Excelente defesa do valor das Confissões e Credos na vida de todos os cristãos. ( )

E SE “NENHUM CREDO, SENÃO A BÍBLIA” FOR ANTIBÍBLICO?

O papel das confissões e credos é o tema do debate de hoje dentro do evangelicalismo à medida que muitos ressoam o chamado para retornar às antigas raízes do cristianismo. Defendendo uma perspectiva equilibrada, Carl Trueman oferece uma análise do porquê os credos e confissões serem necessários, como eles se desenvolveram ao longo do tempo, e como podem funcionar na igreja de hoje e amanhã.

“Conheço poucas pessoas mais preparadas para escrever este livro. Como acadêmico e pastor, Trueman combina seu conhecimento como historiador com algumas importantes observações bíblicas para fazer uma defesa convincente de O Imperativo Confessional. Este livro provará sua imensa utilidade no ambiente eclesiástico da atualidade.”

Most Christians throughout history had some sort of confession or creed which delineated for them proper Christian doctrine. The ancient church had the rule of faith and the Apostle’s Creed. When controversy around the nature of the Trinity erupted, the Nicene Creed was born. There have also been numerous other creeds, confessions and hymns which declared what Christians believed. And yet in many congregations today, you are unlikely to hear a creed recited or hear what confessional standard the church adheres to. And many are suspicious of anything written by ‘dead white males’ and wonder how the creeds can speak with any relevance to us today.

Carl Trueman is a professor of Church History at Westminster Theological Seminary and an Orthodox Presbyterian Church (OCP) pastor. The OCP is a Presbyterian denomination which holds to the Westminster Standards whereas other Presbyterian churches have moved away from them(PCUSA). As a confessional evangelical (and historian), he has a lot to say about the abiding value of creeds and confessions for the ways in which they summarize Biblical teaching (not as replacements for proper Biblical authority).

Trueman presents his case for confessionalism in six chapters and a conclusion. In chapter one, he describes the contemporary case against confessionalism/creedalism, stressing how technology, consumerism and has made us suspicious of the past and doubtful about the existence of a universal human nature. Against these assumptions, Trueman argues that (1) the past is import and is of positive relevance to us, (2) language is an appropriate vehicle to commicate truth across geographic space and time, and (3) there is a body (the church) which can compose and enforce creeds and confessions authoritatively (p.22-3). These assumptions are fleshed out more fully in chapter 2 where he lays out the foundations for Creedalism. In chapter three, he examines the Biblical data and the witness of the early church to demonstrate the priority the early church placed on passing down right doctrine and how this develops into the rule of faith. He also goes on to describe the ecumenical councils and the formation of the early creeds. In chapter four Trueman turns his attention to the historic Protestant Confessions ( i.e. the 39 Articles, the Book of Concord, The Belgic Confession, Heidelberg Confession, Canons of Dordt, the Westminster Standards). In Chapter five Trueman discusses the ways in which confessions and creeds give shape to corporate worship, and inform it with its Trinitarian character. Finally chapter six describes the abiding usefulness of creeds in guarding right doctrine, passing on the faith, providing accountability for congregants and pastoral elders, etc.

I enjoyed this book a lot and I think that Trueman makes a number of cogent points. I especially liked how he was able to root confessionalism and the concern for right doctrine in New Testament texts. He is able to demonstrate that Creeds are not formulated to provide authority over the text, but as summaries of biblical theology to help people apprehend the gospel better. Trueman is also convincing in his assertion that the past has something to teach us (i.e. Ancient creeds, hymns, writings actually have something to say to Millennials and beyond).

However my own denomination, the Evangelical Covenant Church (ECC), describes itself as non-confessional/non-creedal. Trueman does discuss why many contemporary Evangelicals are non-creedal by attributing it to the widespread contemporary suspicion of tradition and authority. In the case of the ECC, they formed as a Pietist revival movement from within the Swedish Lutheran state church. In Lutheran tradition, clergy and laity all subscribed to the Book of Concord; however the theological orthodoxy of the Swedes did not guarantee any spiritual vitality. The founders of the movement rejected confessionalism in favor of affirming the authority of scripture and the necessity of new birth (as well as other theological distinctives). They didn’t reject creeds per say (the Apostles Creed and the Nicene Creed are reproduced in the Covenant Hymnal and the Covenant book of Worship) . They rejected the idea that creeds and confessions made you a Christian. They didn’t reject instruction, or passing on the faith (they still had a trained clergy. I think that Trueman is really good at addressing some of the modern and postmodern qualms about confessionalism but he is less eloquent in addressing the concerns of Pietist critics.

Trueman says at a number of points that every church has a confession whether they are ‘confessional’ or not. Either they give authority to creeds and confessions–public documents open to the scrutiny of the entire church, or they interpret scripture through some less defined, and private theological grid. I think he is right about that and I am in agreement with his main points. I think this is a great book for exploring the nature of ecclesial authority and the history of theological reflection. I would recommend this book for those who is curious about the foundations of confessionalism and the virtues of it.

Thank you to Crossway for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for this review. ( )

This is a tremendous book. Trueman has a way of writing that not only keeps the readers interest but causes greater interest.

His overall point is pretty simple: we all have creeds and it is better for those creeds to be formulated, written down, and subjected to scrutiny.

Trueman gives robust biblical, historical, and practical arguments for the neccessity and benefit of creedalism.
No matter where you fall on the issues, this is a book worth studying. ( )

Are the creeds and confessions of the Christian church a thing of history, a thing of the past era in which they were created, and now essentially archaic and anachronistic in our day? Or are they something different? Are they statements of faith that were deliberately crafted to speak to the church at a particular time in its history and still speaking to it authoritatively today? Carl R. Trueman, writing in The Creedal Imperative (Wheaton, IL: Crossway, 2012), answers the latter question with a resounding ‘Yes!’

Trueman’s target persona, as he writes, is the pastor standing in front of his congregation, open Bible held overhead, declaring “I hold to no creed except the Bible!” That may be the target as he writes, but what he writes is instructive for the church at large, including someone such as myself, who belongs to a denomination that holds to several creeds and confessions, something that I’m glad that we do.

He begins by addressing the cultural concerns of modern evangelicalism against creeds, laying out the case that to declare “no creed” is to implicitly declare a creed. Following this are chapters addressing the foundation of creedalism in the post-apostolic church; a brief review of the classic Protestant confessions found within the Anglican, Lutheran, Reformed and Baptist branches of the Protestant tree; a discussion of the aspect of praise that confessions bring to worship; and a final chapter on the multiple ways in which the classic creeds and confessions continue to strengthen the church today.

One of the things I was taught by through this book was how the early creeds that emerged from the ecumenical councils, specifically the Nicene and Athanasian Creeds, and the Apostles Creed, to a lesser extent, each came about as aspects of Christian belief were worked out by the church at large. As the church wrestled with the idea of Jesus being fully divine, they then had to understand how he could be both fully human and divine simultaneously. These aspects of doctrine, and things such as the Trinity, are not specifically addressed by the Bible so the creeds, and the latter confessions, helped the church understand the connections and subsequent implications of things that the Bible suggests but does not clarify. Trueman states several times that while creeds and confessions establish the boundaries of what is orthodox belief, and what is not, they do so only under the guidance of Scripture.

Another gift of this book is the reminder of the ways in which the creeds and confessions glorify God. In using them purposefully in worship we not only are taught solid doctrine but also collectively participate with the church past and present in bringing glory to God.

In the conclusion Trueman responds to the hypothetical, ‘Bible only’ believing pastor (and Trueman and I both know these are not merely hypothetical persons) thusly: “It seems to me that, in the absence of any credible alternatives, creeds and confessions are imperatives for the church that takes the Bible seriously, not optional extras and certainly not something that can be decried as sinful, wrong, or unbiblical.” (188)

And this leads to his statement that “Creeds and confessions at their best present the church with beautiful summaries of biblical teaching, which are designed not simply to preserve the faith but also to be part of the very life of the worshipping community.” (189)

Carl Trueman has written a compact book on a topic that the modern church needs to hear and put into practice. I highly commend this book to anyone looking to strengthen their own faith, the worship life of their church, and consequently, the church eternal. ( )