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Rooted: the Apostles Creed
In a day when many things divide us, what unites us?
Christians have, for centuries, found unity and solidarity through the confession of faith found in the Apostles’ Creed. Many learned it as children, while others only became familiar with it later in life; some can recite it by memory, some in song, but all using the same essential words.
Yet, familiar though it is, do we understand its meaning? When we profess, Sunday by Sunday, these historic words, do we have a full grasp of what it is we are professing?
In Rooted: the Apostles’ Creed, Dr. Raymond Cannata and Rev. Joshua Reitano teach us and refresh us in our understanding of what these important truths mean. Taking a little bit at a time, this book will guide you through a comprehensive understanding of the principles contained in the beloved Creed.
Christians have, for centuries, found unity and solidarity through the confession of faith found in the Apostles’ Creed. Many learned it as children, while others only became familiar with it later in life; some can recite it by memory, some in song, but all using the same essential words.
Yet, familiar though it is, do we understand its meaning? When we profess, Sunday by Sunday, these historic words, do we have a full grasp of what it is we are professing?
In Rooted: the Apostles’ Creed, Dr. Raymond Cannata and Rev. Joshua Reitano teach us and refresh us in our understanding of what these important truths mean. Taking a little bit at a time, this book will guide you through a comprehensive understanding of the principles contained in the beloved Creed.
- GenresTheology
160 pages, Paperback
First published October 15, 2013
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Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews
October 22, 2013
“Rooted”, by Raymond F. Cannata and Joshua D. Reitano is, to begin with, a great idea for a book. Going through the Apostle’s Creed, line by line, with a hope of reminding Christians of the basics of their faith, the great and glorious truths we all hold to, the beliefs we have in common, the grace and love of God that has saved us all? A great idea for a book. I was excited just hearing about it.
And as for execution? With a very few exceptions, I think they nailed it.
Let me share with you a passage I loved – a passage that’s really the heart of the book, in my opinion. And it’s why I liked the book so much: there is something heartening, strengthening, worldview-correcting about being taken back through the basics of your own faith by such clear, compassionate teachers. I read so much every day about the world, on news sites, on blogs, on Facebook. I need my vision corrected; I need to be reminded of what is really real, really solid, really foundational. And this book does so, winsomely and intelligently. Here’s the passage that sums it up:
"That is how you get into the world to come — by being thirsty, by asking God for something you cannot pay for. This is the gospel. If you get nothing else from this book, you must learn this. Salvation comes not by being moral, or right, or pure. In fact, the Bible says none of these things are true of any of us anyway. Rather, we get in on the life everlasting by recognizing we’re not moral, we’re not right, we’re not pure. We get in to the Kingdom of heaven because we are thirsty: for forgiveness, for mercy, for God’s grace. We get in by recognizing that we are in need of a Savior. And by placing our faith in Jesus Christ, we drink the 'spring of water of life without payment.'"
Isn’t that beautiful? I could stand to be reminded of that every day, every hour.
There are other real bright points, too. I loved the chapter on judgment. I loved their description of how Americans might suffer for Christ; it’s one of the more realistic depictions I’ve ever seen, which was refreshing. I loved the spots of humor, like this one:
"But there are dangers on the other side, too. Many Christians (and churches) rarely mention the Holy Spirit. There’s an old joke about the Trinity deciding on vacation plans for Spring Break. The Father decides he’d like to go the mountains, since they reflect his majesty and power. The Son desires to go back to his old stomping grounds in Palestine. The Spirit decides to go to a Presbyterian church, because he wanted to go someplace he’d never been before. We tease (as Presbyterian pastors ourselves), but the point is, there are Christians of all denominations who simply don’t know what to do with the doctrine of the Holy Spirit. We know he is in the Bible, and we say we believe in him, but we have no real framework for how he works in our life. And so our functional trinity — the trinity in which we actually believe — is the Father, Son, and the Holy Bible."
In keeping with that funny bit of self-deprecation, the authors seem to have a good handle on how to regard Christians who differ from them (a necessity for writing this particular book):
"This is one reason why the Apostles’ Creed is so important. It outlines for us the core doctrines of Christianity. Those who fall inside it can still have differences and even fight from time to time, but they can fight like brothers.
"My three brothers and I(Josh) fought a lot growing up. But the way I fought with my brothers is completely different than the way I’d fight with someone breaking into my house. We all need to understand the difference."
I think that’s right on. And in that spirit (I hope!), I come to the (few) parts of the book where I had disagreements.
Particularly, I took issue with the way they skipped a bit over “the communion of the saints”. Even though I’m Protestant enough that I don’t believe in prayer to the saints, and even though I loved their chapter on the forgiveness of sins, which includes a great treatment of how to approach the communion table, I don’t think that’s exactly what “the communion of the saints” means in the Creed. A more traditional understanding, I think, includes how we are bound together, in Christ, with those who have gone before us. I don’t expect a Roman Catholic or Orthodox or even Anglican view of this from the authors, but I wish they had at least addressed the difference between their interpretation of “the communion of the saints” and the interpretation of other churches.
I also took issue (along similar lines) with their interpretation of “descended to the dead” – what about “preaching to the spirits in prison”? Anyway, theirs was a fair argument, I just disagreed. Finally, their mention of depression in the chapter “crucified, died, buried” seemed a bit off to me – I’m not sure mental illness should be lightly brought up, as if correct theology can cure it.
But these are the sort of disagreements that I have the feeling these authors would welcome – disagreements within the family, as they say. As a whole, I found this book so encouraging. These men clearly have a gift for putting the hope and splendor of the gospel into words, and I’m grateful they put those words into a book, so that I could read them. Recommended.
This book was a review copy sent by the publisher — common practice in the industry. No payment was accepted in exchange for a review or mention, and the reviewer was in no way obligated to review the book favorably.
And as for execution? With a very few exceptions, I think they nailed it.
Let me share with you a passage I loved – a passage that’s really the heart of the book, in my opinion. And it’s why I liked the book so much: there is something heartening, strengthening, worldview-correcting about being taken back through the basics of your own faith by such clear, compassionate teachers. I read so much every day about the world, on news sites, on blogs, on Facebook. I need my vision corrected; I need to be reminded of what is really real, really solid, really foundational. And this book does so, winsomely and intelligently. Here’s the passage that sums it up:
"That is how you get into the world to come — by being thirsty, by asking God for something you cannot pay for. This is the gospel. If you get nothing else from this book, you must learn this. Salvation comes not by being moral, or right, or pure. In fact, the Bible says none of these things are true of any of us anyway. Rather, we get in on the life everlasting by recognizing we’re not moral, we’re not right, we’re not pure. We get in to the Kingdom of heaven because we are thirsty: for forgiveness, for mercy, for God’s grace. We get in by recognizing that we are in need of a Savior. And by placing our faith in Jesus Christ, we drink the 'spring of water of life without payment.'"
Isn’t that beautiful? I could stand to be reminded of that every day, every hour.
There are other real bright points, too. I loved the chapter on judgment. I loved their description of how Americans might suffer for Christ; it’s one of the more realistic depictions I’ve ever seen, which was refreshing. I loved the spots of humor, like this one:
"But there are dangers on the other side, too. Many Christians (and churches) rarely mention the Holy Spirit. There’s an old joke about the Trinity deciding on vacation plans for Spring Break. The Father decides he’d like to go the mountains, since they reflect his majesty and power. The Son desires to go back to his old stomping grounds in Palestine. The Spirit decides to go to a Presbyterian church, because he wanted to go someplace he’d never been before. We tease (as Presbyterian pastors ourselves), but the point is, there are Christians of all denominations who simply don’t know what to do with the doctrine of the Holy Spirit. We know he is in the Bible, and we say we believe in him, but we have no real framework for how he works in our life. And so our functional trinity — the trinity in which we actually believe — is the Father, Son, and the Holy Bible."
In keeping with that funny bit of self-deprecation, the authors seem to have a good handle on how to regard Christians who differ from them (a necessity for writing this particular book):
"This is one reason why the Apostles’ Creed is so important. It outlines for us the core doctrines of Christianity. Those who fall inside it can still have differences and even fight from time to time, but they can fight like brothers.
"My three brothers and I(Josh) fought a lot growing up. But the way I fought with my brothers is completely different than the way I’d fight with someone breaking into my house. We all need to understand the difference."
I think that’s right on. And in that spirit (I hope!), I come to the (few) parts of the book where I had disagreements.
Particularly, I took issue with the way they skipped a bit over “the communion of the saints”. Even though I’m Protestant enough that I don’t believe in prayer to the saints, and even though I loved their chapter on the forgiveness of sins, which includes a great treatment of how to approach the communion table, I don’t think that’s exactly what “the communion of the saints” means in the Creed. A more traditional understanding, I think, includes how we are bound together, in Christ, with those who have gone before us. I don’t expect a Roman Catholic or Orthodox or even Anglican view of this from the authors, but I wish they had at least addressed the difference between their interpretation of “the communion of the saints” and the interpretation of other churches.
I also took issue (along similar lines) with their interpretation of “descended to the dead” – what about “preaching to the spirits in prison”? Anyway, theirs was a fair argument, I just disagreed. Finally, their mention of depression in the chapter “crucified, died, buried” seemed a bit off to me – I’m not sure mental illness should be lightly brought up, as if correct theology can cure it.
But these are the sort of disagreements that I have the feeling these authors would welcome – disagreements within the family, as they say. As a whole, I found this book so encouraging. These men clearly have a gift for putting the hope and splendor of the gospel into words, and I’m grateful they put those words into a book, so that I could read them. Recommended.
This book was a review copy sent by the publisher — common practice in the industry. No payment was accepted in exchange for a review or mention, and the reviewer was in no way obligated to review the book favorably.
December 10, 2013
I'm just as tired as the next guy of superlative-laced reviews. But this book really is terrific.
For those of us raised in the church, the Apostle's Creed can wash over us and seem almost inconsequential because of its age and brevity. We know the words, we can say them from memory, and yet for some of us the Creed becomes a practice in proper pronunciation (is it 'burried' or 'bearied'?).
And for those who are unfamiliar with the Creed, its a dense and strange document with no apparent relevance because it says nothing about, "me". At first read, some might wonder why it has outlasted the language of its original composition... and descended into 'hell'?! Does anyone actually believe this stuff anymore?
The authors clearly and winsomely answer those questions (except for the one about pronunciation...) and many others in their easily digestible book. In 13 chapters, they systematically work through the Creed by countering contemporary objections, rooting their exposition in scripture, and leading the reader to consider the most important questions they will answer as a human.
I highly recommend Rooted.
For those of us raised in the church, the Apostle's Creed can wash over us and seem almost inconsequential because of its age and brevity. We know the words, we can say them from memory, and yet for some of us the Creed becomes a practice in proper pronunciation (is it 'burried' or 'bearied'?).
And for those who are unfamiliar with the Creed, its a dense and strange document with no apparent relevance because it says nothing about, "me". At first read, some might wonder why it has outlasted the language of its original composition... and descended into 'hell'?! Does anyone actually believe this stuff anymore?
The authors clearly and winsomely answer those questions (except for the one about pronunciation...) and many others in their easily digestible book. In 13 chapters, they systematically work through the Creed by countering contemporary objections, rooting their exposition in scripture, and leading the reader to consider the most important questions they will answer as a human.
I highly recommend Rooted.
January 9, 2014
Very solid and helpful guide through the Creed, based on sermons that these two pastors preached at their respective churches. May be my preferred guide through the creed now (excepting the Heidelberg Catechism) because it's focused, yet thorough.
June 26, 2017
The authors tend to focus more on what they specifically think rather than exploring other perspectives or origins. That's not a criticism but my impression. It's an easy read, with strong scripitual references. In some paragraphs the trees hide the forest, while in others you see no trees.
One example - in the chapter regarding the line "he descended into hell" the authors dismiss any interpretation of the phrase which suggests Christ experienced hell on the cross. They argue the creed is a chronological listing of events. He was crucified, then he died, then he was buried, then he descended into hell, then he rose again, then .......
But in the opening of the book, the translation of the creed presented predominately is not written in a sequential order (as the creed is in the PCUSA Book of Confessions). The authors' version is that Christ:
....suffered under Pontius Pilate,
was crucified, died, and was buried;
he descended into hell.
On the third day he rose again;
he ascended into heaven, ....
In that translation, with that punctuation, the phrase "he descended into hell" ends with a period, thus arguably summarizing the series prior to it ("Taken to Disney World by mom, rode rides, saw shows and stayed overnight; she had a lot of fun.")
Pointing that out sounds picky and argumentative, but no more so than any interpretation of what is meant by those four controversial words. The authors, either by design or happenstance, in this one instance ignored their own translation. That colored my reading of later chapters.
One example - in the chapter regarding the line "he descended into hell" the authors dismiss any interpretation of the phrase which suggests Christ experienced hell on the cross. They argue the creed is a chronological listing of events. He was crucified, then he died, then he was buried, then he descended into hell, then he rose again, then .......
But in the opening of the book, the translation of the creed presented predominately is not written in a sequential order (as the creed is in the PCUSA Book of Confessions). The authors' version is that Christ:
....suffered under Pontius Pilate,
was crucified, died, and was buried;
he descended into hell.
On the third day he rose again;
he ascended into heaven, ....
In that translation, with that punctuation, the phrase "he descended into hell" ends with a period, thus arguably summarizing the series prior to it ("Taken to Disney World by mom, rode rides, saw shows and stayed overnight; she had a lot of fun.")
Pointing that out sounds picky and argumentative, but no more so than any interpretation of what is meant by those four controversial words. The authors, either by design or happenstance, in this one instance ignored their own translation. That colored my reading of later chapters.
March 7, 2025
For full transparency, I was given the first edition, and honestly, I stopped reading it because I was triggered by their quoting Mark Driscoll. However, when I came across the second edition, I flipped to the part where they quoted him, and I noticed they had kept the quotes but referred to him only as “a source,” giving him credit in their footnotes. I can respect this decision to an extent, but it did spark enough curiosity for me to finish the book. And I’m glad I did!
I especially enjoyed Chapter 8, along with the last four chapters.
This is a great resource for explaining the Apostles’ Creed, helping it move beyond mere words to something that can be understood and believed.
I especially enjoyed Chapter 8, along with the last four chapters.
This is a great resource for explaining the Apostles’ Creed, helping it move beyond mere words to something that can be understood and believed.
April 3, 2015
A very practical overview of the Apostles Creed. The content was well-organized and insightful, and the discussion questions were useful for our book group. I really liked it!
September 3, 2017
I read this book alongside two other works on the Creed by Alister McGrath and Michael Bird, and "Rooted" went blow for blow with Bird's, "What Christians Ought to Believe."
While I would probably lean toward Bird as my first recommendation for personal reading, Rooted would be on the top of the list if you are going to be reading/discussing the Creed with others.
Canatta and Reitano did a commendable job trying to take the Creed from the realm of mere intellectual assent of selected propositions to a life lived out of the realities of what we believe and even more Who we believe in.
While the writing style/approach was a bit "soft," I'm sure the intention was to be pastoral in delivering the content to a younger, softer generation.
Hopefully after reading this book, they will indeed be Rooted and prepared to grow up in the faith that once for all delivered to the saints.
Good work for non-believers or young believers. If you're wanting something a little more solid, I would go with Bird's work, but both are great resources on the essentials of the Christian faith.
While I would probably lean toward Bird as my first recommendation for personal reading, Rooted would be on the top of the list if you are going to be reading/discussing the Creed with others.
Canatta and Reitano did a commendable job trying to take the Creed from the realm of mere intellectual assent of selected propositions to a life lived out of the realities of what we believe and even more Who we believe in.
While the writing style/approach was a bit "soft," I'm sure the intention was to be pastoral in delivering the content to a younger, softer generation.
Hopefully after reading this book, they will indeed be Rooted and prepared to grow up in the faith that once for all delivered to the saints.
Good work for non-believers or young believers. If you're wanting something a little more solid, I would go with Bird's work, but both are great resources on the essentials of the Christian faith.
March 3, 2018
Very good. I liked this review of the Apostles Creed. I found it was biblically sound and referenced. It is tailored for a Protestant audience but thankfully not overtly Evangelical like so many boosk I've read lately. I found it was balanced and thoughtful in approach. I will reference this in developing the materials for a discipleship class I am creating.
August 8, 2017
Informative and enlightening.
I enjoyed this book. Well written and informative. The reading felt conversational and easy. Also, it helped me understand the Apostle's Creed in ways I never had.
I enjoyed this book. Well written and informative. The reading felt conversational and easy. Also, it helped me understand the Apostle's Creed in ways I never had.
July 17, 2019
Excellent. Highly recommend this book!
September 5, 2015
Worth the Read
Some profound insight into the Apostles' Creed. The authors made this very accessible with a good selections of quotes and good illustrations. I read this as a part of my preparation for a sermon series on the Creed and found it a great resource.
Some profound insight into the Apostles' Creed. The authors made this very accessible with a good selections of quotes and good illustrations. I read this as a part of my preparation for a sermon series on the Creed and found it a great resource.
Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews