Pine Bluff daily graphic. (Pine Bluff, Ark.) 1893-1942, 1914-05-15
The Apostles Greed.
It's Origin.

In view of the wide interest awak-
ened as result of a desire of por-
ton of the delegates to the seven
teenth quadrelnial conference of the
Methodist Episcopal Church, South,
now in session at Oklahoma City, to
change the Apostles creed" by elm
mating the word catholic, brlef
review OF the origin OF The creed will
prove interesting to many. One en-
cyclopedia gives it as follows:
What has been called the Apos-
ties creed is the earliest form OF
Christian creed eXtaAt unless prece-
dent be given to the baptismal
formula at the close of Matthews
the Apostles creed to have grown.
There were in the early church diff
fering forms of this primitive creed;
that which is received and repeated
in the services of the Church OF Eng
land, has come through the Latin
Church; and in several of it's clauses
as, for instance, "He descended into
HE'LL and again, The communion of
saints is supposed to have been in
terpolated according to later notions.
A great variety of opinions has been
held as to the origin of this creed
= The earliest account of it's
origin we have from Rufinus, his
torical compiler and traditionalist Of
the 4th C. His statement is, that the
apostles, when about to separate to
preach the truth to different nations,
agreed upon form of sound words,
which should express the sum of
their common teaching. When met
together, and filled with the Holy
Ghost, they composed this compend
of what they were to preach, each
one contributing his share to the one
composition, which they resolved to
give as rule of faith to those who
should believe No great weight be-
longs to this testimony; Rufinus is
no historical authority. 1t is not i'm
probable in itself, however, that even
in the age of the apostles, some sim
pie formula of belief existed. The
not pretend to be nearer to the apOs-
| ties than four hundred years, but a
| form not much different from it was
! in use long before. Irenaeus, scholar
| of Polycarp, who was the disciple of
| the apostle John, when he repeats a
creed not much unlike the present,
declares that the church dispersed
through the whole world had receiv-
ed this faith from the apostles and
their disciples and Tertullian af-
| firms that a similar creed had been
| prevalent as rule of faith in the
church from the beginning of the Cos
| pei The same thing is proved by
| the creeds administered to the can
didates for baptism in the I'd and
Sd c. They correspond with slight va
riations, to the Apostles creed. The
true view of this formula of church
belief, therefore, seems to be- that
| which regards it as the Roman or
Latin form in extension of the creed
which prevailed in all the early
| churches. 1t is not strictly apostolic
certainly not in the order OF word
derived through the Latin Church, in
which it is now received and repeat
ed; but it may be deemed substan-
TALLY apostolic-fairly representative
of the different elements of Christian
faith as handed down from the apos-
| ties, and therefore not without a
claim in it's substance on the Gre
dence of the universal Christian
Church. Since the Reformation in
England it has been the usage to
exhibit the Apostles creed and Ten
| Commandments in legible characters
on boards near the communion table
in churches, that they might be seen
| and repeated by the common people
who were unprovided with books"