Creed

A creed is an authorized statement or definition of religious beliefs. The name is usually limited in its application to the three formulas known as the Apostles', the Nioene (or Constanti- nopolitan), and the Athanasian. The history of these documents has been the subject of minute and elaborate investigation. The most convenient collection of the materials for study is to be found in Hahn's Biblioth. d. Symb. u. Glaubensreq. d. alt. Kirche', 1897.

The earliest traces of the Apostles' Creed are investigated in vol. i. pt. 2, of Gebhardt, Harnack, and Zahn's Patr. Apost. Op. , and Hamack, A nhang to Hahn (ed. 2) ; and the recent controversy as to its original meaning, and the source of certain clauses, is accessible in Harnack, Apost. Glaubens- bek., and Swete, Apostles' Creed.

As Swainson has observed, it is necessary to remark that until the tenth century the name 'apostles" or 'apostolic' was applied to the Nicene as well as to the Western symbol to which it is now appropriated ; both were regarded as embodying the apostolic teaching, and the epithet 'apostolic does not always entitle us to say that the Latin symbol is the one meant.

But the purpose of this article is not to enter in the origin and history of the creeds, but to indi- cate their biblical suggestions or anticipations. Pagan religion was a rite rather than a doctrine ; if the ceremonial were duly performed, tJie worshipfjcr was at liberty to interpret it, or leave it unexplained, as he pleased.

The myths which in a certain sense rationalize ritual do not amount to a doctrine ; there is nothing in them binding the reason or faith of the worshipper ; and pagan religion has no theology or creed. Neither 1«19 it a historical basis, which might be exUibif«l and CREED CREEPING THINGS 517 guarded by a sok-iiin recital of sacred facts. In both respects it is distiii^lshed from the relifrion of revelation.

This rests upon facts, which have to be perpetually made visible, and upon an inter- l)retatiiin of those facts, without which they lo.se their vahie and power as a basis for religion. This is true b^itli of ()T and NT sla<;es in revelation, but it is in the latter only that we can lie said to see the first approaches to the formation of a creed.

The Ten \Vords, with their demand for monolatry, if not their proclamation of monotheism, might be regarded as the ' symbol ' of the ancient religion : the Sliema — Hear, O Israel, J" our God is one J ' — in l)t (i' is the nearest approach to the enunciation of a doctrine. In NT there are various more distinct indications, sometimes of the existence, sometimes of the contents, of what would now be called a creed. The emphasis which Jesus lavs upiin faith in Him.

self makes Mini, naturally, tlie l>rincipal subject in these. The Cliristian creed is a confession of faith in Him ; there is nothing in it which is not a more or less immediate inference from what He is, or teaches, or does. The early confession of Nathanael (.In l'-), ' Kabbi, thou art the Son of tiod ; tlinu art the King of Israel,' is the germ of a creed.

There is probably more, thongh not everything, in Peter's confession at Caesarea I'hilippi (Mt 16''0, 'Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God.' The exclamation of Thoma.s in Jn 20'''» goes further still.

We may infer from such ])assagesas 1 Co 12 (' Jesus is Lord ') and Uo 10'- (' If thnushalt confess with thy mouth that Jesus is Lord, and believe in thy heart that God raised him from the dead '), that a confession of the exaltation of the crucilied Jesus was the earliest form of Christian creed. Cf. Ac 2"*. Some such confession seems to have been connected from the beginning with the administration of baptism.

This appears from the ancient interpolation in Ac 8'^' in wliich the eunuch is made, before his baptism, to say, ' I believe that Jesus ("lirist is the Son of God ' ; but still more from Mt 28''-'. The formula, ' into the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy .Spirit,' which is here prescribed for baptism, is undcmbtedly the outline on which both the We.

stern (Apostolic) and the Kastern (Nicene) symbols were moulded ; and candidates for baptism were at a very early date required to profess their faith, sometimes in the very words of those .symbols, .sometimes in forms virtually equivalent to them. (See 15 vi'TisM.) It ha.s indeed been pointed out that where baptism is mentioned historically in NT, it is ' into the name of the Lord Jesus' (Ac 8'" 19' etc.), not into the triune name of Mt 28" ; but the surprise of St.

Paul in Ac 10^ that any one could have been baptized without hearing of the Holy .Spirit, is fair evidence that the Holy Spirit teas mentioned whenever Christian baptism was dispensed (observe the force of oSi' in Ac 10'). Expansions of this trinitarian formula constituted what Iremeus calls ' the canon of the truth which one receives at baptism' (Iren. J/xr. 1. x. 1, and the note in Harvey's ed. vol. i. p. 87 f.) Such expansions, however, are hardly to be found in NT.

The brief summaries of Chri.stian fundamentals are usually of a ililTerenl character. Thus St. Paul mentions, as the elements of his go.spel in 1 Co lij^'' Chri.st's death for sins. His burial, and His resurrection. In 1 Ti ;i"' there is what is usually considered a liturgical fragment, defining at least for devotional purpo.ses the contents of 'tlie mystery of gndliness,' the open secret of the true religion. There the lir.st emphasis is laid on the Incarnation — He who wa.

s manifested in the fle.sli ; and the last on the Ascension— He who was received up in glory. As in the individual conlessions mentioned above, Christ is the subjeet throughout. It is difficidt to say whether the summaries of his gospel in which ' '■onirinht, 1S9S, hi, cliarlei Si-rilmer'n Srtm St.

Paul delights, sometimes objective as in Ro W; sometimes subjective a-s in 2 Th 2'''f-, Tit H*-'', in- fluenced the formulation of Christian truth for catechetical purposes, or were themselves due to the need for it ; but it is obvious that outlines of gospel teaching, such as the apostles delivered everywhere, must soon have been required and supplied.

Such an outline may be referred to in 2 Ti 1'** — vnoTviroiaiv exc vytaivdm-wv \6y(i}v — though it may well be the case that something is denoted much more copious than anything we call a creed : a catechist's manual, for instance, such as might contain the bulk of one of our gospels.

It is usual to assume that by TrapadrjKTj or irapaKarad-qHT) ( 1 'lii C-', 2 Ti 1''') is meant 'the faith once delivered to the saints,' in the sense of a creed or deposit of doctrine ; and though good scholars dispute this, and suppose the ref. to be to Timothy's vocation as a minister of the gospel, the a.ssumption is probably correct.

For in the first passage the rapadriKr) is opposed to • profane babblings and oppositions of knowledge falsely so called, which some professing have erred concerning the faith ' ; and in the second, it is evidently parallel to the ' form ' or ' outline of sound words.' There are several passages in which St. Paul uses the word K-f/pvy/xa to denote the con- tents of his gospel (Ko 16-'', Tit 1^ Krtpvyp.a 8 i-ma-TeiSrip ^t!

>) in a way which suggests that idea of the gospel which woidd naturally find embodi- ment in a creed. The tuttos SiSaxv^ of Ro 6'" is evidently wider than anything we mean by creed. There is one passage in NT (He 6'f) in wluch the elementary doctrines of the Christian religion are enunu'iated, partly from a subjective point of view (repentance and faiih), partly more object- ively (resurrection and judgment).

In one place the reality of the Incarnation is expressly asserted as the foundation of the Christian religion, and as a test of all 'spirits,' in a tone which had immense influence im early Christian dogma (1 Jn 4-''). The creeds of Christendom go back to these small be- ginning.s.

The tendency to produce them is plainly as old as the work of Christian preaching and teaching ; and their legitimate use, as all these NT passages suggest, is to exhibit and giuird the truth as it has been revealed in and by .Tesus.

If it be true that the dogma of Christianity is the Trinity, and that this is the central content of the creeds, it nuist be remembered that the trinitarian con- ception of God depends upon the revelation of the Father, and the gift of tlic Sjiirit, both of which are dependent on the knowledge of the Son. In other words, it is truth 'as truth is in Je.sus.' But on this view of the content of the creeds, we should have to refer for the Scripture basis of them to such pa.

ssages (besides those quoted above) as 1 Co 12-<>, 2 Co 13', Kph 2i», Jude ^-■", Jn 14-1(1. Apart from the authenticity of Mt 281", these are suflicient to show how instinctive is the combina- tion of Father, Son, and Spirit in the thought of NT writers, and how completely the problem is set in Christian experience to which the Church doctrine of the Trinity, as embodied in the Nicene- Constantinopolitan creed, is an answer. The his- torical, as oppo.

sed to theological, statements in the creeds claim to rest on direct Scripture authority. LiTKRATCKR. — Swtilnsolt. Apontotic nnd Xicfne Ci'ffda; Hciirllt-y, tltirinonitl Siimliotictt ; Ciisjiiiii, rnffftlrucA-le. etc. ; OHi-lleu e. fr'fH. it. y'liii/ftt/nitiolM u. if. (r/tiubenHreifet ', Luiiiby, //ist, of CrfetiH ; Ziilui. Apoat. Sijmb. (1st>*2) ; nnd tlic works of llalin, Harnack, and Swt'tu rt-ferrtMl to above, J. Dknsky. ••CREEPING THINGS.

— Much confusion is some- timis cccasiuned liy the fact that two distinct Ileb. terms are (frequently) represented by this expression in the l".V. (I) The term which is mo.st correctly so repre- sented is rimes (''^'?';), from ramas, to ylidc or cncp : 018 CREEPING THINGS CREMATION under this term 'creeping things' are mentioned (in 1-*- -^ (as created, together with ' cattle,' and 'beasts of the earth' [i.e.

speaking generally, herbivora and carnivora], on the sixth day) ; 1-'' (as given into the dominion of man, together with the • tish of the sea,' the 'fowl of the air,' the 'cattle and all beasts [Pesh.] of the earth'); C>'-^ 7"-^ yiT.

19 ^as spared, usually together with ' cattle ' and ' fowl,' on occasion of the Flood) ; in other allusions to the animarf kingdom, often by the side of 'beasts,' 'cattle,' 'fowl,' or 'fishes,' 1 K 4'' (o") ' lie spake also of cattle, and of fowl, and of creepinij tliint/s, and of fishes,' Hos 2i"('-') ; Hab 1' (the Ciialdiuan makes men to be ' as the fislies of the sea, as the creepiny things, over whom is no ruler'), Kzk 8'" (figures of them worshipped by Israelites), 38", Ps 148"'.

In Gn 9^ [HV moving thing], where the term stands by itself, it is used more generally of all gliding or creeping things (cf. the verb in Gn 1-^ 7-' 8''-' [RV mnveth, moved] ; Ps 104-") : and in Ps 104-^ of gliding aquatic crea- tures (cf. the verb in Gn 1-1, Lv ll«,Ps69*'(3^)[RV inoveth'\) ; so also perhaps (note the context, esp. v.i=) in Hab 1".

The corresponding verb is often found closely joined to it, Gn l-^' 7" »', Ezk 38-' ; or used synonymously, Gn 1' 7 9- (RV teemeth), Lv 202» (RV id.), l3t 4i8 (by the side of cattle, fowl, and fish), cf. Lv ll** (RV moveth). These are all the occurrences of either the subst. or the verb.

From a survey of the passages in which rimes occurs, especially those (as Gn 1-'', 1 K 4*) in which it stands beside beasts, fowls, and fishes, in popular classifications of the animal kingdom, it is evident that it is the most general term denoting reptiles, which, especially in the East, would be the most conspicuous and characteristic of living species, when beasts, fowls, and fishes had been excluded. DiUm.

and Keil (on Gn 1*) both define it as denot- ing creatures moving on the ground ' either without feet, or with imperceptible feet.' It is often defined more precisely by the addition of ' that creepeth upon the earth,' or (Gn l-^ 6-", Hos 2>) 'upon the ground.'

The term not being a scientific one, it in- cluded also, perhaps, creeping insects, and posaibl'i even very small quadrupeds : but the limitation of remes to the ' smaller quadrupeds of the earth ' (to the exclusion of reptiles), which has been devised (Dawson, Modern Science in Bible Lands, 1888, p. 28) for the purpose of ' harmonizing ' Gn 1 with the teachings of palaeontology, is arbitrary, and cannot be sustained.

(2) The other term, also sometimes unfortunately rendered 'creeping things,' is sherez {'"i^) ■ this is applied to creatures, whether terrestrial or aquatic, which appear in swarms, and is accord- ingly best represented by swarming things. It occurs (sometimes with the cognate verb) Gn 1'^' 'let the water swarm with sicarming things,' cf. V.21 'every living soul [see Son.]

that creepeth, wherewith the waters sioarmed' ; 7-' (beside fowl and cattle and beast) '■ every swarming thing that swarmed upon the earth' ; Lv 5- 'the carcases of unclean swarming things'' ; IV ' of all the sicarm- ing things of the waters' ; v.-> (= Dt U^'), vv.^i- =3 'winged swarming things' (i.e. flying insects: locusts are instanced) ; v." 'swarming things, that swarm upon the earth ' (the weasel, the mouse, and various kinds of lizards are instanced), cf. v.'"

'among all sivarming things' ; vv. ■"•■'-• ■'^ 'every swarming thing that swarmeth upon the earth' — including (v.^-) insects with more than four feet ; v.< 'any siDarming thing that creepeth upon the earth ' ; v.-" ' every living soul that glideth (ef. above, No. 1) in the waters, and every living soul that sicarmeth upon tlie earth' ; 22' ' whoso toucli- eth any swarming thing by wliich he may become unclean.'

The cognate verb shi'iraz occurs also lix 8^ (7-*) 'the river shall sicarm with frogs' (cf. •• ri,piiri(iht, 189S, hy Ps 105'°) ; Ezk 47' ' every living soul that swarmeth' (viz. in a river) ; and fig., of animals generally, Gn 81" (RV breed abundantly), and of men, 9' (RV id.) Ex 1" (of the Israelites multiplying in Egypt: RV increased abundantly). Sherez thus denotes creatures that appear in swarms, whether such as teem in the water, or those which swarm on the ground or in the air, i.e.

creeping and flying insects, small reptiles, such as lizards, and small quadrupeds, as the wea.sel and the mouse. Shi'rez and remes are not co-extensive ; for, though par- ticular animals, as small reptiles, would no doubt be included under eitlier designation, remes would not be applied to flying insects, or (at lea.

st properly) to aquatic creatures, nor is it certain that it was applied to small quadrupeds, or even to creeping insects ; while sherez would not i)robably be used of large reptiles, or of any, in fact, which did not usually appear in swarms. S. U. Driver. '•CREMATION.

— It is sometimes stated that burn- ing was the ordinary mode of disposing of the dead among all ancient nations, except the Egyptians, who embalmed them ; the Chinese, who buried them in the earth ; and the Jews, who buried them in the sepulchres. This statement requires a gotid deal of qualification. Lucian tells us that the Greeks burned their dead while the Persians buried them (Ve Luctu, xxi.) ; and it is certain that among the Greeks bodies were often buried without being burned (Thuc. i.

134.6; Plat. Pha-do, 115 E ; Pint. Lye. xxvii.) Among the Romans both methods were in use ; and Cicero believed that burial was the more ancient (De Legibus, ii. 22. 56). So that Persians, Greeks, and Romans must be added as, at any rate, partial exceptions. Wliether religious, or sanitary, or practical reasons were uppermost in deciding between the different methods is uncertain. Where fuel was scarce, cremation would be difficult or impossible.

That the Jews' preference for sepulchres was determined by a belief in the resurrection of the body is very doubtful. The doctrine itself seems to have been of late development; and modern Jews, who accept the doctrine, do not object to cremation. Nevertheless, their forefathers rarely practised it, and ]>erh;ips then only as an alter- native to what would be more distasteful.

The bodies of Said and his sons were burned by the men of Jabesh-gilead (1 S SV-), perhaps to secure them from further insult by the Philistines, and to m-ike it more easy to conceal the bones. Am 6'' gives a horrible (licture of a whole household having died, and a man's uncle and a servant being the only survivors left to burn the last body. But we are probably to iniderstand a plague, or something exceptional. That bodies were burned in the valley of Ilinnom in times of pe.'

^tilence is an assertion which lacks support. However large the number of the dead, burial was the manner of disposing of them (Ezk 39'i-"'). The ' very great burning' made for Asa at his burial (2 Cii 10'*) is not a case of cremation, but of burning spices and furniture in his honour (comp. Jer .34''). 'When R. Gamaliel the elder died, Onkelos the pro.selyte burned in his honour the worth of seventy min(e of Tyrian money' (T. B. Alioda Zara lla). Comp. 2 Ch 21'". Nor is 1 K V.

i- an allusion to cremation. Bones of men previously buried are to be burned on the altar to pollute it and render it abominable. In the NT there is no instance of cremation, whether .Jewish, Christian, or heathen ; and there is abundant evidence that the early Christians followed the .Tewi.sh pr.actice of burial, with or without embalming (Minue. Felix, Oitav. xxxix. ; Tert. Apol. xlii.;'Aug. De Civ. Dei, i. 12, l'5).

It was to outrage this well-known Christian senti- 'hnrJes Scrihtier's Sous CRESCENS CRETE 519 nient that persecutors sometimes burned the bodies of the martyrs aud scattered their ashes in mockery of the resurrection (lius. H.E. v. 1.02, 63; comp. Lact. Inst. vi. 12). The example of the .

Jews, the fact that Christ was buried, the association of burning with heathen practices, and perhaps rather material views respecting the resurrection, have contributed to make cremation unpopular among Christians. But there is notliing es.'sentially anti- christian in it : and charity reipiires us to adopt any reverent manner of disposing of the dead which science may prove to be least injurious to the living. A. PLUMMEU.