Do You Believe? The Basic Christian Creeds

by Stephen K. Ray, R. Dennis Walters

We've all been taught some basic guidelines for living a good "Tell the truth." "Share." "Be on time." In much the same way, Christianity has its own set of guidelines. These lists of core truths that Christians believe and live by are known as creeds. In "Do You Believe?," you'll learn the history of the creeds — the reasons behind them and the way the predominant ones developed. You'll also find out the answers to such questions • What is a creed, and why do we have one? • Where did creeds come from? • What "shape" do creeds have? • What do the creeds say about the Father, the Son, the Holy Spirit, the Church, and judgment? • What are three reasons that the creeds are useful to Christians? • Are the creeds biblical? • What two main purposes does the Nicene Creed serve? • What heresies do the creeds confront and answer? • What are the considerations that went into the development of the various creeds? • Why do we use "Father" and "He" when speaking about God? This booklet also includes the full texts of the Apostles' Creed, the Nicene Creed, and the Athanasian Creed.

36 pages, Paperback

Published February 1, 2006

About the author

Stephen K. Ray was raised in a devout, loving Baptist family. His father was a deacon and Bible teacher and Stephen was very involved in the Baptist Church as a teacher of Biblical studies and lectured on a wide range of topics. Steve and his wife Janet entered the Catholic Church in 1994.

In addition to running a family business, Steve spends time researching, writing, and teaching about the Catholic Faith. He is the author of Crossing the Tiber: Evangelical Protestants Discover the Historical Church, Upon This Rock: St. Peter and the Primacy of Rome in Scripture and the Early Church, and St. John's Gospel: A Bible Study and Commentary.

He is currently producing a 10-video series for Ignatius Press called The Footprints of God: The Story of Salvation From Abraham to Augustine, filmed on location in the Holy Land.