The Apostles' Creed for Today

by Justo L. González

This volume in the popular For Today series, written by the highly respected theologian and author Justo Gonzalez, explains the familiar Apostles' Creed in easy, accessible language. Gonzalez explores not only what the Creed meant in the early centuries but also its ongoing importance and relevance for Christian faith and practice today.

The For Today series was designed to provide reliable and accessible resources for the study and real life application of important biblical texts, theological documents, and Christian practices. The emphasis of the series is not only on the realization and appreciation of what these subjects have meant in the past, but also on their value in the present--"for today." Thought-provoking questions are included at the end of each chapter, making the books ideal for personal study and group use."

Genres: Theology, Christian, Christianity, Religion, Nonfiction

112 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 2007

About the author

Justo L. González, author of the highly praised three-volume History of Christian Thought and other major works, attended United Seminary in Cuba, received his MA at Yale, and was the youngest person to be awarded a PhD in historical theology at Yale. He is one of the few first generation Latino theologians to come from a Protestant background. He helped to found the Association for Hispanic Theological Education and the Hispanic Theological Initiative. Dr González is now on the faculty of the Interdenominational Theological Center in Atlanta.

Reviews

[Rob Sumrall · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is written by the venerable Justo Gonzalez, author of the influential and classic church history volumes. If only this small volume was as good as those two....

I find that Gonzalez at points misses the entire depth and meaning of certain sections of the Creed. At other times, he barely veils his moderate (liberal?) viewpoints. For example, he prefers to avoid the issue of the virgin birth (8), he affirms the motherhood of God (12, 16), argues for evolution (24), and mythologizes Genesis 1-2 (25). Despite these (fatal) flaws, there are redeeming qualities. He argues clearly for a biblical understanding of Lordship, deals effectively with catholicity, and avoids the pitfalls of a christian hope that denies the material world.

But there are better books if you are looking to understand the Apostles' Creed. Consider Albert Mohler's book.

[Chris Whitehead · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a great book to use as a guide for new believers in establishing the "basics of our faith." Growing up in a Baptist church we "learned" about many of these things but in a pretty unorganized and random way. This book allows for a guided approach for both individuals as well as small groups. I used it to lead a Wednesday night study at church. I know that there are many good "discipleship" resources out there, but the reality is that the Creed was one of the earliest "catechisms" that the Church had. We took 9 months to go through this as I spent more than one week on some topics, but to think that the Early Church took 3 years to go through all this with new disciples....
Good history with good modern application and questions.

[Kristen Stieffel · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a great book on a complex subject. It breaks the creed down phrase by phrase and shows how each part reinforces an aspect of our faith. González also shows how the creed was designed to counter some of the heresies faced by the early church.

The "questions for discussion" at the end of each chapter are a little shallow sometimes, but that's typical. The writing is occasionally a little stodgy and academic, but for the most part the author maintains a conversational tone. I appreciate that the author hasn't tried to pad the book out with a lot of extraneous material; it's as long as it needs to be to cover the subject. The author also provides a good "further reading" list.

My students have enjoyed studying this; it offers a new look at something we say so often it runs the risk of becoming rote. This study guide helps give the words deeper meaning.

[Glen · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is an excellent work that succinctly explains the historical background to the Apostle's Creed. Taking each line and providing the theological underpinnings, I found myself inspired anew by the creed. Each of the thirteen chapters are compact ending with three well framed questions for the reader to ponder.

I recommend this for anyone wanting to expand their understanding of historical theology.

[Bret Walker · Rating 5 out of 5]

An excellent analysis of the apostles' creed, it's origins, history, and meaning for us today. A must-read for anyone who recites the creed weekly in Sunday services, or who wants a deeper understanding of our beliefs.

[Matt · Rating 4 out of 5]

I found this book helpful and insightful. Even though the chapters are short (5 pages or less), I still learned something about the Apostles' Creed in most of them. Given the length of the book, the reflections were about as insightful and helpful as they could have been.

As in Justo González's other works, his knowledge of church history and doctrine enlighten his subject matter. He writes as a historian, but also one concerned for the life of the church. Those two elements work together well in this book, as in his other books.

[Gino · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is an easy to read and extremely practical look at the Apostles’ Creed. Gonzalez is weaves historical implication into the study with such ease and value. Each paragraph is full of wisdom and simple to understand.

An additional added value is his perspective on theological implications from the perspective of a Hispanic man. Reading from perspectives other than the dominant culture is a necessity for me. Thankful for this book. I highly recommend it!

[Joshua · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very brief introduction from an historic Protestant perspective. The book would press non-historic “evangelicals” to consider some of the doctrines they otherwise might be ignorant of or mistaken about. Knowledgeable Roman Catholics and Eastern Orthodox will find plenty to agree with but also some places where the author stakes a clearly Protestant position.

[Lilly Pittman · Rating 2 out of 5]

A short and easy read. The introduction and first chapter of this book provide some really helpful historical information regarding the Apostles' Creed and I highly recommend those 10 pages, but the rest of the book I found to be pretty surface level. I wanted something deeper and more engaging.

[JR. Forasteros · Rating 4 out of 5]

An excellent concise summary of the Apostle's Creed

[Laura Fissel · Rating 5 out of 5]

Concise yet rich, accessible yet ponderous, practical yet beautiful. Very helpful context for understanding this widely affirmed declaration of belief.

[Brian Pannell · Rating 4 out of 5]

Second read. Man it has s much insight for such a small simple read.

[Drew Dixon · Rating 5 out of 5]

Brief, informative, historically rooted reflections on each line of the Apostles' Creed. Includes discussion questions after each chapter.

[Sarah Attalla]

3 dollars

[Lisa · Rating 3 out of 5]

Clear explanations and historical background.

[Chris Miller · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a very delightful and easy to read book briefly outlining the history of the Apostles' Creed and explaining line by line what the creed meant in its original historical context and what it means for Christians today. On a secondary level, the book has a very devotional flavor to it and was surprisingly more than just a history and exegetical lesson on the Apostles' Creed. O that churches and believers would recite the Apostles' Creed and/or the Nicene Creed daily so as to demonstrated the vast unity that millions and millions of Christians (including hundreds of denominations, Orthodox, Catholic, and Protestant alike) have in Christ Jesus.

[Kristen · Rating 2 out of 5]

After reading Augustine and Barth on the Apostle's Creed, this was quite unsatisfying. Though the historical evolution of the creed is well integrated, it's too brief and not deep enough as a whole for me to recommend to other readers.

[nate]

Read this for a sermon series I taught on the Apostles' Creed in fall 207. I enjoyed Gonzalez's writing style and historical, non-North American approach to this ancient text.

[Victoria]

Had to read this for my Religion course