Read complete books and articles on: Faith in Christian Theology

Creed - [Lat. credo=I believe], summary of basic doctrines of faith. The following are historically important Christian creeds.

1 The Nicene Creed, beginning, "I believe in one God the Father Almighty, maker of heaven and earth, and of all things visible and invisible, and in one Lord Jesus Christ…." It is usually described as a revision by the First Council of Constantinople (381) of the creed adopted at Nicaea in 325. In the Western Church since the 9th cent. it has differed from the original by the addition of the Filioque clause: "And in the Holy Ghost…Who proceedeth from the Father and the Son…." ("qui ex Patre Filioque procedit…."). Over this addition there has been a long controversy between the Orthodox Eastern and Roman Catholic churches. The Nicene Creed is a traditionally authoritative creed of Orthodox Eastern, Roman Catholic, and some Protestant churches.

2 The Athanasian Creed was probably composed, not by Athanasius himself, but by an unknown author(s) in the fifth cent. It is a partial statement of doctrine dealing especially with the Trinity and the Incarnation.

3 The Apostles' Creed, beginning, "I believe in God the Father Almighty, Creator of heaven and earth. And in Jesus Christ…." It does not appear in its present form before 650, but its predecessors probably arose in Rome in the 2d or 3d cent. It has two material differences from the Nicene Creed: the phrase, "He descended into hell," is omitted in the Nicene, and the words "resurrection of the body" are changed to "resurrection of the dead" in the Nicene. It is used by Roman Catholics at various daily services and at baptism; it is also much used by Protestants.

4 The Augsburg Confession (1530), the official statement of the Lutheran churches. It was mainly the work of Philip Melanchthon and was endorsed by Martin Luther for the Diet of Augsburg.

5 The Thirty-nine Articles, which are official in the Church of England. They date in their present form from Elizabeth I's reign, when they were written by a group of bishops. They are Calvinistic in theological emphasis and enounce clearly the royal supremacy in the Church of England. They are included, with occasional modifications, in the prayer books of other churches of the Anglican Communion, including that of the Episcopal Church of the United States.

6 The Westminster Confession (1645–47), the most celebrated pronouncement of English-speaking Calvinism. It is official in the Church of Scotland, with occasional changes in most of its daughter churches (usually Presbyterian) and among Congregationalists.

See J. H. Leith, Creeds of the Churches (1963, repr. 1973); J. N. D. Kelly, Early Christian Creeds (1981); W. H. C. Frend, ed., Creeds, Councils and Controversies (1989).

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15 of the Best Books and Articles on: Faith in Christian Theology

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1.

Reason and Religious Faith » Read Now
by Terence Penelhum. 166 pgs.

Collections: Religious Studies, Philosophy, Entire Library

...articulating what faith entails. Christian theologians...can engage in Christian theology. But those...into the theology, apologetics...statements of the Christian...
2.

Faith and Reason » Read Now
by Richard Swinburne. 208 pgs.

Collections: Religious Studies, Philosophy, Entire Library

The practice of a religion such as Christianity is normally said to involve faith. But different theologians give different account of faith--some say it is simply a belief that God exists, other say it is trust in God. In this third and final volume of his trilogy on philosophical theology...
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The practice of a religion such as Christianity is normally said to involve faith. But different theologians give different account of faith--some say it is simply a belief that God exists, other say it is trust in God. In this third and final volume of his trilogy on philosophical theology, Swinburne analyzes the purposes for practicing a religion--the attainment of salvation for oneself and the rendering of due worship and obedience to God--and concludes that both trust and belief are necessary for religious faith, but that the belief involved is a fairly weak kind--the belief that a certain creed is more likely than others to be true.
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3.

Exploring the Logic of Faith: A Dialogue on the Relation of Modern Philosophy to Christian Faith » Read Now
by Kent Bendall, Frederick Ferré. 219 pgs.

Collections: Religious Studies, Philosophy, Entire Library
4.

Reasonable Belief: A Survey of the Christian Faith » Read Now
by R. P. C. Hanson, A. T. Hanson. 283 pgs.

Collections: Religious Studies, Entire Library
5.

Faith, Humor and Paradox » Read Now
by Ignacio L. Götz. 137 pgs.

Collections: Religious Studies, Philosophy, Entire Library

The author analyzes the assumption that there is no opposition between faith and humor, belief, and laughter.
6.

A Christian Faith for Today » Read Now
by W. Montgomery Watt. 106 pgs.

Collections: Religious Studies, Entire Library

Written by one of the world's foremost religious authorities, A Christian Faith for Today provides both Christians and sceptics with a much-needed response to modernity's challenge to God.Most people accept that our world is regulated by the laws of natural science, but how should Christian...
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Written by one of the world's foremost religious authorities, A Christian Faith for Today provides both Christians and sceptics with a much-needed response to modernity's challenge to God.Most people accept that our world is regulated by the laws of natural science, but how should Christian believers reconcile this with faith, incarnation and a loving and intelligent Creator?W. Montgomery Watt returns to the Biblical stories and sources at the roots of modern faith and to theological problems such as Jesus' divinity and humanity. He suggests how the miraculous might be understood from a rational perspective and the genuinely transcendental distinguished from allegory and symbolism.Sympathetic to the Gospel, yet acceptable to the modern mind, this is a timely and sensitive exposition of God's manifestation and intervention in the world and of his purposes with us and for us.
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7.

Scholarship and Christian Faith: Enlarging the Conversation » Read Now
by Douglas Jacobsen, Rhonda Hustedt Jacobsen. 190 pgs.

Collections: Religious Studies, Education, Entire Library

This book enters a lively discussion about religious faith and higher education in America that has been going on for a decade or more. During this time many scholars have joined the debate about how best to understand the role of faith in the academy at large and in the special arena of...
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This book enters a lively discussion about religious faith and higher education in America that has been going on for a decade or more. During this time many scholars have joined the debate about how best to understand the role of faith in the academy at large and in the special arena of church-related Christian higher education. The notion of faith-informed scholarship has, of course, figured prominently in this conversation. But, argue Douglas and Rhonda Jacobsen, the idea of Christian scholarship itself has been remarkably under-discussed. Most of the literature has assumed a definition of Christian scholarship that is Reformed and evangelical in orientation: a model associated with the phrase "the integration of faith and learning." The authors offer a new definition and analysis of Christian scholarship that respects the insights of different Christian traditions (e.g., Catholic, Lutheran, Anabaptist, Wesleyan, Pentecostal) and that applies to the arts and to professional studies as much as it does to the humanities and the natural and social sciences. The book itself is organized as a conversation. Five chapters by the Jacobsens alternate with four contributed essays that sharpen, illustrate, or complicate the material in the preceding chapters. The goal is both to map the complex terrain of Christian scholarship as it actually exists and to help foster better connections between Christian scholars of differing persuasions and between Christians and the academy as a whole.
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8.

The Bible, Theology, and Faith: A Study of Abraham and Jesus » Read Now
by R. W. L. Moberly. 263 pgs.

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R.W.L. Moberly's aim is to "read the Bible for all it is worth," by connecting the minutiae of biblical scholarship with the big questions of God and human life. Classic Christian understandings of what is necessary to speak validly about God are used to set a context for modern linguistic and...
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R.W.L. Moberly's aim is to "read the Bible for all it is worth," by connecting the minutiae of biblical scholarship with the big questions of God and human life. Classic Christian understandings of what is necessary to speak validly about God are used to set a context for modern linguistic and historical interpretation so as to produce a postmodern understanding of biblical interpretation. Detailed studies of Abraham's sacrifice in Genesis 22, the story of the journey to Emmaus (Luke 24), and the Christology of Matthew's Gospel integrate theory with practice.
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9.

What Pure Eyes Could See: Calvin's Doctrine of Faith in Its Exegetical Context » Read Now
by Barbara Pitkin. 264 pgs.

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Barbara Pitkin traces the way in which Calvin's exegetical labors contributed to his understanding of faith. Through detailed analysis of Calvin's interpretation of selected biblical passages, this study shows how his views evolved. Pitkin describes the gradual development of the mature Calvin's...
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Barbara Pitkin traces the way in which Calvin's exegetical labors contributed to his understanding of faith. Through detailed analysis of Calvin's interpretation of selected biblical passages, this study shows how his views evolved. Pitkin describes the gradual development of the mature Calvin's view that faith exhibits a twofold character--saving faith and providential faith--that corresponds to the twofold aspect of its object--Christ as both the incarnate and eternal Son of God.
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10.

The Cambridge Companion to Jesus (Chap. 14 "A History of Faith in Jesus") » Read Now
by Markus Bockmuehl. 311 pgs.

Collections: Religious Studies, History, Entire Library

This Companion's starting point is the realization that Jesus of Nazareth cannot be studied purely as a subject of ancient history, or as "a man like any other man". History, literature, theology and the dynamic of a living, worldwide religious reality appropriately impinge on the study of Jesus...
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This Companion's starting point is the realization that Jesus of Nazareth cannot be studied purely as a subject of ancient history, or as "a man like any other man". History, literature, theology and the dynamic of a living, worldwide religious reality appropriately impinge on the study of Jesus. This book therefore incorporates the most up-to-date historical work on Jesus with the "larger issues" of critical method--the story of Christian faith and study, as well as Jesus in a global church and in the encounter with Judaism and Islam.
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11.

Sensus Fidei: Faith "Making Sense" of Revelation, in Theological Studies » Read Now
by Ormond Rush. 31 pgs.

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...the term in Avery Dulles...Hoped For: A Theology of Christian Faith (New York...Authority: A Theology of the Magisterium in the Church...writes: "As Christians, we do...
12.

The Moral Virtues and Theological Ethics (Chap. 1 "The Moral Virtues and Christian Faith") » Read Now
by Romanus Cessario. 206 pgs.

Collections: Religious Studies, Philosophy, Entire Library
13.

Has the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith Exceeded Its Authority?, in Theological Studies » Read Now
by Thomas P. Rausch. 9 pgs.

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...Catholic theology particularly in its rejection...Catholic faith that the...is basic Christian doctrine...seems to move in the direction...truths of the Christian faith...
14.

Risking the Church: The Challenges of Catholic Faith » Read Now
by Richard Lennan. 269 pgs.

Collections: Religious Studies, Entire Library
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Medieval Reactions to the Encounter between Faith and Reason » Read Now
by John F. Wippel. 122 pgs.

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...Chiefly in Theology Faculties...articles in journals...Encounter between Faith and Reason...called a Christian wisdom rather...philosophy from theology so...