Service to others is an essential teaching of Christianity, and all Christians are called to serve each other and the less fortunate. Many Christians volunteer on a regular basis with an organization or do different projects with their faith groups, advocating for justice and peace in our world. Here are a few classes offered at BenU about this faith tradition. Please visit the Course Catalog for more information and click here to learn more about the Interfaith Studies Emphasis.
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Just as Christian truth compels us to confess each person individually as both God and Lord, so catholic religion forbids us to say that there are three gods or lords. The Father was neither made nor created nor begotten from anyone.
The Son was neither made nor created; he was begotten from the Father alone. The Holy Spirit was neither made nor created nor begotten; he proceeds from the Father and the Son. Accordingly there is one Father, not three fathers; there is one Son, not three sons; there is one Holy Spirit, not three holy spirits. Nothing in this trinity is before or after, nothing is greater or smaller; in their entirety the three persons are coeternal and coequal with each other.
So in everything, as was said earlier, we must worship their trinity in their unity and their unity in their trinity. Anyone then who desires to be saved should think thus about the trinity. But it is necessary for eternal salvation that one also believe in the incarnation of our Lord Jesus Christ faithfully. He is God from the essence of the Father, begotten before time; and he is human from the essence of his mother, born in time; completely God, completely human, with a rational soul and human flesh; equal to the Father as regards divinity, less than the Father as regards humanity.
Although he is God and human, yet Christ is not two, but one. He is one, certainly not by the blending of his essence, but by the unity of his person. For just as one human is both rational soul and flesh, so too the one Christ is both God and human. At his coming all people will arise bodily and give an accounting of their own deeds. Those who have done good will enter eternal life, and those who have done evil will enter eternal fire.
This is the catholic faith: one cannot be saved without believing it firmly and faithfully. The Athanasian Creed was incredibly valuable to the people of that time. It went deeper than the Nicene Creed and truly outlined what Christians believe, emphasizing the doctrine of the Trinity, and the nature of Jesus Christ. It provided an outline of core beliefs for people in a time when heresy was running rampant and allowing confusion to lead believers astray.
The Chalcedonian Definition was developed in response to the same events as the Nicene and Athanasian creeds, however, its focus is most similar to the second half of the Athanasian Creed which basically addresses the same problem from a different angle. Essentially, this creed attacks the second half of the problem. The Nicene Creed and the first half of the Athanasian Creed confirm that they are all equally apart of the Godhead and the Trinity.
However, the Chalcedonian Definition and the second half of the Athanasian Creed confront the other side of the problem — the dual nature of Christ. This is what allowed him to be God, yet present himself on earth as a man.
We, then, following the holy Fathers, all with one consent, teach men to confess one and the same Son, our Lord Jesus Christ, the same perfect in Godhead and also perfect in manhood; truly God. God the Word, the Lord Jesus Christ; as the prophets from the beginning have declared concerning Him, and the Lord Jesus Christ Himself has taught us, and the Creed of the holy Fathers has handed down to us.
Just like the Athanasian and Nicene creeds, the Chalcedonian Definition helped believers to make a choice. It outlined the natures of Christ in a way that they could understand and helped believers, when they had made their choice, to stand by it by giving them something concrete to stand by. The document appears to be compiled of several sources and edited over time, however, there is no real consensus regarding the date the document was compiled.
This document was an important resource for early Christians both as a creed of what they believed, and also as a set of instructions for various religious practices such as baptism and fasting. The document is arranged into four parts, each with a different topic and purpose that contributed to the whole.
The first part provides instructions on morality for new Christians as they were learning about their new faith in preparation to be baptized. The second part outlines more ritual instructions. This included things like fasting, communion, and baptism as a sort of introductory manual for liturgical practices and spiritual disciplines. The third part then serves as instructions for religious leaders, followed by the fourth and final part which focuses on beliefs about the end times.
Ultimately this document served as sort of introductory crash course on Christianity for new believers in the early church. It familiarized them with the fundamental beliefs of Christians as well as common practices like fasting.
Despite its age, it is valuable to us today as well, for while expressions of Christianity have changed over time, its core values have remained the same, allowing documents like these to last through the ages. The Baptismal Creed of Jerusalem was a sort of precursor to many other creeds that would follow and is also considered the template for most baptismal confessions.
We acknowledge one baptism for the forgiveness of sins. We look for the resurrection of the dead, and the life of the world to come. The origin of the Apostles' Creed is less clear than that of the Nicene Creed.
The most common view is that it was originally developed in the first or second century and was influenced later by the Nicene Creed. The earliest historical evidence of the creed's existence is in a letter written by the Council of Milan in A.
Almost every denomination has a slightly different version of the Apostles' Creed. I believe in God, the Father almighty, creator of heaven and earth. I believe in Jesus Christ, God's only Son, our Lord, who was conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of the Virgin Mary, suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died, and was buried; he descended to the dead. On the third day he rose again; he ascended into heaven, he is seated at the right hand of the Father, and he will come to judge the living and the dead.
I believe in the Holy Spirit, the holy catholic Church, the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body, and the life everlasting. The 9-session Bible study course A Closer Look at the Creeds attempts to examine the basic doctrines declared in these creeds. Moreover, the creed presents necessary truths to believe about each of its parts. The Father Almighty maker of heaven…show more content…. Many versions exist in English—here is one used by many churches.
The second page of this file contains the creed with Biblical references. This tradition was also shown to be historically untenable by Lorenzo Valla. Creeds express and make clear the most important Christian beliefs, including the nature of God.
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