The Story of Creeds and Confessions: Tracing the Development of the Christian Faith

by Donald Fairbairn, Ryan M. Reeves

Overview

Creeds and confessions throughout Christian history provide a unique vantage point from which to study the Christian faith. To this end, Donald Fairbairn and Ryan Reeves construct a story that captures both the central importance of creeds and confessions over the centuries and their unrealized potential to introduce readers to the overall sweep of church history. The book features texts of classic creeds and confessions as well as informational sidebars.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780801098161
Publisher:	Baker Publishing Group
Publication date:	10/01/2019
Pages:	416
Product dimensions:	5.90(w) x 8.90(h) x 1.10(d)

About the Author

Donald Fairbairn (PhD, University of Cambridge) is the Robert E. Cooley Professor of Early Christianity at the Charlotte, North Carolina, campus of Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary.

Ryan M. Reeves (PhD, University of Cambridge) has taught at Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary, Reformed Theological Seminary, Orlando, and the University of Cambridge.

Table of Contents

Contents

1. Beginning the Story
Part 1: The Era of the Creeds (100-500)
2. The Creedal Impulse in Scripture and the Early Church
3. A Christian Empire and Creedal Standardization
4. The Nicene Creed: A Creed for the Entire Church
5. The Chalcedonian Definition: Explaining the Nicene Creed
6. The Apostles' Creed: A Regional Creed with Traditional Authority
7. The Athanasian Creed: A Creedal Anomaly with Staying Power
Part 2: Exploring Creedal Theology (500-900)
8. Clarifying Chalcedon in the East
9. The West Charts Its Own Theological Course
10. Creedal Dissension and the East-West Schism
Part 3: From Creeds to Confessions in the West (900-1500)
11. Setting the Stage for Medieval Developments
12. Catholic Confessions in the High Middle Ages
Part 4: The Reformation and Confessionalism (1500-1650)
13. The Crisis of the Reformation
14. Early Protestant Confessions
15. New Generations of Protestant Confessions
16. Catholic and Orthodox Responses to Protestant Confessions
17. Protestant Confessions in the Late Reformation
Part 5: Confessions in the Modern World (1650-Present)
18. The New Grammar of Modern Confessions
Conclusion
Index