Apostles Creed:

Comments by Robert Hyatt
1997

Apostles Creed:
"I believe in God, the Father almighty, Creator of Heaven and Earth. And in Jesus Christ, his only Son, our Lord; who was conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of the Virgin Mary, suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died, and was buried. He descended into hell; the third day he rose again from the dead; he ascended into heaven, sits at the right hand of God, the Father almighty; from thence he shall come to judge the living and the dead. I believe in the Holy Spirit, the holy Catholic Church, the communion of the saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body, and life everlasting."

Quick Comment:
Over all it sounds very un-Trinitarian. Nicene Creed is very different and contradicts this creed as I compare them both. I like this creed. It comes very close to the truth. Some parts of the Creed I agree with, other parts, I disagree:

Creed
I believe in God, the Father almighty, Creator of Heaven and Earth.

Comment:
God may have created the heavens but the Bible is pretty clear that Christ created this Earth for the Father.

Creed
And in Jesus Christ, his only Son, our Lord

Comment:
His only Son in the (Flesh). Bible says that God is the Father of all the spirits of mankind.

Creed
Who was conceived by the Holy Spirit

Comment:
If Mary was conceived by the Holy Spirit then Jesus would be Son of the Holy Spirit. Bible says in Luke 1:35 "And the angel answered and said unto her, The Holy Ghost shall come upon thee, and the power of the Highest shall overshadow thee: therefore also that holy thing which shall be born of thee shall be called the Son of God." Need to pay more attention to 2nd half of that scripture. "and the power of the Highest shall overshadow thee" Mary was conceived of God not the Holy Ghost. Jesus is Son of God only if conception occurred by God.

Creed
Born of the Virgin Mary, suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died, and was buried.

Comment:
No problems - OK

Creed
He descended into hell

Comment:
Christ was in Haites not hell. Haites(sp) is divided into two sections (paradise & spirit prison). Refer to parable of the rich man in the Bible. People do not go to Hell or Heaven until after the judgment. It is true that Christ went to the spirit world to organize the missionary work to begin there. 1 Peter 3:19 "By which also he went and preached unto the spirits in prison;" I will quote from the Encyclopedia of Catholicism "Likewise, while the Church has canonized many saints, affirming that there are human beings in heaven, it has never affirmed that there is, in fact, a single human being in hell." Quote #2 "Church teachings say that the soul of a person who dies in a state of mortal sin goes directly to hell. While moral theologians have perhaps been careless over the centuries in designating certain actions as mortally sinful, the Church has never taught that anyone has, in fact, died in such a state." If this is true, (and I am not saying that the Encyclopedia of Catholicism speaks for the Church) then Christ would have descended into hell with no one there to preach to.

Creed
The third day he rose again from the dead; he ascended into heaven, sits at the right hand of God, the Father almighty; from thence he shall come to judge the living and the dead.

Comment:
OK by me. Some Catholics/Christians might have a problem with God having a right hand though. No problem in LDS Theology.

Creed
I believe in the Holy Spirit, the holy Catholic Church, the communion of the saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body, and life everlasting.

Comment:
OK except it sounds like Catholics believe in the eternal resurrection of the body which many do not. Many Catholics believe that the resurrection of the body is temporary and at some future time the resurrected body will become spiritual. Catholics are split over this issue. Let me quote from official Catholic Doctrine. Catechism of the Catholic Church says "Christ is raised with his own body: 'See my hands and my feet, that it is I myself', but he did not return to an earthly life. So, in him, 'all of them will rise again with their own bodies which they now bear, 'but Christ will change our lowly body to be like his glorious body', into a spiritual body".  Where in the Bible does it say that our resurrected bodies of flesh and bone will be changed into a spiritual body? This is another example of Catholic tradition supplanting the truths found in the Bible.