Crisis of Confidence: Reclaiming the Historic Faith in a Culture Consumed with Individualism and Identity

by Carl R. Trueman

Carl Trueman Analyzes How Ancient Creeds and Confessions Protect and Promote Biblical Christianity in a Culture of Expressive Individualism Historic statements of faith―such as the Heidelberg Catechism, the Apostles’ Creed, and the Westminster Confession of Faith―have helped the Christian church articulate and adhere to God’s truth for centuries. However, many modern evangelicals reject these historic documents and the practices of catechesis, proclaiming their commitment to “no creed but the Bible.” And yet, in today’s rapidly changing culture, ancient liturgical tradition is not only biblical―it’s essential. In  Crisis of Confidence , Carl Trueman analyzes how creeds and confessions can help the Christian church navigate modern concerns, particularly around the fraught issue of identity. He contends that statements of faith promote humility, moral structure, and a godly view of personhood, helping believers maintain a strong foundation amid a culture in crisis. This is a revised edition of Trueman’s  The Creedal Imperative , now with a new section on the rise of expressive individualism.

Genres: Theology, Christian, Cultural, Church History, Nonfiction, History, Religion

216 pages, Hardcover

Published February 6, 2024

About the author

Carl R. Trueman (PhD, University of Aberdeen) is the Paul Woolley Professor of Church History at Westminster Theological Seminary and pastor of Cornerstone Presbyterian Church (OPC) in Ambler, Pennsylvania. He was editor of Themelios for nine years, has authored or edited more than a dozen books, and has contributed to multiple publications including the Dictionary of Historical Theology and The Cambridge Companion to Reformation Theology.

Reviews

[Mark Jr. · Rating 5 out of 5]

I am persuaded. I found it especially helpful to read Trueman’s insight into the alternative authorities that smuggle themselves in when one has “no creed but the Bible.” I don’t think confessionalism can fully inoculate any church or denomination; neither does Trueman. But it can greatly help, and it has historically done so. I also cannot say that adopting a confession is obligatory. But, as with church membership, confessions seem to be a good and necessary consequence of other things the Bible teaches.

[Samuel G. Parkison · Rating 5 out of 5]

Required reading.

[Jake Stone · Rating 5 out of 5]

Such a great book on confessionalism. Enjoyed the updates from his original work, “The Creedal Imperative.”

[Derrick Kenyon · Rating 5 out of 5]

An excellent resource on confessionalism! Trueman superbly argues that the all too common, dare I say, evangelical creed “no creed but the Bible” is silly because everyone has a creed, it just depends on whether they will set it forth to be examined in light of Scripture or not, and contradictory because the Bible itself promotes creeds as the church is to preserve and promote the sound teaching of Scripture. Trueman further elaborates that the mantra “no creed but the Bible” reflects our modern individualistic culture rather than the historic church. Thus, churches should abandon this language and adopt creeds and confessions. In his last couple chapters, Trueman does an excellent job presenting the pastoral benefits of adopting creeds and confessions. In this, I really enjoyed his chapter on confessions as praise.
Highly recommend!

[Ethan Smith · Rating 5 out of 5]

Most common intrusive thought when listening to this:
“Mmmmmm, that’s true, man…” 🙂‍↕️

[Jono Spear · Rating 5 out of 5]

Convincing!

[Andrew Krom · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book makes me grateful that I am in a church that is confessional. With culture always changing, confessionalism will only become more important. I wish Trueman covered the 1689 more, but it is understandable why he did not.

I will be re-reading this in the future!

[Bobby James · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5/5! Excellent!

Confessionalism actually protects and honors the biblical standard rather than, as many suppose, undermine it. While not every church is “confessional” every church has a confession and every church has a liturgy no matter how spontaneous they claim to be. It’s just a matter of whether they write their confession down, use it as a teaching tool, and require agreement to it.

Having a written confession and using it as a standard for the church’s membership and teaching serves the longevity and purity of the church and the individual members within it.

[Pristine · Rating 4 out of 5]

once i started mentally reading in dr trueman’s accent i started following a lot better

[Amber Thiessen · Rating 4 out of 5]

{see full review here: https://www.amberthiessen.com/post/cr...}

These days it seems you hear it everywhere, "you do you" or references to "your truth." For Christians, this isn't exactly a thing because there is a truth we hold to, a set of beliefs, a holy Word.

So, if you'd be asked to summarize what you believe, what would you say?

How did you come up with your answer?

In Crisis of Confidence: Reclaiming the Historic Fatih in a Culture Consumed with Individualism and Identity author Carl Trueman takes us through the value and relevance of creeds and confessions for our church life today. Culture forms how we think, and that will include how and what we believe as core doctrines of our faith.

The author writes this to detail the value of historic creeds and confessions for all believers and that they are necessary for the wellbeing of the church.

This title will be for you if you come from a non confessional background (which is majority in the area where I live) or if you have an interest in the historical creeds and confessions and want to gain a better understanding of why they are important and relevant for us today, particularly as the cultural trends steers us away from the value of history and tradition.

(I read this as part of the 2024 VT Reading Challenge - a book published in 2024)

*A big thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the ARC and for the opportunity to post an honest review.

[Ethan Clark · Rating 5 out of 5]

Persuasive. Exceptional. Ecumenical.

In the end, Trueman left me fully convinced.

This book is an argument for confessionalism among churches. He makes his argument theologically, exegetically, philosophically, and historically and he leaves all other dissenting arguments bare and naked. He does so in a charitable manner but he pulls no punches and the book itself truly is a rhetorical tour de force.

The best argument he makes comes up throughout the book where he notes the popular phrase of most (if not all) evangelical churches: "We have no creed but the Bible" and he shows how that is not only an incredibly ironic statement, but also it is wrong and very dangerous. If you want to know why and/or how you'll have to read the book (or just talk to me).

I would strongly urge and ask my brothers and sisters who are not confessional, don't understand it, or don't know why we need them to read this book.

[Nate DeRochie · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a great defense of the necessity and utility of creeds and confessions for the church. Trueman builds an excellent positive case, but his responses to common objections were most helpful to me in my context. If you are not convinced of the importance of historic creeds and confessions, give this book a read, then we can talk. Also, because I am a Baptist and because I am friends with many Baptists on here, I was pleased at how fair Trueman, as a Presbyterian, is toward Baptists in this book, even taking some space to explain the 1689 London Baptist Confession of Faith.

[Emily Waits (emilylovesreading_) · Rating 5 out of 5]

“The Lord has graciously provided us with a great cloud of witnesses throughout history who can help us understand the Bible and apply it to our present day. To ignore such might not be so much a sign of biblical humility as of overbearing hubris and confidence in our own abilities and the uniqueness of our own age.”

The first half of this book pertains more to the history of the church and its creeds and confessions, while the second half of this book is more of an analysis of culture and use of creeds in the modern day. The first part of this book is very heavy with historical and theological details, and I really wanted to soak up all of the information. With all of the details and some of the language, it took me a bit to get through, but the second half of the book flew by!

This was a brilliant and helpful book. I learned so much from the historical details provided, as well as the analysis of the culture and the given practical suggestions. My husband and I were diligent a couple of years ago to recite and memorize catechisms together after dinner and this book really inspired me to make that a priority in our house once again!

Highly recommend!

Thank you to @netgalley and @crossway for my gifted e-copy in exchange for an honest review.

[Henry McNeil · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent, excellent book which succinctly teaches on the development of Christian theology, history of the early post apostolic church, importance and usefulness of confessional Christianity. Trueman teaches that historic creeds and confessions are key to preserving and protecting the church today as they have in the centuries past. Additionally, the teaching in the earlier chapters which addressed how modern western thinking has evolved to be suspect of these historical documents was very helpful in understanding our modern obsession with individualism.

[Jan · Rating 5 out of 5]

6/8/2024 • 4.5 stars (rounded up to 5) Listened to audio version on Hoopla, but eventually I think I'll buy either a print or Kindle version so I can refer back to it when needed.

[Ethan Moxham · Rating 4 out of 5]

⭐️ 4.5

I have thoroughly enjoyed Carl Trueman’s new book, ‘Crisis of Confidence’ (revised & updated from his 2012 book: ‘The Creedal Imperative’)
This has to be one of the most thought provoking, while still enjoyable, academic leaning Christian reads in a while.

As its previous title suggests, it’s about creeds and confessions (C&C) and their relevance, importance and most importantly to Trueman, their NEED for the church today.

Overall I loved the six chapter structure, all building upon the argument said above, especially chapters 3 & 4 which offer the historically charged nature and origin of the said C&C.
However, I personally loved most chapter 2, titled ‘The Foundations of Creedalism’ in which Truemen expounds beautifully the theological and biblical argument and need for C&C. Unleashing Phat lines like: “words have a special place in the history of God’s people as the means of recalling his actions in history and thus pointing to who he is.”
I would be amiss if I neglected to mention chapter 5 titled “Confession as Praise” for I think it is a wonderful chapter, and a brilliant argument towards seeing not only the need to C&C but also the praise and worship that their existence brings and draws out, as there is a “necessary connection between truth and praise.”

My only and main reservations would be, the conclusions at the end of each chapter. Though they are good summaries, they feel stretched and unnecessarily long for already long chapters.

In summary, the book is great. Enjoyable, engaging and worth a read for anyone, especially those who don’t know much about C&C or struggle to seen their purpose. It’s a challenge, but a good one.
And it concludes in term: “To take the Bible seriously means that creeds and confessions, far from being intrusions into the Christian life, are imperatives for the church.”

[Alexandra · Rating 5 out of 5]

Banger!! This book is so well written and is filled with such fun vocab. I felt so intellectually stimulated as I read- both in the content of the book but also how it applies to my life, I have a lot to think about. It challenges the reader to reflect on the relationship the Bible has and the early church had with creeds and confessions. Such a strong argument that we should be people of creeds, because we already are! Writing them down is in a lot of ways to our benefit and looking at the ones from history shows that they endure beyond fads. I loved the point about having good theology overall will answer the questions of the current era. Definitely one of my favorite non-fiction books of the year- it reads like a textbook but is far more approachable and it is convicting. My desire to continue to learn was the driving factor because Trueman made it easy to continue gleaning. I will say, Trueman is redundant within a section that’s within a chapter that also makes a couple passes at the same point and then also included across the chapters. It feels like have the book is a summary of the other half of the book. But I’m not hating, I like learning in a tornado fashion, coming back to a topic and covering more with each round. So be mindful of that isn’t your style

[Mitchell Dixon · Rating 5 out of 5]

This may come as no surprise as I am in a confessional ecclesial body but, I loved this book.

Trueman does a masterful job updating his formerly titles “The Creedal Imperative”. This update incorporates his work on “The Rise and Triumph of the Modern Self”, specifically his insights into “expressive individualism”.

“Christianity involves a creed, a code, and a cult.” (p. xiv) These three work together to provide a balanced framework of the spiritual ecosystem of a Christian. Creeds have fallen under bad rap, being seen as exclusionary and bigoted. Trueman shows that they are not only inclusive, they are actually what makes the church a safe place. Someone espousing “no creed but the Bible” has a creed but they have not written it down either ignorantly or self consciously, which prevents any public scrutiny or evaluation to the Scriptures.

The creeds and confessions may be counter cultural to the modern evangelical, but they serve as healthy churchly documents of praise. The creeds and confessions connect us with the past, encouraging us to trust the time worn truths handed down.

[Alex Yauk · Rating 4 out of 5]

A crisp, clear defense of creedal and confessional Christianity.

Pushing back on those who claim "no creed but the Bible", Trueman says that everyone who tries to explain the Bible has a creed unless they read the whole book from Genesis through Revelation any time they address a biblical question. However, those rejecting all creeds are in fact refusing to put their beliefs down on paper and subject them to scrutiny.

Trueman points to many traditional creeds that precede and follow the reformation that have stood the test of time and have proved useful over the centuries. And finally, not only are creeds useful for defining orthodoxy, they offer succinct and thorough summaries of the faith, they can provide moral guidance in an age of moral confusion, and can also lead to praise and worship of God.

Having grown up in the Lutheran Church I am familiar with historic creeds of the church: the Apostles Creed, the Nicene Creed, and the recited-once-annually Athanasian Creed. However, I want to spend more time with historic statements of faith like the Heidelberg Catechism and the Westminster Confession of Faith.

[Drake · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wonderful. This revised version of The Creedal Imperative essentially combines Trueman's expertise in church history with his focus in recent years on understanding and responding to our current cultural moment. His case for the role of historic creeds and confessions in the life of the church, as well as his case for seeing such a return to ancient texts as a profoundly counter-cultural movement, is brilliantly argued and compelling.

[Laura NC · Rating 5 out of 5]

Carl Trueman updates his work, The Creedal Imperative, with cultural insights on modern individualism. Orthodox creeds are biblical and practical and essential to navigate the murky cultural waters today. I’m inspired, even as a laywoman of the church, to disciple the next generation using my denomination’s detailed statement of faith and the catechism we learn together as a church body.

[Eric Durso · Rating 5 out of 5]

Required reading.

[Eva Geaschel · Rating 4 out of 5]

Creeds and confessions are imperative for a church.

“No creed but the Bible” is in fact a creed itself.

[Benjamin Phillips · Rating 5 out of 5]

Solid articulation of the biblical grounds for creeds, confessions, and the polity to make them work.
Taught in Veto Sunday School Spring 2025.

[Justin McLarty · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very helpful in articulating the importance of being “confessional” as a church.

[Ben Robin · Rating 5 out of 5]

A wonderfully helpful historical book for our current cultural moment. In that way, it’s also transcendent and timeless—a biblical-theological argument that really needs to be made right now, but no doubt could be made in any age!

[Aubrey Dew · Rating 5 out of 5]

Review!!

“Crisis of Confidence” by Carl R. Trueman

I was so excited to read this one because I read Trueman’s “Strange New World” and “The Rise and Triumph of the Modern Self” last year. I like Trueman’s writing style and I have gained much wisdom from his thoughtful and informative words.

The modern church has an immense issue with completely shoving church history to the side while bringing creeds, confessions, and catechisms along with it. Trueman focuses on the glaring statement made by many well-meaning evangelicals who say “no creed but the Bible” yet cannot accurately summarize the Bible and the work of Christ without a creed. Trueman writes about passages in Scripture that are creedal (Phil. 2:5-11, I Peter 3:18-21), the early church and its councils, and some of the classical protestant confessions that many churches hold to today.

I thought that why Luther retained some of the language of Rome in his catechism was interesting as well as what Trueman mentioned about why so many evangelicals are converting to Roman Catholicism due to the lack of strong confessionalism and liturgy in churches today.

Such a great book with many layers that I could and would love to discuss. Has anyone else read this and please let me know !!!!!

“It is not that people who believed in Christ’s subordination in the second century could not therefore have been saved– we are, after all, saved despite some of the things that we believe…”

“Each of the above points is grounded in the apostle Paul’s concern for the health of the church through her careful stewardship of God’s truth, the handing of that down from generation to generation, and the constant rejoicing in the same which is meant to characterize the Christian life both at a corporate level and for the individual.”

[Brenden Wentworth · Rating 5 out of 5]

A highly enjoyable and convincing book!

A revised and updated version of his credal Imperative, Truman makes a airtight case for why creeds and confessions of faith matter so much for the church at large in the Christian life.
The way he handles it is great to see as well:

- Adhering to and subscribing to creeds and confessions is very countercultural to our age of expressive individualism that hates any sort of authority or corporate identity
- he both explains the meaning of and gives historical background to a key early church ecumenical Creeds like Nicaea and Chalcedon
- Like the creeds, he gives explanation and background to key Confessions of faith coming out of the protestant reformation

Probably my two favorite chapters that he does at the end though:

- He explains how and why both Creeds and confessions should and can be utilized both in daily Christian living as well as the weekly liturgy/worship service. You’d be hard-pressed to find a compelling argument against using them on Sunday, after reading his
- he explains the parameters on the usefulness of Creeds & confessions regarding church membership and matters of ecclesiology in general, plus why they matter for a Christian’s personal identity. Fascinating to consider.

Overall, a phenomenal book that I think every Christian should read the 21st-century, especially if your natural tendency is to say, “no creed but the Bible!” Or “no creed but Christ!”….. Trueman shows why that statement is more problematic than you think despite the best intentions

[Andrew · Rating 4 out of 5]

Carl R. Trueman has produced a matured version of his 2012 book The Creedal Imperative. Much has transpired in the decade that followed. Trueman was sensitive to this, and he states, "The creedal imperative is greater today than it was ten years ago because the God to which the creeds and confessions point remains the same even in these times of change and flux, and we need perhaps more than ever to be remined of that fact and its implications. " At the heart of the book Trueman sees expressive individualism (the idea that we are defined by
our inner feelings, that our relationships with others place no natural or necessary obligations upon us, and that we can pick and choose them as they serve our emotional needs) as what Christians need to realize as the zeitgeist of Western Culture. Particularly in chapter 5 entitled Confession as Praise, we find a good summation and what Trueman's antidote is: A common confession in a creed is good: it makes the point that my faith is the faith of the other people in the church—both today and throughout the ages. Creeds teach me who I am—one of a vast multitude redeemed by Jesus Christ; and reciting them corporately enacts that reality Sunday by Sunday. This book is recommended as it is more difficult to engage our Christianity in a holy huddle and we need unity to navigate as one Church Body.

[Matthew Bloomquist · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is an essential read for all church members, especially Elders and Pastors. Christians must faithfully exegete both the Word and the Culture. Trueman excels in bringing the two together. The modern mind of expressive individualism has invaded the Church leading to a rejection of external authorities, namely the creeds and confessions. Could it be that the honorable sounding sentiment “No creed but the Bible” is ironically unbiblical? Every church (and Christian) has a creed or a confession, just as every church has a liturgical order, regardless of whether it is formally written down. The difference between the ancient-time tested creeds of the Church and the individualistic creed of the biblicist is a matter of public scrutiny. Creeds and confessions preserve the Faith handed down to the Saints through “patterns of sound words”, guarding the apostolic teaching. Not only do they preserve the Faith, but they promote Worship. Creeds are both theological and doxological in nature and ought to be used pedagogically in the church.