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Title: The Creed : What Christians Believe and Why it Matters by LUKE TIMOTHY JOHNSON ISBN: 0-385-50247-8 Publisher: Doubleday Pub. Date: 19 August, 2003 Format: Hardcover Volumes: 1 List Price(USD): $23.95 |
Average Customer Rating: 4.8 (5 reviews)
Rating: 5
Summary: Worth Reading on So Many Levels
Comment: Regardless of your faith tradition, The Creed is a book worth exploring, studying, and discussing in your church. Agreement with Johnson's arguments and conclusions is not necessary -- it is the questions that Johnson raises that are important. Contemporary Christianity suffers a monumental credibility problem and identity crisis. Few Christians can clearly articulate what they believe, why it is important, and what ultimate meaning it has for their lives. Rigid fundamentalism to anything-goes liberalism paint a wide spectrum for confused seekers. Church-goers often simply go through the motions, mouthing professions of faith that have little or no meaning in their daily lives. Johnson calls all Christian believers to take seriously what we claim to believe, and he challenges us to act counter-culturally -- first and foremost by defining ourselves in relationship to community, rather than as individuals. This is a fine historical review as well as a clarion call to create a future grounded in a clear, compelling identity that says once and for all who we are, what we believe, and why we are here.
Rating: 4
Summary: Strong presentation of the Creed - Christian fundamentals
Comment: This book was given to me by my father as a gift after I expressed interest in possibly pursuing an advanced degree in Christian theology or apologetics. It was an excellent choice because it deals with one of the fundamental Christian creeds - the Nicene creed. Overall, the author's presentation about the subject was strong, but I did find a few sections somewhat tangential.
The author states that his aim in writing this book is "to make the creed controversial for those Christians who say it, but do not understand it, and therefore, do not grasp what a radical and offensive act they perform when they declare these words every week in a public assembly". Oddly enough, the church I attend actually does not recite the Creed during weekly services. None the less, I was very interested to see how the author goes about fulfilling his aim.
The bulk of the book focuses on a line by line analysis of the Creed, and the fundamental doctrines it represents. Basically, the book illustrates how different the Christian view is from other religions, and the world we in which we eixts. Additionally, the author feels like the Creed should be a unifying way to help the Church find common ground. He realizes that the Body contains diverse views throughout, but he proves the point that the Creed helped unify the early church, and it can do the same today.
Additionally, the author offers analysis of various denominations approachs to certain doctrines, such as baptism, the Holy Spirit, and the accuracy of the Bible. It is these sections which are not all successful. For example, pointing out that the modern charismatic movement does a better job of including the Holy Spirit in their doctrine, but go overboard on the issue of speaking in tongues is insightful. On the other hand, worrying about the current gender discussion (whether to use more inclusive language in the Bible) seems out of place. It is as if the author wants to focus on the basics, but cannot help going after periphal topics. I found this distracting at times.
I do recommend this book to anyone wanting to learn about the history and meaning of the Creed. I had not thought much about the Creed since our church does not use it, so this book was very helpful to me.
Rating: 5
Summary: Why Does It Matter?
Comment: Is the Creed still relevant? Johnson answers with a resounding, "Yes!!" He offers an historical perspective in which he shows how the early believers sorted through the Scriptures to summarize the essence of the faith. He takes on the Enlightenment mindset and reminds the reader that the New Testament (and our own faith today) comes out of an experience of the resurrection and not out of an empirical analysis. I preached a series based on this book and got more positive feedback from it than any other series in the last two years. If you only have a few minutes, read his thoughts regarding, "on the third day he rose again according to the scriptures" (page 180 ff). You will not be disappointed.
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Title: Credo: Historical and Theological Guide to Creeds and Confessions of Faith in the Christian Tradition by Jaroslav Pelikan ISBN: 0300093888 Publisher: Yale Univ Pr Pub. Date: 01 September, 2003 List Price(USD): $40.00 |
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Title: Religious Experience in Earliest Christianity: A Missing Dimension in New Testament Study by Luke Timothy Johnson ISBN: 0800631293 Publisher: Fortress Press Pub. Date: January, 2003 List Price(USD): $20.00 |
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Title: An Introduction to the Gospel of John by FRANCIS J. MOLONEY, RAYMOND E. BROWN ISBN: 0385507224 Publisher: Anchor Bible Pub. Date: 19 August, 2003 List Price(USD): $30.00 |
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Title: The Spirit of Early Christian Thought: Seeking the Face of God by Robert Louis Wilken ISBN: 0300097085 Publisher: Yale Univ Pr Pub. Date: April, 2003 List Price(USD): $29.95 |
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Title: Living Jesus : Learning the Heart of the Gospel by Luke Timothy Johnson ISBN: 0060642831 Publisher: Harper SanFrancisco Pub. Date: 01 February, 2000 List Price(USD): $15.00 |
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