The Apostles’ Creed was not a piece of my Christian upbringing. I was raised in a non-liturgical church, but I have since gone back and tried to see if I have missed out on anything.
In my estimation, I have, slightly, because I don’t have a firmly ingrained mental connection to the ancient church. I don’t have something like the Apostles’ Creed in my head at all times, and I think that I am at a disadvantage because of that fact. Of course, there are some who do have this short theological recitation memorized but with no benefit because they have learned the word but not the meaning behind them.
The Apostles’ Creed
No matter which of those situations you find yourself in, Ben Myers’ new book, The Apostles’ Creed: A Guide to the Ancient Catechism, is here to help you. This small little book is packed with deep analysis of every phrase of the creed. Each “chapter,” then, is only a few pages long, and the whole book could probably be reading a single day. Personally, I opted to read it slowly, allowing the depth and nuance of Myers’ theological analysis bounce around in my head a bit longer than if I had read five chapters back to back. And beyond theology, Myers’ book offers some great historical context to the creed that made the whole thing much more real and relatable.
Now, as a non-liturgical, how did I think the book stacked up theologically? I think I can state that I wholeheartedly agreed with at least 90%, maybe even 95%, of the book’s content. The rest? Minor stuff. The bits of theology we should all hold in an open hand. There’s nothing in this book that would make me think twice about recommending it to a Catholic, a Lutheran, a Baptist, or a Pentecostal.
The Apostles’ Creed is an excellent little book that packs a big theological punch.
– Readability (5.0)
– Breadth/Depth of Content (5.0)
– Helpfulness (5.0)
Recommended? – Absolutely, for individual and for group study.
The Apostles’ Creed: A Guide to the Ancient Catechism is by Ben Myers, and you can buy it from Amazon or directly from the publisher, Hexham Press
[A copy of this book was provided to me by the publisher in exchange for an honest review, which is what you just read.]
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