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Why is the word
“Catholic” in our Creeds?
You may have been surprised (or even alarmed) by
the fact that the Apostles’ Creed makes reference to the “Holy
Catholic Church.” There is no reason to be alarmed because
this is not a reference to the Roman Catholic Church.
The Creed’s use of this word “Catholic” must be understood and
confessed according to the original intent of the authors.
This Greek word commonly translated as “Catholic” is katholikos and it
can be translated more literally as “according to the whole” or even more
simply as “universal.”
What we are professing to believe through the Creed is that the Church
of Jesus Christ is much bigger than any one particular local congregation.
We believe that the Church of Jesus Christ consists of all those who
either have been, are being, or shall be gathered into one body under the
Head and Saviour of Church (cf. Ephesians 1:10, 22-23; 5:23, 27, 32;
Colossians 1:18).
We also use the Nicene Creed in our church which says even more than
the Apostles’ Creed by confessing “One Holy Catholic and Apostolic
Church.” Again, do not be alarmed. This statement was written
long before the Roman Church claimed the title “Catholic” for itself.
While the Roman Church claims to be the true and universal church of
Christ, their claim must be rejected because it is based on the false
assumption that there exists some direct and divinely appointed connection
between the Apostle Peter and all Roman Bishops. This claim is
neither biblical nor historical.
By adding the word “Apostolic” to the word “Catholic,” the Nicene Creed
actually helps us identify the True Universal Church of Jesus Christ.
The Creed was written in an age in which there were many heretics who
had departed from the doctrine of the Apostles and who were attacking the
earthly Bride of Christ by teaching erroneous and pernicious doctrines of
devils.
The Nicene Creed was written and officially adopted by the whole Church
in order to expose these heretics as being un-holy and un-apostolic dogs
who were, in no way, to be regarded as part of the One True
Catholic/Universal Church.
Several Christian churches continue to confess these historic Creeds
and many of them have attempted to clear up the confusion about the word
“Catholic” by usin the word “Universal” instead.
While we agree that “Universal” is a fine synonym for “Catholic,” we
have decided not to chane the wording for the following two
reasons:
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