Library Instruction:

Bibliography on Creeds

CREEDS, CONFESSIONS, and CATECHISMS
Fred Guyette
January 2002

General Resources | Augsburg Confession | Westminster Confession | Heidelberg Confession | Barmen Declaration
Anabaptists and Others | Other Resources | WWW Resources

General Resources

Author:

Smulders, P.

Title:

SOME RIDDLES IN THE APOSTLES CREED: CREEDS AND RULES OF FAITH

Journal:

Bijdragen

Year:

1971

Volume:

32(4)

Page:

350 – 366
Description: An analysis of thirty-one sources containing rules of faith earlier than the Roman creed of the mid-third century: I Clement, Polycarp, Kerygmata Petrou, Justin's Apology and Acts of Martyrdom, Melito of Sardis, Irenaeus, Clement of Alexandria, Origen, Hippolytus, Tertullian, Novatian, and the Didascalia. Taken as a whole they present a basic pattern which embraces: One God Creator, Jesus Christ and his dispensation of salvation, final judgment and/or resurrection.  To this general pattern it is not easy to find a parallel in the NT, the closest is in 1 Thessalonians 1:9 - 10 or Acts 3:13 – 15. NOTE:  INTERLIBRARY LOAN ONLY

Author:

Klauber, Martin I.

Title:

Confessions, Creeds, and Catechisms in Swiss Reformed Theology (1675-1734).

Journal:

Westminster Theological Journal

Year:

1995

Volume:

57(2):

Page:

403-413.

Description: Confessions, creeds and catechisms played an important role in defining and systematizing Protestant theology in the first century and a half following the Reformation. They also played a role in the erosion of orthodoxy by the early 18th century. Focuses on the role confessions, creeds and catechisms played in this decline within the confines of early 18th century Geneva.
Author: Wilken, Robert L.
Title: Introducing the Athanasian Creed 
Source: Currents in Theology and Mission  
Year: 1979  
Volume: 6
Page: 4-10
Author: Bouman, Herbert
Title: Nicene Creed: Hymns and Confessions
Source: Currents in Theology and Mission
Year: 1978
Volume: 5
Page: 168-172
Author: Demarest, Bruce A.
Title: THE CONTEMPORARY RELEVANCE OF CHRISTENDOM'S CREEDS.
Source: Themelios
Year: 1982
Volume:  7(2)
Page: 9 – 16
Description: Considers the origin of the creeds, their authority and subsequent depreciation. Projects the relevance of the creeds for today. Traditionally the creeds represented the bedrock convictions of the early church. They were used not only to counter heresy, but also to regulate baptism, order corporate worship, and shape catechetical instruction. Today the creeds offer an appreciation for the unity and historical continuity of the church. However, as human formulations, the creeds are subordinate to Scripture, the supreme rule of faith and practice. NOTE:  INTERLIBRARY LOAN ONLY
Author: Leith, John H.
Title: The Creeds of Christendom.
Source: American Presbyterians
Year: 1988
Volume: 66 (4)
Page: 277-282.
Description: Reviews the life, work and  commitments of Philip Schaff (1819-1893). Assesses the content  and impact of Schaff's The Creeds of Christendom, which was an  expression of his life commitment and hope for a church truly  evangelical and catholic.
Augsburg Confession
Author: Forell, George Wolfgang
Title: The Augsburg Confession : a Contemporary Commentary
Call Number: BX 8069 .F6
   
Author: Grance, Leif.
Title: The Augsburg Confession: a Commentary
Call Number: BX 8069 .G7313 1987
Author: Little, Carroll Herman.
Title: Lutheran Confessional Theology, a Presentation of the Doctrines of the Augsburg Confession and the Formula of Concord
Call Number: BX 8069 .L5
Author: Maurer, Wilhelm.
Title: Historical Commentary on the Augsburg Confession
Call Number: BX 8069 .M3513 1986
Author: Armentrout, Donald S.
Title: The 450th Anniversary of the Augsburg Confession : [list of confessions, 1489-1770]
Source: Saint Luke's Journal of Theology
Year: 1980
Volume:  23 (June)
Page: 201-227.
Author: Gritsch, Eric.
Title: Lutheran Identity : What is This Augsburg Confession?
Source: Sewanee Theological Review
Year: 1997
Volume: 40 (Easter)
Page: 146-157.
Author: Hamann, Henry P.
Title: The Smalcald Articles as a systematic theology: a comparison with the Augsburg Confession
Source: Concordia Theological Quarterly
Year: 1988
Volume: 52 (January)
Page: 29-40.
Author: McCue, James F.
Title: Roman Catholic responses to the Augsburg Confession on Justification: 1530 and 1980
Source: Dialog
Year: 1980
Volume 19 (Winter)
Page: 60-65.
Author: Muller, Richard A
Title: The Holy Spirit in the Augsburg Confession: A  Reformed Definition
Source: Concordia Theological Quarterly
Year: 1997
Volume: 61 (Ja-Ap)
Page: 53-78
Author: Schurb, Ken.
Title: "The Law Always Accuses": The Augsburg Confession and the Apology
Source: Concordia Journal
Year: 1997
Volume: 23 (October)
Page: 338-349.
Westminster Confession
Author: Warfield, Benjamin B.
Title: Westminster Confession
Call Number: BX 9183 .P69
 
Author: Hendry, George Stuart.
Title: The Westminster Confession for Today: A Contemporary Interpretation
Call Number: BX 9183 .H4
 
Author: lasdair I.C. Heron, editor.
Title: The Westminster Confession in the Church Today : papers prepared for the Church of Scotland Panel on Doctrine.
Call Number: BX 9183 .W466
 
Author: Reid, John K S.
Title: Foundation Documents of the faith, VII : the Westminster Confession of Faith
Source: Expository Times
Year: 1980
Volume: 91 (April)
Page: 195-199.
 
Author: Anderson, R Dean, Jr.
Title: Of the Church: An Historical Overview of the Westminster Confession of Faith, Chapter 25
Source: Westminster Theological Journal
Year: 1997
Volume: 59 (Fall)
Page: 177-199.
 
Author: Beeke, Joel R
Title: Personal Assurance of Faith: The Puritans and Chapter 18.2 of the Westminster Confession
Source: Westminster Theological Journal
Year: 1993
Volume: 55 (Spr)
Page: 1-30.
 
Author: Milne, Douglas J W.
Title: The Doctrine of the Holy Spirit in the Westminster Confession
Source: Reformed Theological Review
Year: 1993
Volume: 52 (S-D)
Page: 121-131.
 
Author: Troxel, A Craig.
Title: Amyraut "at" the Assembly : The Westminster Confession of Faith and the Extent of the Atonement 
Source: Presbyterion
Year: 1996
Volume: 22 (Spr)
Page: 43-55.
 

Heidelberg Catechism

Title: Doctrinal standards of the Christian Reformed Church: consisting of the Belgic Confession, the Heidelberg Catechism and the Canons of Dort
Call Number: BX 6825 .D6
 
Author: Bard Thompson, editor.
Title: Essays on the Heidelberg Catechism
Call Number: BX 9428 .E75
 
Author: Olevian, Caspar, 1536-1587.
Title: A Firm Foundation: an Aid to Interpreting the Heidelberg Catechism
Call Number: BX 9428 .O4413 1995
 
Author: Donald J. Bruggink, editor.
Title: Guilt, Grace and Gratitude ; a Commentary on the Heidelberg Catechism, Commemorating its 400th Anniversary
Call Number: BX 9428 .B7 1963a
 
Title: Heidelberg Catechism; a Short History of the Heidelberg Catechism, introduction, tercentenary text, selected Bible passages, suitable hymns and selections from the scriptures
Call Number: BX 9428 .A3 1907
 
Title: The Heidelberg--Catechism--Westminster shorter: the Heidelberg Catechism with corresponding questions from the Westminster Shorter Catechism
Call Number: BX 6824 .H54 1990
 
Title: Heidelberg catechism. English. The Heidelberg Catechism with Commentary
Call Number: BX 9428 .A3 1963
 
Author: Klooster, Fred H.
Title: A Mighty Comfort: the Christian Faith According to the Heidelberg Catechism
Call Number: BX 9428 .K56 1990
 
Author: Verhey, Allen D
Title: Prayer and the Moral Life According to the Heidelberg Catechism.
Source: Reformed Review
Year: 1994
Volume: 48 (1)
Page: 26-41.
Description: The catechism wants to teach us to live by teaching us to pray. The stage is set for prayer by the catechism's initial attention to the Christian life as a life of repentance. The second section of the catechism tells the story of grace in Jesus Christ. The theme of gratitude is the third section of the catechism. It is the Christian life that drives us to pray, to look to Christ, and to attend to God as the author and perfector of our lives
The Barmen Declaration (1934) and Beyond
Author: locke, Hubert G., editor.
Title: Barmen Confession: Papers from the Seattle Assembly
Call Number: BX 4844 .B3715 1986
 
Author: Ahlers, Rolf.
Title: Barmen Theological Declaration of 1934: the Archeology of a Confessional Text 
Call Number: BX 4844 .A45 1986
 
Author: Barnett, Victoria J.
Title: Transcending Barmen: Confessing in Word and Deed.
Source: Christian Century
Year: 1994
Volume: 111(16)
Page: 495-498.
Description: At Barmen, Protestant leaders disavowed false teachings of the  German Christians,  drawing the distinction between true and false teaching and committing the church to a specific identity and faith. Barmen declared the church free from the demands of any ideology, limiting Christian allegiance to any worldly authority - revealing its strength and radicalism. Notes what Barmen did not say, especially its silence about Jews and others already victims of Nazi persecution. Despite the subsequently ambivalent record of the churches under Nazism, Barmen continues as an inspiration for Christians in dictatorships and in situations governed by injustice and violence.
 
ANABAPTISTS and OTHERS:
ALTERNATIVES TO CREEDS
Author: Anderson, George
Title: Israel's Creed: Sung, not Signed
Source: Scottish Journal of Theology
Year: 1963
Volume: 16
Page: 277-285.
Description: The Old Testament is neither a consciously formulated propositional confession, nor simply a loose collection of fragments from which the story of Israel's religion may be recovered, but a corpus which both issued from and moulded the life of a religious community. The Old Testament is therefore a confessional document. Israel's creed was sung, not signed, and the literary corpus in which Israel's worship is most comprehensively expressed (the Psalms) is the most representative and characteristic source of Old Testament Theology.
 
Author: Gleim, Elmer Q.
Title: Confessional Christianity and Creeds as These Relate to the Church of the Brethren
Source: Brethren Life and Thought
Year: 1983
Volume:  28(2)
Page: 107-114.
Description: The Christian church has been heir of Latin theology and Greek philosophy - leaning toward faith spelled out in precise form. Confessional Christianity, as opposed to a practical Christianity, is an attempt to reduce Christianity to a theology. The Church of the Brethren has never officially resorted to the use of creeds, using other symbols instead: the basin and towel, Love Feast, visitation of the sick and imprisoned, celebration of life in the bread and cup. The Brethren borrowed from Pietism several ideals which remain alive in the brotherhood. At the heart of the ideology of the Church is the conviction that each person remains free to turn to the Bible for guidance under the leading of the Holy Spirit.
 
Author: Hinson, E. Glenn
Title: Creeds and Christian Unity: A Southern Baptist Perspective.
Source: Journal of Ecumenical Studies
Year: 1986
Volume: 23(1)
Page: 25-36
Description: Southern Baptists have maintained a firm commitment to the principle of "Scriptures alone." Current controversy within the Southern Baptist Convention is forcing a reassessment of this position. A fundamentalist faction within the Convention is pressing for a narrowly defined set of fundamentals centered on inerrancy of the Scriptures. It would be far better to reaffirm traditional and universally acknowledged symbols such as those framed at Constantinople in 381 in the Nicene Creed. This   accords more closely with the traditional Baptist perspective.