Customer Reviews

Creeds of Christendom

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This is a must read for the serious Christian reader. Schaff has left no stone unturned in this compilation of historical Christian Creeds. In fact, since Schaff was the consummate Christian historian of the 19th century, he approaches this set in a very historical way. The set itself is organized via a certain time frame that Schaff apparently had in mind (unless the publishers altered this in later editions). Schaff begins by covering what a creed actually is, and why creeds were necessary. This is a very helpful section for his reader. From here Schaff covers all the creeds that have been written over the course of church history beginning with the ecumenical creeds (i.e. the Apostle's creed, Nicene creed, etc.). Schaff then covers the creeds of the Greek Church, the Roman Church, the Evangelical Protestant Church, The Evangelical Lutheran Church, the Evangelical Reformed Church (in all the countries that apply), the Modern Evangelical denominations (Congregational, Anabaptists, Calvinistic Baptists, Methodism, etc.). Each of these are covered in their own chapter and this is just volume 1 (WOW!). Volume 2 consists of the Scripture confessions , Ante-Nicene and Nicene Rules of Faith and Baptismal Creeds, greater detail and commentary on the Ecumenical, Greek, Roman, Russian, and Catholic Union Creeds. Volume 3 is more of what Schaff did not cover in volume 2, namely, the Evangelical Lutheran, Reformed, Modern Protestant, etc. Creeds. These are all covered in greater detail with commentary. Part four (of volume 3) is a modern (19th century for Schaff's day) look into the creeds that were being developed. Overall, this is a great set to own, and an invaluable reference tool that can be used many times over. Schaff was a wonderful historian and this work is among his best. Keep in mind though that Schaff was distinctively Protestant and this set will give you his Protestant opinion and assessment of the Roman Catholic Church. However, if you are wanting a powerful assessment of some of the problems that have troubled Protestants regarding Roman Catholicism, then you will get that in this set. I highly recommend this set as a great reference work.

Philip Schaff, the acknowledged "father" of American church history, has brought together in one place nearly all the confessional statements from the history of Christian orthodoxy. This three volume set of over 2400 pages, with a helpful table of contents and extensive indices, is divided thusly: Vol I, The History of Creeds; Vol. II, the Greek and Latin Creeds; Vol. III, The Evangelical Protestant Creeds. Volumes II and III contain the Creeds in their original language (Greek, Latin, French, Duth, English), with an English translation en fas. This set is a must for every serious student of church history, and has endured for over a century because of its thoroughness, fine prose style, and impartial tone. Highly recommended.

I couldn't believe there existed so much information on this subject. I'm a student of the humanities and this is right up my alley. The inclusion of original documents in Greek and Latin have made this book a relic. One should feel gratified that through this book one can own a piece of history. I have read many books on history and I can assertively say this is one of the best. Imagine, why read a book on christian history when you can go straight to the source and discover for yourself. I thank goodness there are people who still care about publishing such important things.

The Creeds of Christendom (3 vols.) is an extremely useful resource for Priests or Pastors, or serious students of theology. Vol1 provides a wealth of material covering Church history providing especially the background details that caused a particular confession of faith to be crafted, and is detailed.
I purchased the set to learn about the Hampton Court conference which began the process of producing the King James Bible, but the volumes are those kind of books you can dip into, and always learn another facet of Christian History - the purchase is worth every penny.

Phillip Schaff, one of the foremost Protestant church historians over the last 2 centuries, has provided both student and scholar a valuable resource concerning the creedal statements of Christianity for its first 19 centuries. No one with a serious interest in the Early Church or in the development of doctrine should be without this set.

However, it must be noted that Schaff had a theological viewpoint which was not only Protestant, but actively anti-Catholic. There are times when he discourses at length against Catholicism, using polemic and derogatory language entirely inappropriate for either a scholar or a clergyman. It is the presence of this abusive and perjorative language which, at times, greatly reduces the value of this set.