorant of scriptures. Both of us being great students.

Parents, Teachers, Catholic leaders....PLEASE Teach a love of Scripture as much as you do the love of the Church. Don't be scared. Catholicism is extremely biblical. And teach us how to explain the hope that we have within us.(I Peter 3:15)

The conversion of Souls

Who converts souls to Christ? Do preachers/priests? Lay people witnessing the faith? What can I say or do that would change the faith of someone else entirely?! The answer is Nothing. (John 15:5 because without me you can do nothing) Sure I can live my faith to the fullest. I can speak about it to large or small audiences, or even just one other person. I should speak of my faith, it is right in His sight. Or I can nag, insist, argue...I can even get angry. But why? Ephesians 2:8 "For by grace you have been saved through faith, and this is not from you; it is the gift of God". I cannot give a person faith. I must humble myself and realize that is God's job. We have to let go and let God. We can't force someone to accept truth, not even to save their soul. Not even if they are family or friends, your own sons or daughters did not get their faith from you. It came from God the source of divine Truth.

Where do we draw the line between preaching to all nations and trying to force faith onto someone? That is a very delicate matter. The answer is simple, after they reject the Truth then you let them go. God gave them free will. Who are we to take that away and say 'no you must believe'? What pride to think we are better at converting souls than God?! Sounds like the original sin: be a GOD, Pride. Humble yourselves and PRAY. Pray for the people to have the Truth of Christ. (Matt 16:17 For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my heavenly Father.) How many ways? How many times can the Bible say it: Faith is a gift from God and the flesh profits nothing. Pray for the whole world to come to the wisdom of Truth.