Mommy Brain

(Credo was provided to me free of charge by Mind and Media, who received it from the publisher for the purpose of being reviewed.)

I grew up reciting the Apostles’ Creed. Catholic until I was twelve, I remember the Creed as part of mass. When my Dad became a believer, we left the Catholic church and joined an evangelical denomination. We didn’t recite the Creed anymore, and being a teenager, I didn’t think much of it. As an adult, I very rarely come into contact with the Apostle’s Creed, and that is only when we sing a worship chorus based on it.

After reading Mr. Pritchard’s book, Credo: Believing in Something to Die For, I will never take the Apostles’ Creed for granted. He takes the Creed apart, phrase by phrase, and explains why each section is central to the Christian faith. These statements of belief cross denominational lines - they are the basic, non-negotiable beliefs that show us what it means to be a Christian. Mr. Pritchard states:

“Christianity is a doctrinal faith. You can’t just fill it in with whatever content you desire. Christianity is a life based on the doctrines of the Bible. We must never say, “As long as you believe in Jesus, it doesn’t matter what else you believe.” Unless the Jesus we believe in is the Christ of the Bible, he’s not the real Jesus at all.

This means that Christianity is more than a conversion experience.

There are things to learn, and there are doctrines we are required to believe. That’s why the Apostles’ Creed is so important in the history of the church. Truth is not up for grabs, and it is not decided by what we feel or by a majority vote or by the latest opinion poll. The Creed reminds us that truth comes from God, and that is where we must start in our spiritual journey.” page 19

This book is well worth your time and money. It affirms what our faith is about and why it is so important to know what we believe.

I believe in God, the Father Almighty,
the Creator of Heaven and Earth…

“If we lose the doctrine of creation, we will eventually lose the doctrine of redemption.

Many evangelicals seem to have missed this fact. The story of creation leads to the reality of the fall. Genesis 1-2 tells us where we came from. Genesis 3 explains how sin entered the human race and why we need a Savior. Take away the factual reality of the first three chapters of the Bible and the rest cannot be trusted.” page 47

and in Jesus Christ, His only Son, our Lord…

“In order to understand this properly, we need a bit of background on how the Romans ruled their vast empire. Because the empire stretched from Europe into the Middle East and across the northern coast of Africa, it encompassed many provinces and included many local religions. “Mystery religions” were found in many parts of the empire. Each religion has its own code of conduct, sacred scriptures, pattern of worship, form of sacrifice, sacred rites, priesthood, and so on. Because these religions tended to keep the people pacified, the Romans left them alone as much as possible. Rome required only that taxes be paid and that everyone be required to say, “Caesar is Lord.” “Just affirm that Caesar is sovereign and follow whatever religion suits you.”

For many people in the Empire, that was no big burden. But Christians couldn’t say “Caesar is Lord” and remain faithful to Christ. How could they say, “Caesar is Lord” when their faith taught them that Jesus is Lord? They refused to deny Christ, and that is why Christians were murdered by the thousands - crucified, burned at the stake, run through with the sword, thrown to wild animals.

Chuck Colson notes that in the first century if you stood in a public gathering and cried out, “Jesus is God!” no one would be upset. But if you shouted, “Jesus is Lord!” you would start a riot. Rome did not persecute Christians because they believed in the deity of Christ or proclaimed that Jesus was the promised Messiah or that Jesus died on the cross and rose from the dead. Rome did not kill Christians because they said Jesus is the only way of salvation. Those religious beliefs did not threaten the state. But when Christians declared, “Jesus Christ is our Lord, and there is no other!” that was a direct attack on Caesar-worship and thus punishable by death.

To call him Lord means we surrender all we have to him and follow him gladly wherever he leads, whatever it costs.” page 57

Who was conceived of the Holy Spirit, born of the virgin Mary…

“The Virgin Birth forces us to confront what we believe about Jesus Christ. Who is he? Where did he come from? At issue is the supernatural character of our Lord. Is he truly the Son of God from heaven? If you answer yes, you’ll have no problem with the Virgin Birth. If you answer no, you’ll have no reason to believe it. Is he just a prophet, or a great teacher, or a martyr, or a revolutionary who never intended to start a religion? Or is he God incarnate, the Lord of Glory, the Son of God, our Lord and our Savior? The Virgin Birth tells us that we can’t be neutral and we can’t say the stories of his birth don’t matter. Those with an anti-supernatural bias will have no use for the Virgin Birth, and they will try to explain it away. But those who believe in a supernatural Christ will find the Virgin Birth a mysterious miracle that, instead of destroying their faith, actually makes it stronger.

In order for Jesus to be our Savior he had to be a man, God, and sinless. The Virgin Birth guarantees that all those conditions have been met.

Thus there is a direct connection between the manger and the cross.

Without the Virgin Birth, his sufferings have no meaning. His birth makes his death meaningful. His birth establishes his true identity as the Son of God, the promised Messiah, our Savior. When the angel told Joseph that the baby Mary was carrying had been conceived by the Holy Spirit, in the very next breath he told Joseph to name him Jesus, “for he will save his people from his sins” (Matthew 1:21). The angel connects his birth with his saving work on the cross. Thus the Virgin Birth matters greatly because it tells us plainly who Jesus is and lays the foundation for the great work he would accomplish on the cross.” pages 67-68

…suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died, and was buried.
He descended into hell.
The third day he arose again from the dead.
He ascended into Heaven…

“By seating his Son at his right hand, the father vindicated his Son. Now at last Jesus receives what He truly deserves - glory, laud, and honor. Philippians 2:5-7 tells us that Christ “made himself nothing,” emptying himself of the outward trappings of his deity in order to take on the form of a man. He humbled himself by leaving the palaces of heaven to be born in a stable in Bethlehem. He veiled his glory and lived a life of humiliation. All of us feel it was unfair for the King of kings to be treated so rudely by those he came to save. As he hung on the cross, onlookers jeered as his life ebbed away. They laughed at his pain and cried, “If you are the Son of God, come down from the cross” (Matthew 27:40). The Ascension means that Jesus has been vindicated in all that he came to do, and his days of humiliation are over forever.” page 131

…and sits at the right hand of God the Father Almighty whence He shall come to judge the living and the dead.
I believe in the Holy Spirit,
the holy catholic church…

“Some evangelicals are troubled by the word “catholic” in the Creed because they think it has something to do with the Roman Catholic Church. But catholic with a small c simply means “universal.” When applied to the church, it means that the message of the gospel is for all people everywhere, in every generation and in every situation.” pages 164-165

…the communion of saints,
the forgiveness of sins…

“This phrase summarizes the entire Christian life. That’s amazing when you think about how the Apostles’ Creed is constructed. The Creed is a God-centered statement of the Christian faith, placing great emphasis on God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. The Holy Spirit is mentioned in one brief phrase. Two phrases deal with the church as the fellowship of true believers. But when we come to the realm of the Christian life, it’s all summed up in one phrase, a brief seven words: “I believe in…the forgiveness of sins.”

That’s certainly not how we think about things today. Go to just about any Christian bookstore and you’ll see a small shelf called “Bible Doctrine” or “Theology,” and then you’ll see a huge section called “The Christian Life.” There you will find books on prayer, growing in faith, enduring hard times, spiritual gifts, spiritual growth, overcoming temptation, sharing your faith, and growing in holiness. There are books on marriage, books for men, books for women, books on the family, raising children, overcoming an addiction, forgiving others, spiritual warfare, singleness, sex, health, the purpose-driven life, and the end times, to name only a few. To us the Christian life is all about these different categories. But the Creed takes the whole Christian life and boils it down to this one essential thing: “I believe in…the forgiveness of sins.” As if to say, “If your sins are forgiven, everything else is just details. And if your sins are not forgiven, nothing else really matters.”" page 180

…the resurrection of the body, and the life everlasting. Amen.

“Truth matters. That’s why we need to come back to the Apostles’ Creed. I know we live in an anti-intellectual age, but truth matters. I realize that in the evangelical movement we have elevated personal experience almost to the level of Scripture itself, but truth matters.

Truth towers over our personal experience and stands in judgment over our personal opinions.” page 208