Q.1
There are (perhaps unsurprisingly) some variations on the Christian Creed ~ principally the Apostles' Creed and Nicene Creed ~ but they each start with an affirmation that 'I / we believe in God the Father Almighty ... ... and then what?
  • ... who rules on high / in Heaven forever
  • ... the guardian of our forefathers
  • ... maker / creator of Heaven and earth
  • ... who was, and is, and is to come
Q.2
The Creeds then turn to the other Persons of the Trinity, consisting of:
  • Jesus Christ as God's only Son, and the Holy Spirit as His agent now on earth
  • Jesus Christ born of the Virgin Mary, crucified, resurrected and ascended into Heaven
  • Jesus Christ the healer and redeemer
  • Jesus and the Church worldwide
Q.3
As mentioned in chronological order in each of the Creeds, one of the following is out of its proper sequence: which one?
  • Jesus was born of the Virgin Mary and 'went about among us' (this latter, not in fact a Credal phrase as such, though understood)
  • He died on the Cross at Calvary and was buried
  • He ascended into Heaven where He will be our eternal Judge
  • He was resurrected on the third day after His death
Q.4
The Nicene Creed enlarges much more on the nature of the Holy Spirit than does the Apostolic Creed. Which of the following is NOT claimed about the Holy Spirit in the Nicene Creed?
  • It 'proceeds from the Father and the Son' and is 'worshipped and glorified' conjointly with them
  • It has spoken through the Prophets (i.e. in the Old Testament)
  • It is 'the Lord and giver of life'
  • It came upon the Apostles (at Pentecost) when, to all symbolic intents, it 'ignited' the Christian Church for the first time
Q.5
After the recital of the key doctrines about the Trinity, each of the Creeds lists a short but important number of other key Christian tenets. ONE of the following is NOT mentioned in BOTH of the creeds: which item?
  • The holy Catholic (i.e. worldwide) church
  • The communion of Saints
  • The forgiveness of sins ('through baptism', in the Nicene version)
  • Resurrection and eternal life
Q.6
The Nicene Creed makes at least one more specific and explicit link between Persons of the Trinity, which the Apostolic version tends to take for granted rather than confirming in detail. Again, which of these does NOT feature in BOTH Creeds?
  • That the Virgin Birth came about through the action of the Holy Spirit
  • That Jesus was God Incarnate, i.e. He 'came down to earth from heaven*' in human form and for the sake of humankind(* Not a credal phrase either, but borrowed here from the widely-known Christmas carol 'Once in Royal David's City', which aims to explain and amplify the great mysteries of Christian doctrine for a younger audience such as a Sunday-school!)
  • The ascended Jesus is 'seated at the right hand of God the Father', in eternal judgement
  • That the Spirit is worshipped and glorified conjointly with the Father and the Son
Q.7
Christians, like their founder Jesus who lived His earthly life as a Jew (i.e. as one of God's chosen people ~ in what Christians themselves would call Old-Testament terms), abide by the Ten Commandments. How closely can you pin-down the Ten Commandments?
  • They can be found in the Bible at Exodus chapter 20: the first four deal with our relationship with God, the latter 6 deal with our relationship with our fellow-people
  • They can be found in the Bible at Exodus chapter 10: the first six deal with our relationship with God, the latter four deal with our relationship with our fellow-people
  • They can be found in the Bible at Exodus chapter 12 and the distribution of topics is 'even-Stephens', with 5 each about relationships with God and between ourselves
  • They can be found in the Bible at Exodus chapter 25; the first 7 deal with our fellow-people and the last 3 with our dealings with the Trinity
Q.8
Most forms of Christian baptism include a form of words whereby the candidate (or their sponsors, if the candidate is too young to take this on in their own right) swear to avoid the 'works of the Devil' (or some such similar phrase). The problems of evil and temptation are clearly all around us in the world, but are these explicitly mentioned in the Creeds as such?
  • Yes, 'evil' and/or 'temptation' are mentioned in each of the creeds we have been considering
  • 'Evil' is mentioned in the Apostolic Creed
  • 'Temptation' is mentioned in the Nicene Creed
  • Neither of these concepts is mentioned explicitly in either Creed
Q.9
Which of these is the LEAST accurate about, or within, the range of Christian views on matters concerning death and killing?
  • Abortion and euthanasia (which latter used sometimes to be known as 'mercy-killing') are each forms of life-taking, and therefore wrong under God's commandment not to kill. God 'in His wisdom' knows the measure of a person's life, and no human should presume to interfere with that by murder or either of these other means
  • One of the best and most conspicuous models of practlcal Christian love in action, is when a person saves the life of a stranger with whom they have nothing in common
  • 'Any killing is not just regrettable but wrong and an offence against God; war entails killing; no Christian should go to war; all Christians should actively be pacifists' ... so say many, such as the Quakers (the Society of Friends)
  • 'An eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth': we should not flinch from the death penalty for convicted murderers
Q.10
Back in the Creeds: how many 'miscellaneous doctrinal beliefs' are common to the concluding sections of BOTH principal versions, after-&-beyond the somewhat more 'biographical' paragraphs about the roles and deeds of the Father and Son?
  • Three
  • Four
  • Five
  • Seven
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