Understanding Ourselves: The Anglican Faith

6. The Bible contains everything needed for salvation.  Anything outside of holy scripture is not needed for salvation.

7. The Old Testament is not contrary to the new.  In both testaments, everlasting life is offered by Christ.  The moral commandments in both are binding to Christians.

8. The Apostles’ Creed, the Nicene Creed, and the Athanasius Creed describe the Holy Faith as understood from scripture.

Do you want to know what you need for eternal life?  Read your bible  .  Does someone say you need to do something for eternal life which is not contained in the bible?  Don’t believe them.

Does the Old Testament have a lot of different things than the New?  Yes.  Are they contrary to each other?  No.  In both, Christ asks us to walk in love as He loves us.  In both, people are struggling (and failing in many ways) to live the simple life of love which God pleads us to live.  This is a simple life, but not easy.  It is the same God, and we are the same people.  Do we understand both testaments 100%?  No – for currently, we see through a glass darkly, but in the time to come we shall be face to face.

The three Creeds give more details regarding the nature of God and our salvation.  These Creeds may be found in the Book of Common Prayer.  The Apostles’ Creed arose out of the questioning of baptismal candidates by the local bishop and is considered the first creed.  The Nicene Creed was established to define common belief amongst Christians when it was written (at the First Council of Nicaea in 325).  The Athanasian Creed is thought to have been written in the 5th century (sometime in the 400’s), to elaborate on the nature of God.

Do you believe anything about God (or your salvation) which is not found in the bible?  Describe how the New Testament may be a continuation of the Old, and not contrary to its ultimate message.  What IS the ultimate message of the Bible and of your faith (in a sentence or two)?

+David