Early Christian Creeds & Hymns

Throughout the history of the Church, Christians have expressed their faith in word and song. Among the ways they confessed what they believed was through creeds. The term“creed,” which comes from the Latin credo (“I believe”), has played a central role in the identity of the Church and expressing her core beliefs. Some of the more famous creeds are the Apostles’ Creed and Nicene Creed. While these creeds developed in the first few centuries of the Church, the earliest creeds are embedded within the New Testament text itself. The singing of hymns, which are closely associated with creeds, has also been part of the Church’s ancient heritage. These credal hymns were adopted from the synagogues and have continued to be an integral expression of worship today. The New Testament contains many of the hymns that the early Christians sang. Since these hymns are confessional in nature, we can state that hymns were creed-like, confessing in song what the earliest Christians believed. This book examines the ancient creeds and hymns found in the New Testament, shedding light on what the earliest Christians held to be central, definitional, and foundational to their faith.

Publisher: H & E publishing
Type: Paperback
ISBN: 9781774840139

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Tony Costa is a professor with Toronto Baptist Seminary, an adjunct professor with Heritage College and Seminary in Cambridge, Ontario, and Providence Theological Seminary in Colorado Springs, Colorado. He is the author of Worship and the Risen Jesus in the Pauline Letters as well as a contributor of scholarly essays in Christian Origins and Greco-Roman Culture and Christian Origins and Hellenistic Judaism and various journals. Tony's chief passion is in teaching and engaging students of any background in lively class discussions and interactions. He encourages them to ask thought-provoking questions and believes that life-long learning should be fun and life-changing.

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“If someone says ‘I believe the Bible,’ is that sufficient to really tell you what he or she believes? Throughout Church History, Christians have rightly felt the need to clarify their belief in God’s Word by summarizing its core teachings in creeds and confessions. And, because ‘the hymnbook is the theology text of the church,’ we can also learn much about what Christians actually believed and valued by studying the hymns of the church. In this fascinating and well-written book, Dr. Tony Costa, points us back to the earliest confessions and hymns found within the Scriptures themselves.” Robert L. Plummer, Ph.D., Collin and Eveyln Aikman Professor of Biblical Studies, The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary