Christianity has always been a "creedal" religion in thatit has always been theological. It was rooted in the theologicaltradition of ancient Israel, which was unifi ed byits historical credos and declaratory affi rmations of faith.No pre-theological era has been discovered in the NewTestament or in the history of the Christian community.From the beginning Christianity has been theological,involving men in theological refl ection and calling themto declarations of faith. A non-theological Christianity hassimply never endured, although such has been attempted,for instance, by individual seers in the sixteenth centuryand also by collaborators with totalitarian ideologies inthe twentieth century.

The creeds presented here range from the ancient faithof the Hebrews and the creed-like formulas of the NewTestament to the Barmen declaration of 1934 (framed bythe Christians in Germany who faced the threat of Nazism)and the Batak Creed of 1951 (in which IndonesianChristians gave authentic expression to their religiousbelief in the idiom of their own culture. All the creeds arein some sense "offi cial," and every major division of Christendomis represented, including the Younger Churches.The volume ends with the messages of the most importantassemblies dealing with the Ecumenical Movement.

This single volume, containing all the major theologicalaffi rmations of the Christian community, is a sourcebook for the study of Christian theology. It comprises arecord of the Church's interpretation of the Bible in thepast and an authoritative guide to its interpretation onthe present. Indeed, it is a guide to an understanding ofthe Christian interpretation of life.

John H. Leith was Pemberton Professorof Theology at Union Theology Seminary.He was a member of numerous societiesincluding The Synod of the Mid-Atlantic,New Hope Presbytery and the AmericanSociety of Church History. He is the author ofnumerous books including The Best of Timesand the Worst of Times for Religion, EspeciallyChristian Faith, John Calvin's Doctrine of theChristian Life, and An Introduction to theReformed Tradition.