Creed

Tellyontellyon said:

Hi, this is the text of the Apostles Creed that came from the Church of England website :

I believe in God, the Father almighty,
creator of heaven and earth.

I believe in Jesus Christ, his 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.
Amen

It's believing this that makes one a Christian right?

I have been experimenting with the Rosary and have noticed that in the RC rosary it says that Jesus descended to Hell ....

Is there a difference in belief between the Roman and the Protestant versions, or is it just a choice of words....

Is there an important significance or purpose to this?

Thank you

Click to expand...

The Creeds developed over time, mainly in response to heresies. The Nicene Creed is an "updated" version of the Apostles' Creed and is the Creed of modern Christianity. For instance, it begins:

We believe in one God,
the Father, the Almighty,
Maker of heaven and earth,
of all things visible and invisible.

That is in response to the gnostic idea of two gods, one who created all visible matter and a separate god who created the invisible world of the soul. You'll sometimes see minor variations in wording such as "I" instead of "We". And yes, the Creed is important because it distinguishes Christianity from other religions. Christianity is a belief system so it begins "We believe...".

Protestants won't pray to Mary or the "Saints". Protestants typically won't pray to the dead and
don't believe in confessing sins to a Priest.
Most Protestants are opposed to statues and images.
Catholics put much weight on tradition, Protestants, not so much.
Protestants claim that the Pope isn't their Superior, but I have my doubts.
Historically, both love their State religion.

I'm sure there is more, but I've already spent too much time here, I better run and hide.

Tellyontellyon said:

Hi, this is the text of the Apostles Creed that came from the Church of England website :

I believe in God, the Father almighty,
creator of heaven and earth.

I believe in Jesus Christ, his 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.
Amen

It's believing this that makes one a Christian right?

I have been experimenting with the Rosary and have noticed that in the RC rosary it says that Jesus descended to Hell ....

Is there a difference in belief between the Roman and the Protestant versions, or is it just a choice of words....

Is there an important significance or purpose to this?

Thank you

Click to expand...

May I suggest looking up the christianityexplained web site for a church in your area running this course and contacting them?
It is an opertunity to meet, without committing yourself to anything and to ask questions and discuss Christianity.

Tellyontellyon said:

Hi, this is the text of the Apostles Creed that came from the Church of England website :

I believe in God, the Father almighty,
creator of heaven and earth.

I believe in Jesus Christ, his 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.
Amen

It's believing this that makes one a Christian right?

I have been experimenting with the Rosary and have noticed that in the RC rosary it says that Jesus descended to Hell ....

Is there a difference in belief between the Roman and the Protestant versions, or is it just a choice of words....

Is there an important significance or purpose to this?

Thank you

Click to expand...

The Apostles' Creed is the most commonly recited Creed in the Western (Catholic and Protestant) Churches. The Eastern Churches only recite the Nicene Creed.

The original Latin of the Apostles' Creed reads, descendit ad inferos, that is what is translated as "He descended into hell."

"Hell" here is not "the place where the wicked go to be punished for eternity", as that's not really what "hell" meant historically. "Hell" here simply means "the place of the dead", what the Old Testament calls She'ol (the grave, the pit, the place of the dead) and the New Testament calls Hades.

A more literal translation of the Latin here would be "descended into the lower regions" or "descended into the netherworld". It means that Jesus died, really died, He died and went to the place of the dead.

This also corresponds with the Christian doctrine of the Harrowing of Hell: Harrowing of Hell - Wikipedia

Christ descended into the place of the dead, and there destroyed the power of death, put the devil in shackles, and brings life to those in the tombs.

Here is a traditional Easter hymn from the Eastern Orthodox, known as the Paschal Troparion,

"Christ is risen from the dead,
Trampling down death by death,
And to those in the tombs,
Bestowing life."

One of the most famous Easter sermons ever given was given by St. John Chrysostom. Here it is, in part:

"Let no one bewail his poverty, for the universal kingdom hath been revealed. Let no one weep for his transgressions, for forgiveness hath dawned from the tomb. Let no one fear death, for the death of the Saviour hath set us free. He hath quench by it, He hath led hades captive, He Who descended into hades. He embittered it, when it tasted of His flesh. And foretelling this, Isaiah cried: "Hades," he saith, "was embittered when it encountered Thee below." It was embittered, for it was abolished. It was embittered, for it was mocked. It was embittered, for it was slain. It was embittered, for it was overthrown. It was embittered, for it was fettered. It received a body and encountered God. It received earth, and met heaven. It received that which it saw, and fell to what it did not see. O death, where is thy sting? O hades, where is thy victory?

Christ is risen, and thou art cast down.

Christ is risen, and the demons are fallen.

Christ is risen, and the angels rejoice.

Christ is risen, and life flourisheth.

Christ is risen, and there is none dead in the tombs.

For Christ, being risen from the dead, is become the first-fruits of them that have fallen asleep. To Him be glory and dominion unto the ages of ages. Amen."

-CryptoLutheran

As to creeds, I am sure God intends for believers in His "beloved Son" to receive Him into their heart, and follow "all the counsel of God". Creeds are man's efforts to establish basic truths, and some are good; though I hold to Bible-only and prove all things by the Word of God: "rightly dividing the Word of Truth" as God says. The important issue is POSSESSING the Savior, and walking with Him daily. I like to say: 'make the Lord Jesus your best Friend'. To receive one into Christian fellowship, the local gathered saints there need to see that one is TRULY "born again" (John 3:16).

As to the thought expressed about Hell, one needs to see that Hell IS the final destination of all souls not "born of the Spirit" (as John 3 and John 14; etc. make clear). The scriptural explanation is that Hades is where LOST souls go now (a holding place adjacent to Hell fire), until a day to come when Satan and all lost souls will be "cast into the everlasting fire" (Hell) --note also the Book of Revelation. No one is presently in Hell! I hope this helps.

To add ViaCrucis, the Apostles Creed most likely was a baptismal creed and still gets used that way.

Q: Do you believe in God the Father Almighty, creator of heaven and earth?
A: Yes, I do.

Q: Do you believe in Jesus Christ...
A: Yes, I do.

As for "catholic", in the Greek, it means universal and not "Roman Catholic". What you might see is that creedal Protestant groups such as Lutheran, Methodist or Presbyterian, and others, will say "I believe in one Christian church", so that they avoid confusion.

Tellyontellyon said:

Hi, this is the text of the Apostles Creed that came from the Church of England website :

I believe in God, the Father almighty,
creator of heaven and earth.

I believe in Jesus Christ, his 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.
Amen

It's believing this that makes one a Christian right?

I have been experimenting with the Rosary and have noticed that in the RC rosary it says that Jesus descended to Hell ....

Is there a difference in belief between the Roman and the Protestant versions, or is it just a choice of words....

Is there an important significance or purpose to this?

Thank you

Click to expand...

This isn't what makes you a Christian. It is however a succinct summary of what a Christian believes to be true.

It is possible that the Anglican version is just a modern translation - they both say 'descended' and hell is where the dead are thought to dwell.

It is based on 1 Peter 3:19-20 where it refers to those who had previously died up to the time of Noah. Tradition has then made this hell, which may not be an accurate reading, since the wording in Latin does not state that.