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Nicaea for Today: Why an Ancient Creed (Still) Matters
The year 2025 marks the 1700th anniversary of the Council of Nicaea. While the historical and theological intricacies of Nicaea have been extensively analyzed within academic scholarship, its significance often remains underexplored within broader Christian understanding. The Nicene Creed stands as an early and pivotal ecumenical confession, marking key theological priorities that continue to resonate in the church’s understanding of divine mysteries.
In Nicaea for Why an Ancient Creed (Still) Matters, Coleman M. Ford and Shawn J. Wilhite draw on insights from leading Nicaea scholars to unpack the history and theology of this ancient creed in accessible language while demonstrating its powerful relevance for the modern church. The primary objective of this work is to facilitate intellectual engagement with Nicene theology among academic and pastoral readership and the creed’s enduring capacity to enrich spiritual life in the contemporary context.
In Nicaea for Why an Ancient Creed (Still) Matters, Coleman M. Ford and Shawn J. Wilhite draw on insights from leading Nicaea scholars to unpack the history and theology of this ancient creed in accessible language while demonstrating its powerful relevance for the modern church. The primary objective of this work is to facilitate intellectual engagement with Nicene theology among academic and pastoral readership and the creed’s enduring capacity to enrich spiritual life in the contemporary context.
- GenresChurch HistoryTheology
208 pages, Paperback
Published September 15, 2025
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Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews
March 11, 2026
4.25 - Read alongside the Veritas Elder Team
Nicea For Today is a clear and engaging introduction to the Council of Nicaea and why the Nicene Creed still matters for the church today. The authors make complex history and theology accessible without oversimplifying it, showing how this ancient confession continues to shape faithful Christian belief. Not exhaustive, but a very worthwhile and timely read for pastors and thoughtful lay readers alike. This book also makes good use of primary sources, which got my juices flowing to want to read more of the Church Fathers and other early works of Christian thought.
Nicea For Today is a clear and engaging introduction to the Council of Nicaea and why the Nicene Creed still matters for the church today. The authors make complex history and theology accessible without oversimplifying it, showing how this ancient confession continues to shape faithful Christian belief. Not exhaustive, but a very worthwhile and timely read for pastors and thoughtful lay readers alike. This book also makes good use of primary sources, which got my juices flowing to want to read more of the Church Fathers and other early works of Christian thought.
October 3, 2025
This book felt primarily like a (much needed) argument for the Nicene Creed to Southern Baptists after recent controversies, and so this book understandably doesn’t excel in exegetical/historical work in the creed—other volumes do that much better. However this book’s strength is its work on how the creed should function in the life of the church, and it offered great suggestions and historical evidence for different creedal practices in the context of baptism, the Lord’s Supper, and private worship.
February 22, 2026
“The creed is the church's reckoning of the biblical narrative and reflection on the incarnation, deployed in idiomatic phrases to aid memorization, recitation, and embodiment.”
“There is a right way and a wrong way to read the Bible. The Nicene Creed gives the church a time-tested, biblically faithful, theologically accurate guide for reading, interpreting, and spiritually benefiting from Scripture. Insofar as the church reads the Bible correctly and profitably, we do so in accordance with the Nicene Creed.”
This is a fantastic book that explains the historical and theological context of the Nicene Creed, some key themes in the Creed, as well as the use of the Creed in the contemporary church. This last section was particularly unique and very practical! Heavily influenced by the scholarship of Lewis Ayres on Nicea, the authors desire to perpetuate a pro-Nicene culture in the church that thinks nicenely when the church reads the Bible or thinks about the gospel message. According to the authors, the Creed is a theological guide to reading the Scriptures rightly, as well as a summary of the gospel message. The key theological ideas of the Creed are the Son’s eternal generation from the Father, as well as the Son being of the same being as the Father. The Creed is shaped by Christological and soteriological concerns, or, as the authors call it, a Christological soteriology. One area that I felt was lacking: the authors discuss the need for the philosophical reasoning and methods that shaped the theology of Nicea, but they don’t fully elaborate on these methods or presuppositions. Thus, the philosophical treatment of the Creed’s theology feels like it’s missing something.
“The Nicene Creed is not a cold and static statement but a biblically charged tool meant to fuel discipleship and worship. It provides doctrine to learn, statements to recite, phrases to sing, and content to preach. For pastors, it provides a stable framework for a ministry of teaching and preaching founded on God's word. For theologians, it gives the paradigm by which we articulate theological systems and propositions. For every Christian, the creed is the buttress to our commitment to Christ as Lord and the lens through which we read Scripture and articulate our faith. The creed should have a place in every Bible-believing church as a tool for worship and discipleship. The early church testifies that the creed is our precious resource for our edification and sanctification. It can never replace the Bible, but it should be used to understand the Word better.”
“There is a right way and a wrong way to read the Bible. The Nicene Creed gives the church a time-tested, biblically faithful, theologically accurate guide for reading, interpreting, and spiritually benefiting from Scripture. Insofar as the church reads the Bible correctly and profitably, we do so in accordance with the Nicene Creed.”
This is a fantastic book that explains the historical and theological context of the Nicene Creed, some key themes in the Creed, as well as the use of the Creed in the contemporary church. This last section was particularly unique and very practical! Heavily influenced by the scholarship of Lewis Ayres on Nicea, the authors desire to perpetuate a pro-Nicene culture in the church that thinks nicenely when the church reads the Bible or thinks about the gospel message. According to the authors, the Creed is a theological guide to reading the Scriptures rightly, as well as a summary of the gospel message. The key theological ideas of the Creed are the Son’s eternal generation from the Father, as well as the Son being of the same being as the Father. The Creed is shaped by Christological and soteriological concerns, or, as the authors call it, a Christological soteriology. One area that I felt was lacking: the authors discuss the need for the philosophical reasoning and methods that shaped the theology of Nicea, but they don’t fully elaborate on these methods or presuppositions. Thus, the philosophical treatment of the Creed’s theology feels like it’s missing something.
“The Nicene Creed is not a cold and static statement but a biblically charged tool meant to fuel discipleship and worship. It provides doctrine to learn, statements to recite, phrases to sing, and content to preach. For pastors, it provides a stable framework for a ministry of teaching and preaching founded on God's word. For theologians, it gives the paradigm by which we articulate theological systems and propositions. For every Christian, the creed is the buttress to our commitment to Christ as Lord and the lens through which we read Scripture and articulate our faith. The creed should have a place in every Bible-believing church as a tool for worship and discipleship. The early church testifies that the creed is our precious resource for our edification and sanctification. It can never replace the Bible, but it should be used to understand the Word better.”
September 11, 2025
Preface, I received a copy for review.
Overall, this was a good book! It will be especially helpful for those who are in what they refer to as the “free church” (Baptist, non-denom, etc.) who are interested in the creed but maybe are not yet convinced. I’m not sure some of the anti-credal folks would even pick up this book, but if they did it would be a good defense of the necessity of the Nicene creed!
In such a short book, Ford and Wilhite accomplish a decent amount. They explain the history behind the council, even getting into Constantine’s past. They walk through each article of the creed and its teaching on each Person of the Trinity as well as salvation. This part seems the most brief because there is so much to cover in such a short space.
The last section of the book is great. The authors look at some practical applications for the creed in everyday life, preaching, and teaching. This includes being used in various parts of the church service, as well as personal spiritual development and catechesis. The final chapter is over the benefit of the creed in reading scripture, specifically with the focus on partitive exegesis. On this point, it felt like the authors were not as clear as they could have been. The chapter seemed to jump around a bit, not going with a consistent train of thought. They offer a definition early on, but then go a different direction and talk about general trinitarian theology for a bit which felt out of place. All the information was good and helpful, it just felt like the ordering was slightly off.
I would highly recommend this book for anyone interested in the creed or who is wanting to learn how to communicate the importance of the creed to your church members!
Overall, this was a good book! It will be especially helpful for those who are in what they refer to as the “free church” (Baptist, non-denom, etc.) who are interested in the creed but maybe are not yet convinced. I’m not sure some of the anti-credal folks would even pick up this book, but if they did it would be a good defense of the necessity of the Nicene creed!
In such a short book, Ford and Wilhite accomplish a decent amount. They explain the history behind the council, even getting into Constantine’s past. They walk through each article of the creed and its teaching on each Person of the Trinity as well as salvation. This part seems the most brief because there is so much to cover in such a short space.
The last section of the book is great. The authors look at some practical applications for the creed in everyday life, preaching, and teaching. This includes being used in various parts of the church service, as well as personal spiritual development and catechesis. The final chapter is over the benefit of the creed in reading scripture, specifically with the focus on partitive exegesis. On this point, it felt like the authors were not as clear as they could have been. The chapter seemed to jump around a bit, not going with a consistent train of thought. They offer a definition early on, but then go a different direction and talk about general trinitarian theology for a bit which felt out of place. All the information was good and helpful, it just felt like the ordering was slightly off.
I would highly recommend this book for anyone interested in the creed or who is wanting to learn how to communicate the importance of the creed to your church members!
November 15, 2025
Ford & Wilhite take on the task of showing the importance and necessity of the Nicene Creed in the life of the Church today. They include much needed history, notably Athanasius and Gregory of Naziansus, which kept me on the edge of my seat. I highly recommend this boom.
October 31, 2025
I may be baptist but I like my doctrine to be Biblical and historically rich. We must not reject God's gift to the Church. Great book arguing for the importance of this creed, even for "no creed but the Bible" guys.
February 20, 2026
Amazing intro on Nicea, what it is, why it matters, and how it should affect our lives today! Highly recommend!
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews