While I was checking the blogs I follow, I came across this article about the phrase in the Apostles' Creed, "he (Jesus) descended into hell." The article sheds some light on the origin of the creed and explanations for the meaning of the phrase. I found this quite interesting:
"[T]he Apostles' Creed was not written or agreed at any one church council, but evolved much more organically from about 200 AD to 750 AD. Along the way, the manuscript record shows it existed in various different forms.
It may surprise you to know that the phrase “he descended into hell” has not been found in any of the earliest versions of the Creed, until it appears in one of the two versions cited by Rufinus (390 AD). Then it disappears and does not seem to occur again until 650 AD. And even when Rufinus mentioned it, he took it to mean that Jesus descended to the ‘grave’ (i.e. the Greek form of the Creed used ‘Hades’—the place dead bodies go—as opposed to ‘Genenna’, the place of eternal punishment).1
A good guess about what happened is that “he descended into Hades” originally appeared as an alternate way of saying “he was… dead and buried”, as the Creed now says in the line before. But then someone thought they'd keep both phrases from the separate versions, and since “descended into hell” was listed after “dead and buried”, it was taken as something happening later in the chronology."
It's important to remember that creeds are not infallible, and in this case, I am of the opinion the phrase, "he descended into hell," should, as the article suggests, either be moved, reworded, or deleted all together. Joel and I decided we will no longer recite that part of the creed.
You can read the whole article by clicking the link:
You can read the whole article by clicking the link:
The Sola Panel | Descent into hell
very interesting. in all my life, when I've recited The Apostles' Creed, I never stopped to wonder what I was saying until I read this post.
ReplyDeleteJeannette,
ReplyDeleteI would suggest you read a bit more on this subject. For instance, Danny Hyde, URNA pastor has recently written a book on this topic (at one point he asked me and some others to comment on portions of it). Here is a link:
http://www.meetthepuritans.com/2010/04/12/new-book-on-christs-descent-into-hell/
I would also point you to the Heidelberg Catechism. See questions 37-45. Question 44 specifically deals with the phrase in question.
I certainly don't want to step on any toes. I know that many people dearly love this creed and use it as a part of their devotional lives, etc. and that is fantastic. However, I think the Nicene-Constantinopolitan creed is much better (and safer) for use in corporate worship. Whereas the Apostles creed has a mysterious past, pieces allegedly being added and removed, dates ranging from the 1st century up to the late 7th or even 8th century, the origins of the Nicene creed are bullet proof so to speak. That creed was universally accepted and confirmed by the ecumenical councils in 325 and 381 prior to the great schism. You can't go wrong with that in my book! The Apostles creed is also a little generic in that it doesn't deal with any of the christological heresies and could easily be recited by unitarians, etc. The purpose of a creed is to act as a boundary, or a yardstick of sorts to guard correct belief. I think it is best, therefore, to use a creed that actually explicitly defines right belief about the divinity of Christ and the Holy Spirit and so forth. That's my two cents.
ReplyDeleteI guess I should throw in that Creed by Rich Mullins ranks among my favorite songs. And when I sing along with that CD I am a believer that the English translation is sloppy and that it is talking about Sheol, a place where Christ proclaimed victory over death by going to Death's house and kicking its butt, to use the Kings English. :)
ReplyDeleteThanks for the comments. I have done further reading about the creed, and all I have read has been consistent with the article. It's helpful to understand its history and theological weaknesses. I'm a "say what you mean and mean what you say" type of person, so it's still troublesome to me that the phrase is described as puzzling, is surrounded by confusion, and is explained as either meaning a, b, or c. Add to that the fact that the phrase has bolstered the heresy that Jesus actually did descend to hell (the place of torment) between his death and resurrection, and there is more reason to improve the wording. Jeremy, I love Rich's song too, and I'll have to remember your word image the next time I listen to it. :)
ReplyDeleteHi Greetings!
ReplyDeleteI came across your blog while “blog surfing” using the Next Blog button located at the top of my blogspot.com I frequently visit other blogs encouraging the various, creative ways in which people express themselves. Thanks for sharing.
Surprised to note that Apostle creed citing Jesus entered into Hell.Better if it is reworded saying: “Jesus entered into hades to proclaim the salvation to old testament people/saints!
Kingdom Blessings!
I totally hear Rich Mullins' song in my head, too. Awww, too bad you're gonna skip that line. Since you've done so much research and you KNOW what it means now, why not say it with gusto!??? YOU'll know what you mean-- you don't have to worry about what anyone else means.
ReplyDeleteAnd Sreedhar, sorry, but your take is even further from orthodoxy!