Confessions and Creeds
I can recall from my childhood hearing preachers lecturing from the pulpit about the uselessness of creeds and confessions. Many times they would declare them an "addition to the Scriptures" and say they should be done away with because churches were placing equal authority with the Scriptures upon them. The result of this teaching has been so effective that unless you happen to be a member of a denomination that still subscribes to these early creeds and confessions you probably have no idea what they are, or that they even exist. For that reason, I will try to revisit this issue very briefly.
Just recently I began to examine a few of these early documents to try to understand what made them objectionable to so many "modern theologians." It isn't difficult to see the writers intent. The intention was to frame up, collectively, their understanding of biblical teaching on various issues that were being challenged in their time. These issues were set forth in numbered articles with each being eloquently elaborated on to stipulate their understanding and stance on each successive issue. Having agreed upon said articles in advance, they were adopted as their statement of doctrine; not unlike many denominational, Church constitutions of today.
These confessions and creeds are the cement that still holds together several, large, liturgical Churches. Unike many doctrinal statements of more recently started religious orders, however, these confessions and creeds have remained unchanged for hundreds of years thereby limiting most, but certainly not all, confusion among the members. Conversely, the doctrinal statements of today vary with every newly started congregation. Mass confusion exists among the denominations (as well as the non-denominational sects) and unity is foreign to all. The wisdom contained in these old documents is far superior to anything that has been written in the last one hundred years and It would seem that the abandonment of these creeds and confessions by many former subscribers has precipitated the theological missunderstandings of our time.