This Bible class is the beginning of a 9-month course on the Book of Concord, the confessions of the Evangelical Lutheran Church. A creed is a summary statement of the religious belief of a certain group of people. We begin this course by responding to five common reasons which groups give for being non-creedal (or even anti-creedal). After that, we examine the five ways in which creeds have served the church.
Note: At the beginning of each class, there will be a 5-minute quiz, which will be included in the links below. Immediately after the quiz, we will go over the answers to that quiz. If you don’t want to hear the answers, take the quiz first, then start the audio of the class. Written answers will be included in the second link, which is present class outline.
Non-creedal (or even anti-creedal):
- The Bible alone: No creed but the Bible
- Sinful man is incapable of making a sinless statement of faith.
- Experience: No creed but Jesus
- Creeds impinge on the individual Christian’s freedom of conscience by establishing a “binding authoritative confessions of faith”
- Creeds divide, rather than unite people
Why have creeds?
- Liturgical: Profession of catholic faith (i.e. universal, the faith of the Christian church), Standard to the World
- Ministers: A guide for preaching/instruction, Principle of Interpretation, Meaning of Scripture. It tells what is most important or the guiding principles.
- Discipline: State the truth in response to heresy. Serves as signposts to Heresy – shutting out the heretic, and setting boundaries for authentic Christian theology and life.
- Baptism: Teaching for conversion to the Christian faith (into which one is baptized)
- Holy Communion: Catechetical teaching for the baptized, Catechism
Quiz #1 (Green sheet): Quiz-for-Sep-1-Book-of-Concord-Introduction.pdf
Handouts (white sheet with answers to the quiz on the back): Book-of-Concord-Intro-Student-Guide.pdf
The following is a reading guide (through December) for those who would like to read along with us.
Reading Guide for Tappert, Kolb, English only of Triglotta, Concordia Reader’s Edition: Book-of-Concord-Reading-2019-2020-Chart-1-Page-1-2.pdf
Reading Guide for Triglotta, Jacobs, Henkel, Die BekenntnisSchriften, Tappert, Kolb: Book-of-Concord-Reading-2019-2020-Chart-2-pages-1-2.pdf
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