September 1st, 2024
by Stephen Fanning
by Stephen Fanning
Crisis of Confidence: Reclaiming the Historic Faith in a Culture Consumed with Individualism and Identity by Carl R. Trueman
We live in a world with a historical snobbery—that is, our society looks with disdain or superiority on previous generations (especially from hundreds or thousands of years ago). The Christian faith, on the other hand, is deeply and irreversibly rooted in history. The truths we hold most precious and foundational today are the same truths that were laid down for us 2,000 years ago in the teachings of Christ and His Apostles. Far from abandoning the Bible as “outdated” or “irrelevant”, we believe God’s Word is true across all times and for all people.
There is a trend in some segments of the church that hold an anti-credal belief ‘system’. The phrase “no creed but the Bible” or “no doctrine, just Jesus” have been thrown around, and on the surface they seem to hold to the Reformation principal of Sola Scriptura, or Scripture alone. While we do believe that it is Scripture alone that is the rule for faith and practice for every believer, that doesn’t mean that creeds or confessions are not helpful or useful for the church. Trueman does a masterful job of showing how Scripture is filled with creedal statements and that the Apostle Paul in particular expected Timothy and other church leaders to maintain and pass on right doctrine and oppose false doctrine.
With this in mind, the author surveys the creeds and assorted confessions from church history, emphasizing that these doctrinal statements have great usefulness to modern believers, especially in light of a rapidly shifting and devolving culture like ours. I personally found the book to be a thought provoking check against my own tendency to independence, and as a result of reading this book, I’ve taken time to read through the 1689 London Baptist Confession of Faith (which I hold to myself), enjoying the rich theology so succinctly stated and Biblically rooted. I’d love to hear from you if you read this work and look forward to hearing your thoughts on the book!
FROM THE DUST JACKET COVER:
How the Creeds and Confessions of the Past Can Protect the Church Today
There is a trend in some segments of the church that hold an anti-credal belief ‘system’. The phrase “no creed but the Bible” or “no doctrine, just Jesus” have been thrown around, and on the surface they seem to hold to the Reformation principal of Sola Scriptura, or Scripture alone. While we do believe that it is Scripture alone that is the rule for faith and practice for every believer, that doesn’t mean that creeds or confessions are not helpful or useful for the church. Trueman does a masterful job of showing how Scripture is filled with creedal statements and that the Apostle Paul in particular expected Timothy and other church leaders to maintain and pass on right doctrine and oppose false doctrine.
With this in mind, the author surveys the creeds and assorted confessions from church history, emphasizing that these doctrinal statements have great usefulness to modern believers, especially in light of a rapidly shifting and devolving culture like ours. I personally found the book to be a thought provoking check against my own tendency to independence, and as a result of reading this book, I’ve taken time to read through the 1689 London Baptist Confession of Faith (which I hold to myself), enjoying the rich theology so succinctly stated and Biblically rooted. I’d love to hear from you if you read this work and look forward to hearing your thoughts on the book!
FROM THE DUST JACKET COVER:
How the Creeds and Confessions of the Past Can Protect the Church Today
Historic statements of faith—such as the Apostles’ Creed, the Heidelberg Catechism, and the Westminster Confession of Faith—have helped the Christian church articulate and adhere to God’s truth for centuries. However, many modern evangelicals reject these documents and the practices of catechesis, proclaiming “no creed but the Bible.” And yet, in today’s rapidly changing culture, ancient confessional tradition is not only biblical—it’s essential.
In this revised and expanded edition of his book The Credal Imperative, Carl Trueman analyzes how creeds and confessions help the Christian church navigate modern concerns, particularly around the fraught issue of individualism. Contending that statements of faith promote humility, moral structure, and a godly view of personhood, he helps believers maintain a strong foundation amid a culture in crisis.
Posted in Pastor’s Book Corner
Posted in Doctrine, History, Faith, Postmodernity, creeds, confessions
Posted in Doctrine, History, Faith, Postmodernity, creeds, confessions
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