CREED
478
CREED
Wesleyan Methodists and Presbyterians coming later.
The most distinguished Protestant worker was the
Wesleyan Rev. James Evans (1840-1861), inventor
of the C'ree syllabary, which for half a century has
been in successful use in the tribe for literary pur-
poses by all denominations. Of the whole number
of Cree officially reported as Christian the majority
are Catholic and rank high in morality.
Brtce, Hudson's Bay Co. (1900); Canadian Indian Reports: Tbwaites. Jesuit Relations (Cleveland. 1S96-1901); Lacombe, Did. des Oris (1874); Mackenzie, Voyages (1802); MacLean. Canadian Savage Folk (1896); Petitot, in Journal Roy. Geog. Soc. (1883); Pilling, Bibl. of the Algonquian Languages (1891); Richardson, Arctic Expedition (1851).
. James Mooney.
Creed (Lat. credo, I believe), in general, a form of belief. The word, however, as applieil to religious be- lief has received a variety of meanings, two of which are specially important. (1) It signifies the entire body of beliefs held by the adherents of a given relig- ion; and in this sense it is equivalent to doctrine or to faith where the latter is used in its objective meaning. Such is its signification in expressions like "the con- flict of creeds", "charitable work irrespective of creed", "the ethics of conformity to creed", etc. (2) In a somewhat narrower sense, a creed is a summary of the principal articles of faith professed by a church or a community of believers. Thus by the " creeds of Christendom" are understood those formulations of the Christian faith which at various times have been drawn up and accepted by one or the other of the Christian churches. The Latins designate the creed in this sense by the name symbolum, which means either a sign (ffuM/SoXoi") or a collection (o-iz/i^oX-^). A creed, then, would be the distinctive mark of ihose who hold a given belief, or a formula made up of the principal articles of that belief. A "profession of laith" is enjoined by the Church on special occasions, as at the consecration of a bishop; while the phrase "confession of faith" is commonly applied to Protes- tant formularies, such as the "Augsburg Confession", the "Confession of Basle", etc. It should be noted, however, that the Rule of Faith is not identical with creed, but, in its formal signification, means the norm or standard by which one ascertains what doctrines are to be believed.
The principal creeds of the Catholic Church, the Apostles', Athanasian, and Nicene, are treated in spe- cial articles which enter into the historical details and the content of each. The liturgical use of the Creed is also explained in a separate article. For the present purpose it is chiefly imjjortant to indicate the function of the creed in the life of religion and especially in the work of the Catholic Church. That the teachings of Christianity were to be cast in some definite form is evidently implied in the commission given the Apos- tles (Math, xxviii, 19-20). Since they were to teach all nations to observe whatsoever Christ had com- manded, and since this teaching was to carry the weight of authority, not merely of opinion, it was necessary to formulate at least the essential doctrines. Such formulation was the more needful because Chris- tianity was destined for all men and for all ages. To preserve unity of lielicf, the first requisite was to have the belief itself quite clearly stated. The creed, there- fore, is fundamentally an authoritative declaration of the truths that are to be believed.
The Church, moreover, was organized as a visible society (see Chithch). Its members were called on not only to hold f.ast the teaching they had received, but also to express their beliefs. .Vs St. Paul says: "With the heart we believe unto justice : but, with the mouth, confession is mailc unto salvation" (Romans, x, 10). Nor is the Apostle conli<iit with vague or indefinite statements; he insists that his followers shall "hold the form of sountl words which thou hast hcanl of me infaith"(II,Tim.i, 1.3), "embracing that faithful word which is according to doctrine, that he [the bishop]
may be able to exhort in sound doctrine and to con-
vince the gainsayers" (Titus i, 9). Hence we can
understand that a profession of faith was required of
those who were to be baptized, as in the case of the
eimuch (Acts viii, .37) ; in fact, the baptismal formula
prescribed by Christ himself is an expression of faith
in the Blessed Trinity. Apart then from the question '
regarding the composition of the Apostles' Creed, it is
clear that from the beginning, and even before the
New Testament had been written, some doctrinal for-
mula, however concise, would have been employed
both to secure uniformity in teaching and to place be-
yond doubt the belief of those who were admitted into
the Church.
Along with the diffusion of Christianity there sprang up in the course of time various heretical views regard- ing the doctrines of faith. It thus became necessary to define the truth of revelation more clearly. The creed, in consequence, vmdcrwent modification, not by the introduction of new doctines, but by an expression of the traditional belief in tenns that left no room for error or misunderstanding. In this way the "Filio- que" was added to the Nicene Creed and the Triden- tine Profession set fortt in full and definite statements the Catholic Faith oii those points especially which the Reformers of the sixteenth centurj' had assailed. At other times the circumstances required that special formulas should be drawn up in order to have the teaching of the Church explicitly stated and accepted; such was the profession of faith prescribed for the Greeks by Gregory XIII and that which Urban VIII and Benedict XIV prescribed for the Orientals (cf. Denzinger, Enchiridion). The creed therefore, is to be regarded not as a lifeless formula, but rather as a mani- festation of the Church's vitality. As these formulas preserve intact the faith once delivered to the saints, they are also an effectual means of warding off the in- cessant attacks of error.
On the other hand it should be remarked that the authoritative promulgation of a creed and its accept- ance imply no infringement of the rights of reason. The mind tends naturally to express itself and espe- cially to utter its thought in the form of language. Such expression, again, results in greater clearness and a firmer possession of the mental content. Whoever, then, really believes in the truths of Christianity can- not consist entlj' object to such manifestation of his be- lief as the use of the creed implies. It is also obviously illogical to condemn this use on the ground that it makes religion simply an affair of repeating or sub- scribing empty formulas. The Church insists that the internal belief is the essential clement, but this must find its outward expression. While the duty of be- lieving rests on each individual, there are further ob- ligations resulting from the social organization of the Church. Not only is each member obliged to refrain from what would weaken the faith of his fellow-be- lievers ; he is also boimd, so far as he is able, to uphold and quicken their belief. Tlie profession of his faith as set forth in the creed is at once an object-lesson in loyalty and a means of strengthening the bonds which unite the followers of Christ in "one Lord, one faith, one baptism."
Such motives arc plainly of no avail where the selec- tion of his beliefs is left to the individual. He may, of course, adojit a scries of articles or propositions and call it his creed; but it remains his private possession, and any attempt on his part to tlemonstratc its cor- rectness can only result in dis;igreement. But the at- tempt itself would be inconsistent, since he must con- cede to cverj- one else the same right in the matter of framing a creed. The final consequence nuist be, tlierpfore, that faith is reduced to the level of views, opinions, or theories such a-s are entertained on purely scientific matters. Hence it is not ea.sy to explain, on the liasis of consistency, the action of the Protestant" Reformers. Had the "principle of private judgment]
