We Believe: Creeds, Catechisms, and Confessions of Faith

by Ligonier Ministries

Christians in every generation must know what they believe. Only then can God’s people declare His truth with clarity and conviction in a confused world. Throughout the centuries, the church has written summaries of the Bible’s teaching for this reason. Creeds proclaim essential Christian truths, confessions outline the core doctrines of Scripture, and catechisms instruct believers in the knowledge of God. These are invaluable tools to keep us grounded in God’s Word so that we may “contend for the faith that was once for all delivered to the saints” (Jude 3). Collecting creeds, confessions, and catechisms from the early church to the post-Reformation era, this volume helps readers glean biblical wisdom from the past and guard it for future generations. This book contains twenty creeds, confessions, and catechisms spanning the history of the

Genres: Christian, Theology, Nonfiction

669 pages, Hardcover

Published August 31, 2023

Reviews

[Gage Smith · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really great and crazy thorough. I’m not on board for every confession involved but it had me thinking very critically and tracing history.

One regret is how quickly I had to read it for school work. It could take me months to digest but I only had days lol — I’ll return to it now as a reference.

[Adam Nesmith · Rating 5 out of 5]

Every Protestant should own a collection of the great historic Confessions and catechisms. This Ligonier collection is excellent options: the pages are thick, the type is readable, and it contains a broad sampling of the Protestant doctrinal documents. It is an ideal book for reference, but I highly recommend reading through it cover to cover at least once. Doing this is an education in systematic and historical theology in and of itself.

As a Presbyterian, I enjoyed greatly reading confessions beyond the Three Forms of Unity and the Westminster Standards. In particular, in enjoyed the Augsburg Confession, the Geneva Catechism, and the Second Helvetic Confession. Seeing how Protestants of similar convictions agreed and differed through two-hundred years or so of confessional development was enlightening and highlighted just how much doctrinal unity they did have.

This is a great book to own and a great gift for families. Equipped merely with the Bible and this volume, one could provide oneself and one’s family with a formidable theological eduction.

[Quentin Begley · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a must own and must read for any Christian. This is a single volume containing 20 historic Creeds and Confessions which amounts to nothing less than Protestantism summarized. If you want to know what protestants believe about God, the Bible, salvation, etc. don't look to John MacArthur or Billy Graham. First look here at these Creeds and Confessions with a Bible in hand and you will find vast treasures.

Westminster Confession and Catechisms are the stars of this volume.

[Daniel · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great collection and printing of many of the most important statements of doctrine throughout the history of the Church. It is important that the modern church remember the orthodoxy hammered out by Christians over thousands of years, so that we need not seek to reinvent Christianity every generation. I also appreciate the short introduction before each of the creeds/catechisms/confessions which give some historical context and significance for it.

[Dylan · Rating 4 out of 5]

DNF. I didn’t finish the book because it was bad, but more because it seems to be a reference book. It’s a pretty dry read, but I skipped around to different confessions and catechisms from history that I found interesting and read those. Each one begins with a short page or so of historical context, which helps to orient the reader and establish the significance of what they are about to read. These being written hundreds of years ago, the language can be dense and difficult compared to modern English and the writing we are used to. That would be my chief issue with this book. I wish each section had a “layman’s terms” interpretation for the simpletons like myself. That said, it’s a cool look into church history.

[Nathan Akers · Rating 5 out of 5]

Just a wonderful book to have in order to teach,lean, and train the truths of the Christian faith