{"id":2027,"date":"2012-04-06T08:00:00","date_gmt":"2012-04-06T12:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.beliefnet.com\/doinglifetogether\/?p=2027"},"modified":"2012-04-02T10:24:33","modified_gmt":"2012-04-02T14:24:33","slug":"the-apostles-creed-what-it-means-to-be-christian","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/doinglifetogether\/2012\/04\/the-apostles-creed-what-it-means-to-be-christian.html","title":{"rendered":"The Apostle’s Creed: What It Means to Be Christian"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>As we approach this Easter season, Christians celebrate the events referenced in the Apostles Creed. This Good Friday, Jesus, the One conceived by the Holy Spirit, was crucified, but arose from the dead on that glorious Easter morning. This weekend is a reminder and celebration of the essentials of Christian faith.<\/p>\n

If you are like me, you have probably had many conversations with friends who believe in God, but not Jesus as the only way to God. The problem is that the Christian God is a triune God. You can’t separate God from Jesus and the Holy Spirit. God is three is one. Three persons make up the Godhead and while this is a bit of a mystery, it is an essential belief of Christian faith. If you believe otherwise, you are embracing something other than Christianity.<\/p>\n

Our pastor has been preaching a series on the Apostle”s Creed. A creed is a statement of beliefs. The Apostle’s Creed is a summary of Christian belief.<\/p>\n

This creed is a way to define what is specifically Christian. In today’s world, many people call themselves religious or spiritual. To be Christian though, one adheres to specific beliefs that are considered absolute truths.<\/p>\n

2 Timothy 4:3-4 says, For the time will come when people will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear.\u00a0 They will turn their ears away from the truth and turn aside to myths.<\/em><\/p>\n

Christianity does not believe in many gods, that God is everywhere, that God doesn’t get involved in our every day lives or that a spark of the divine is in us all. Christianity is based on essential truths that are non-negotiable. And while Christianity is criticized for being narrow, the core of the faith is that Jesus is the only way to God and that God is relationship–three in One.<\/p>\n

If you want to explain Christianity to someone who questions what is means to be Christian, the Apostle’s Creed is a good place to begin. It contains the basic doctrine of Christianity.
\nI believe in God, the Father Almighty,<\/em>
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 the Maker of heaven and earth,<\/em>
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 and in Jesus Christ, His only Son, our Lord:<\/em><\/p>\n

Who was conceived by the Holy Ghost,<\/em>
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 born of the virgin Mary,<\/em>
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 suffered under Pontius Pilate,<\/em>
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 was crucified, dead, and buried;<\/em><\/p>\n

He descended into hell. <\/em><\/p>\n

The third day He arose again from the dead;<\/em><\/p>\n

He ascended into heaven,<\/em>
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 and sitteth on the right hand of God the Father Almighty;<\/em>
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 from thence he shall come to judge the quick and the dead.<\/em><\/p>\n

I believe in the Holy Ghost;<\/em>
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 the holy catholic church;<\/em>
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 the communion of saints;<\/em>
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 the forgiveness of sins;<\/em>
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 the resurrection of the body;<\/em>
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 and the life everlasting.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

As we approach this Easter season, Christians celebrate the events referenced in the Apostles Creed. This Good Friday, Jesus, the One conceived by the Holy Spirit, was crucified, but arose from the dead on that glorious Easter morning. This weekend is a reminder and celebration of the essentials of Christian faith. If you are like…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":419,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[917,916],"tags":[1150,570,1146,1149,1147,1148,1151],"class_list":["post-2027","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-friend-relationships","category-god-relationship","tag-christian-beliefs","tag-christianity","tag-easter","tag-essentias-of-the-christian-faith","tag-good-friday","tag-the-apostles-creed","tag-triune-god"],"yoast_head":"\nThe Apostle's Creed: What It Means to Be Christian<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/doinglifetogether\/2012\/04\/the-apostles-creed-what-it-means-to-be-christian.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"The Apostle's Creed: What It Means to Be Christian\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"As we approach this Easter season, Christians celebrate the events referenced in the Apostles Creed. This Good Friday, Jesus, the One conceived by the Holy Spirit, was crucified, but arose from the dead on that glorious Easter morning. This weekend is a reminder and celebration of the essentials of Christian faith. If you are like…\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/doinglifetogether\/2012\/04\/the-apostles-creed-what-it-means-to-be-christian.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Doing Life Together\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:author\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/drlindamintle\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2012-04-06T12:00:00+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2012-04-02T14:24:33+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"http:\/\/blog.beliefnet.com\/doinglifetogether\/files\/2012\/04\/425877_cross.jpg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Linda Mintle\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@drlindamintle\" \/>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"The Apostle's Creed: What It Means to Be Christian","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/doinglifetogether\/2012\/04\/the-apostles-creed-what-it-means-to-be-christian.html","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"The Apostle's Creed: What It Means to Be Christian","og_description":"As we approach this Easter season, Christians celebrate the events referenced in the Apostles Creed. This Good Friday, Jesus, the One conceived by the Holy Spirit, was crucified, but arose from the dead on that glorious Easter morning. This weekend is a reminder and celebration of the essentials of Christian faith. If you are like…","og_url":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/doinglifetogether\/2012\/04\/the-apostles-creed-what-it-means-to-be-christian.html","og_site_name":"Doing Life Together","article_author":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/drlindamintle\/","article_published_time":"2012-04-06T12:00:00+00:00","article_modified_time":"2012-04-02T14:24:33+00:00","og_image":[{"url":"http:\/\/blog.beliefnet.com\/doinglifetogether\/files\/2012\/04\/425877_cross.jpg"}],"author":"Linda Mintle","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_creator":"@drlindamintle","schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/doinglifetogether\/2012\/04\/the-apostles-creed-what-it-means-to-be-christian.html","url":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/doinglifetogether\/2012\/04\/the-apostles-creed-what-it-means-to-be-christian.html","name":"The Apostle's Creed: What It Means to Be Christian","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/doinglifetogether\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/doinglifetogether\/2012\/04\/the-apostles-creed-what-it-means-to-be-christian.html#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/doinglifetogether\/2012\/04\/the-apostles-creed-what-it-means-to-be-christian.html#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"http:\/\/blog.beliefnet.com\/doinglifetogether\/files\/2012\/04\/425877_cross.jpg","datePublished":"2012-04-06T12:00:00+00:00","dateModified":"2012-04-02T14:24:33+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/doinglifetogether\/#\/schema\/person\/1e16a9c7332cfcc5b5d89e4ba3a36142"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/doinglifetogether\/2012\/04\/the-apostles-creed-what-it-means-to-be-christian.html#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/doinglifetogether\/2012\/04\/the-apostles-creed-what-it-means-to-be-christian.html"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/doinglifetogether\/2012\/04\/the-apostles-creed-what-it-means-to-be-christian.html#primaryimage","url":"http:\/\/blog.beliefnet.com\/doinglifetogether\/files\/2012\/04\/425877_cross.jpg","contentUrl":"http:\/\/blog.beliefnet.com\/doinglifetogether\/files\/2012\/04\/425877_cross.jpg"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/doinglifetogether\/2012\/04\/the-apostles-creed-what-it-means-to-be-christian.html#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/doinglifetogether"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"The Apostle’s Creed: What It Means to Be Christian"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/doinglifetogether\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/doinglifetogether\/","name":"Doing Life Together","description":"Relationship Doctor, Mental Health, Emotional Wellness, Relationship Advice & Entertainment","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/doinglifetogether\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/doinglifetogether\/#\/schema\/person\/1e16a9c7332cfcc5b5d89e4ba3a36142","name":"Linda Mintle","description":"It is rare that a trained academic who speaks passionately to the heart of people providing real answers to real life problems is so relatable. Dr. Linda\u2019s fun personality and expertise comes through whether she\u2019s helping her audience stress less or make peace with their thighs! Dr. Linda has her Ph.D. in Urban Health and Clinical Psychology and is a national expert on mental health. She has specialized in the treatment of eating disorders, anxiety, depression and pain management. With 30 years of clinical experience working with couples, families and individuals, she brings her common-sense approach to people who want to live in positive mental health. Dr. Linda is also a bestselling author with 21 book titles to her credit, a radio host of the Dr. Linda Mintle show, professor, national speaker, winner of the Mom\u2019s Choice Award, a national news consultant, featured writer for Beliefnet and hosts her own website. Her academic appointments keep her abreast of current research in her areas of expertise. Her media experience includes seven years as the resident expert for ABC Family\u2019s Living the Life television show and regular appearances on network television and radio. It is often said that being with Dr. Linda is like having coffee with a friend. She makes the complicated issues of relationships and mental health easy to understand and applicable to everyday living. The ease she has with people, coupled with her clinical training and experience makes her a sought-after speaker on college campuses, conferences and special events. Whether she is doing a TV skit with Tim Conway or discussing teen violence with Queen Latifa, Dr. Linda will entertain, educate and integrate faith and mental health in everyday living. Check out her latest book Hope and Healing for Anxiety, a whole-person approach to eliminate anxiety. .","sameAs":["https:\/\/drlindamintle.com\/","https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/drlindamintle\/","https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/drlindamintle\/","https:\/\/x.com\/drlindamintle"],"url":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/doinglifetogether\/author\/lmintle"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/doinglifetogether\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2027","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/doinglifetogether\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/doinglifetogether\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/doinglifetogether\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/419"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/doinglifetogether\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2027"}],"version-history":[{"count":8,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/doinglifetogether\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2027\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2240,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/doinglifetogether\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2027\/revisions\/2240"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/doinglifetogether\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2027"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/doinglifetogether\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2027"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/doinglifetogether\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2027"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}