A Counter Catechism: What the Apostles' Creed Denies

By Douglas Groothuis

Although it was not literally written by the original Apostles of Jesus Christ, The Apostles’ Creed has served as a foundational document and liturgical element in Christian churches since the fourth century. It represents the teachings of the Apostles even though they are not its authors. Its authors are unknown. The Apostles’ Creed’s purpose is not to replace the Bible, or to be the only creed for the church, or to reduce Christian truth to its statements. Rather, it summarizes biblical doctrine and is meant to be recited corporately by followers of Jesus. Its affirmations are necessarily part of Christian doctrine, and all three branches of Christianity affirm it (although not with the same interpretation of every aspect). There is spiritual power found in collectively confessing these truths with conviction on a regular basis and it is a good idea to memorize the Creed as well.

Few Americans believe the Apostles’ Creed today, and many outright oppose the God of the Bible and Christian doctrine. Opposition to Christianity is so strong that Aaron Renn, in his book Life in the Negative World, says that Christians must use new strategies to address the current setting, but without altering the biblical message itself. Renn advocates for a “counter-catechesis” to equip Christians to know what they ought not believe, given their Christian convictions in a hostile world. Thus, this essay, “A Counter Catechism.” There is, in fact, more to a formal catechism than the Apostles’ Creed, but many catechisms include it. We start here. After each statement of the Creed will follow what the Creed denies relative to the subject. The judgments are based on the law of noncontradiction: A is not non-A. Or, you cannot affirm anything about reality and its opposite as both being true in the same way and in the same respect.

The Apostles’ Creed and Some of What It Denies

1. I believe in God,
   the Father Almighty,
   Creator of Heaven and earth;

Since God is a personal and all-powerful being, who is the originator and designer of the universe, we deny that God is an impersonal force or principle, as taught in some Eastern religions and occultism. We also deny that God is a mother in the sense of an earth goddess. We deny that God is identified with the cosmos, as taught by pantheism. As Creator, God is transcendent in his self-existent being (Acts 17:15), and we deny that he is one with contingent creation. However, as omnipresent, God is immanent, and is closer to use than we are to ourselves (Augustine). But this doctrine does not compromise God’s transcendence. As Isaiah wrote.

For this is what the high and exalted One says—
    he who lives forever, whose name is holy:
“I live in a high and holy place,
    but also with the one who is contrite and lowly in spirit,
to revive the spirit of the lowly
    and to revive the heart of the contrite. (Isaiah 57:15)

Since God is one God, we deny both polytheism (many finite gods) and dualism (one good god and one evil god). As God said to his people, “Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one” (Deuteronomy 6:4). We further deny that there are many gods, but we worship one of them as supreme for us (henotheism). This is the teaching of Mormonism. As Isaiah proclaimed:

“You are my witnesses,” declares the Lord,
    “and my servant whom I have chosen,
so that you may know and believe me
    and understand that I am he.
Before me no god was formed,
    nor will there be one after me. (Isaiah 43:10)

2. and [we believe] in Jesus Christ, His only Son, Our Lord,

Since Jesus Christ is God’s only Son and our Lord, we deny that any other supposed god or savior has attained his exalted status (Matthew 11:27; John 14:6; Act 4:12; 1 Timothy 2:5). We further deny any teaching that denies Jesus as God’s only Son and our Lord, whether explicitly (such as Islam and Baha’i Faith) or implicitly (all non-Christian religions). Jesus was not an avatar (as are Hindu saviors), a manifestation of God (as in Baha’i Faith), a mere prophet (as taught in Islam), a mere sage (in the tradition of Buddha or Lao Tze or Confucius), nor was he a deluded mere mortal (atheism and much of Judaism).

3. Who was conceived by the Holy Spirit,
   born of the Virgin Mary,

Because Jesus was supernaturally conceived by the Holy Spirit (Isaiah 7:14; Matthew 1:18; Luke 1:26-35), we deny that Christianity can dispense with this doctrine and still be Christianity at all (theological liberalism). We further deny that other stories about supernatural occurrences at the time of birth of other religious figures (such as Buddha) have any theological parallel to the Gospel accounts of Jesus’ virginal conception, and we deny that they have any historical claim on reality.

4. [Christ] suffered under Pontius Pilate,
   was crucified, died, and was buried.
   He descended into Hell.

Because we believe that Jesus was a personal actor in space-time history, we deny that his death was merely symbolic. He suffered an unjust conviction and was crucified by the Roman authorities, who knew how to execute people effectively. We thus also deny the swoon theory that Jesus did not truly die on the cross, but only appeared to die and was taken down from the cross alive (as taught by Ahmadi Muslims and some older biblical critics). Jesus not only died but “descended into hell,” meaning that he continued to exist after his death to fulfill God’s purposes. This denies a humanistic account of Jesus as a mere mortal who simply died a martyr’s death and ceased to exist at his death.

5. The third day He arose again from the dead;

Since we affirm the historical resurrection of Jesus (the empty tomb and his physical appearances), we deny that the resurrection is merely a symbol of hope and not a space-time actuality. We further deny that Jesus’ resurrection was merely spiritual and not bodily, since Jesus was seen as physical, conversed with his disciples, and ate with them as well after his resurrection (Luke 24; 1 Corinthians 15:1-8).

6. He ascended into Heaven,
   sitteth at the right hand of God, the Father Almighty;

Since Jesus physically ascended to heaven (Luke 24:50-52; Acts 1:9), we deny that the ascension was a mere symbol of spiritual transcendence or a model for what we can attain through developing a higher level of consciousness (New Age teaching). Since Jesus sits enthroned and empowered at the right hand of God the Father Almighty (Romans 8:34; Ephesians 1:20-23), we deny any other claimant to his throne. We, thus, affirm the co-equality of the Father and the Son (as two members of the Trinity) and deny that God has no Son (the teaching of Islam) or that Jesus is not the Messiah (Judaism).

7. [We believe that] from thence He shall come to judge the living and the dead.

Since Jesus will come again in a final judgment for the damned and redemption for the saved, we deny that death ends human existence (as taught by atheism). We also deny that people can be reincarnated from one lifetime to another (1 Corinthians 15; Hebrews 9:27). We also deny that the Second Coming is a collective event in which a critical mass of human beings attains Christ consciousness (New Age).[1]

8. I believe in the Holy Spirit,

Since the Holy Spirit is the third person of the Holy Trinity (Matthew 28:19; 2 Corinthians 13:14), we deny the truth of any non-trinitarian monotheism (such as Judaism, Islam, and Jehovah’s Witnesses). We further deny any teaching that the Holy Spirit is not a person, but merely God’s influence in the world (as in Jehovah’s Witnesses). (See Acts 5, where lying to the Holy Spirit is the same as lying to God.)

9. [I believe in] the holy catholic Church,

Since we believe in one universal church of those saved exclusively through the work of Jesus, we deny that there are many paths to salvation. We also deny that every church that claims to be Christian is in fact part of the universal church. For example, a church that denies the Apostles’ Creed cannot be part of the universal church.[2]

10. [I believe in] the communion of saints,

Since all those redeemed by Christ are part of one indissoluble body, we deny soul sleep, the idea that people cease to exist between their physical death and their resurrection. We also deny that the Body of Christ is limited to those alive on earth at any given time. But we also deny that this doctrine warrants praying to the dead or receiving messages from them (necromancy). (See Deuteronomy 18:11; Isaiah 8:19.)

11. [I believe in] the forgiveness of sins,

Since God forgives sins through Christ (Ephesians 2:1-8), we deny the teachings of reincarnation and karma whereby we attain salvation over several lifetimes by effort (Hebrews 9:27). We further deny the Islamic teaching that we can earn salvation through accruing enough good deeds to merit salvation from Allah (Titus 3:5). We also deny any relativism that teaches that there is no such thing as sin, since morality is relative to the individual.

12. [I believe in] the resurrection of the body,
    and the life everlasting. Amen.

Because all people will spend eternity in one of two places (Daniel 12:2; Matthew 25:46; John 5:24-30), we deny annihilationism (that the unredeemed simply cease to exist) as well as reincarnation, which is the teaching that one soul can inhabit many bodies, both human and nonhuman (Hebrews 9:27). While Islam teaches that there will be a resurrection, we deny Islam’s understanding of the nature of salvation and the nature of the life everlasting (a paradise made for men’s pleasures). Moreover, for Islam, paradise does not include Allah’s presence, since he is ever transcendent. The biblical paradise is paradise because of the presence of God himself:

Then I saw “a new heaven and a new earth,” for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and there was no longer any sea. I saw the Holy City, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride beautifully dressed for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Look! God’s dwelling place is now among the people, and he will dwell with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God. ‘He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death’ or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.” (Revelation 21:1-4)

Counter-Catechism and Christian Confession

The Apostle Paul writes that in Christ is the ultimate affirmation of reality.

But as surely as God is faithful, our message to you is not “Yes” and “No.” For the Son of God, Jesus Christ, who was preached among you by us—by me and Silas and Timothy—was not “Yes” and “No,” but in him it has always been “Yes.” For no matter how many promises God has made, they are “Yes” in Christ. And so through him the “Amen” is spoken by us to the glory of God (2 Corinthians 2:18-20).

However, the grand “Yes!” of Jesus Christ entails that whatever contradicts sound doctrine, which is rooted in the reality of Christ, must be denied. Paul denied false teaching through his ministry and in his letters (see Galatians 1, for example). We, therefore, need a counter-catechism, a strong knowledge of what is false in relation to what is true. This essay is neither an exhaustive statement of Christian doctrine (it only addresses the Apostles’ Creed) nor an exhaustive statement of all that the Apostles’ Creed denies by necessary implication. It is offered, rather, as primer on spiritual discernment and theological testing.

Notes

[1] I was asked to respond to this idea while on a Canadian television show in 1986.

[2] The only qualification is that different churches and theologians may understand “he descended into hell” in different ways, but orthodox churches will not deny this truth outright.

— Douglas Groothuis is University Research Professor of Apologetics and Christian Worldview at Cornerstone University and is the author of twenty books, including, most recently, Beyond the Wager: The Christian Brilliance of Blaise Pascal (InterVarsity-Academic, 2024) and Christian Apologetics, 2^nd ed. (InterVarsity-Academic, 2022).

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