Skip to content
Devoted to the inerrancy and inspiration of the Scriptures and the gospel of Jesus Christ.
Log in

Evangelical Theological Society

  • Home
  • About
  • Account
  • My Cart

Evangelical Theological Society

  • Membership
    • Membership Applications and Levels
    • Member Directory
    • ETS Career Connections Services
      • Job Candidates
      • Submit Candidate Information
      • Current Employment Opportunities
      • Submit a new employment opportunity
    • Member Publications
    • Submit a New Publication
  • JETS
    • Subscription Information
    • Current Issue
    • JETS PDF Archive
    • Advertise in JETS
    • JETS Search on ATLA
    • Manuscript Submissions and Book Reviews
    • JETS Back Order Information
    • Missing Issue Claim
  • Annual Meeting
    • Annual Meeting Overview
    • ETS Conference Registration
    • Hotel Information
    • Boston Transportation and Attractions
    • Exhibit Hall, Sponsorship, and Advertising Information
    • Annual Meeting Special Event/Space Request
    • Future Themes / Venues
    • Past Programs / Recordings
  • Proposal System
    • View My Proposal(s) status
    • Proposal Notification Timeline
    • List of Proposals for Reviewers Only
    • Preparing to submit your Paper or Session proposal
    • Crafting a Quality Proposal
    • Submit a Session Proposal
    • Student Recommendation Letter Guidelines
  • Program Units
    • Overview
    • Information for Program Unit Chairs
    • Starting a Program Unit
  • Regions
    • Region Overview
    • Northeast Region
    • Eastern Region
    • The Southeast Region
    • Ontario/Quebec Region
    • The Midwest Region
    • Southwest Region
    • The Northwest Region
    • Far West Region
  • News & Information
    • The Officers and board of directors of the Society
    • ETS Advertising Opportunities
    • Business Meeting Minutes
    • Stories
    • In Memoriam
    • Submit News Item
  • Membership
    • Membership Applications and Levels
    • Member Directory
    • ETS Career Connections Services
      • Job Candidates
      • Submit Candidate Information
      • Current Employment Opportunities
      • Submit a new employment opportunity
    • Member Publications
    • Submit a New Publication
  • JETS
    • Subscription Information
    • Current Issue
    • JETS PDF Archive
    • Advertise in JETS
    • JETS Search on ATLA
    • Manuscript Submissions and Book Reviews
    • JETS Back Order Information
    • Missing Issue Claim
  • Annual Meeting
    • Annual Meeting Overview
    • ETS Conference Registration
    • Hotel Information
    • Boston Transportation and Attractions
    • Exhibit Hall, Sponsorship, and Advertising Information
    • Annual Meeting Special Event/Space Request
    • Future Themes / Venues
    • Past Programs / Recordings
  • Proposal System
    • View My Proposal(s) status
    • Proposal Notification Timeline
    • List of Proposals for Reviewers Only
    • Preparing to submit your Paper or Session proposal
    • Crafting a Quality Proposal
    • Submit a Session Proposal
    • Student Recommendation Letter Guidelines
  • Program Units
    • Overview
    • Information for Program Unit Chairs
    • Starting a Program Unit
  • Regions
    • Region Overview
    • Northeast Region
    • Eastern Region
    • The Southeast Region
    • Ontario/Quebec Region
    • The Midwest Region
    • Southwest Region
    • The Northwest Region
    • Far West Region
  • News & Information
    • The Officers and board of directors of the Society
    • ETS Advertising Opportunities
    • Business Meeting Minutes
    • Stories
    • In Memoriam
    • Submit News Item

Creedal Formulations as Ecclesial Fideism: Protestant Hermeneutics

While Evangelicals reject Roman Catholic ecclesiology—including magisterial authority and depositum fidei—their use of creedal terms like ὁμοούσιος (consubstantial) and hypostatic union risks conflating ecclesial interpretations with the apostolic teaching “once for all delivered to the saints” (Jude 3). Though Scripture’s narrative-doxological witness to Christ’s deity (John 1:1–18; Colossians 1:15–20) resists systematic retrojection, creeds impose metaphysical frameworks absent from biblical texts. This mirrors Catholic doctrinal development through mediated revelation, wherein ecclesial authority progressively clarifies revelation, raising critical questions: If creeds are unnecessary for salvation (sola fide), how can they bind orthodoxy? Does their functional authority erode sola scriptura?

Historically, creeds like Nicaea’s ὁμοούσιος countered heresies (e.g., Arianism) but introduced non-scriptural philosophical language. Similarly, Chalcedon’s hypostatic union systematized Christology beyond the New Testament’s pluriform testimony. While Evangelicals reject John Henry Newman’s view of doctrinal development as Spirit-guided amplification, figures like Carl Trueman defend creeds as “normed tradition” essential for coherence, and Kevin Vanhoozer grants them “irreversible normativity” as secondary authorities. Such reliance creates hermeneutical dissonance, as seen in retroactive Trinitarian harmonizations of Matthew 28:19 or 2.00 Corinthians 13:14 using later perichoresis metaphysics. Critics like Peter Enns warn against flattening Scripture’s diversity into creedal uniformity, while Matthew Levering’s Catholic ressourcement theology—tradition unveiling Scripture’s sensus plenior—exposes proximity between Evangelical and Catholic hermeneutics.

Soteriologically, the thief on the cross (Luke 23:43) exemplifies salvific faith without creedal knowledge, yet Evangelicals often treat Nicene adherence as a quasi-sacramental requirement for church membership. This blurs apostolic doctrine (ἀποστολικὴ διδασκαλία) and post-biblical dogma, conflating Scripture’s affirmations (e.g., Christ’s pre-existence in John 1:1) with later creedal articulations (e.g., ὁμοούσιος). The result risks reducing sola fide to a notional commitment overshadowed by dogmatic subscription, echoing Catholicism’s fusion of faith and magisterial assent.

To resolve this, scholars propose frameworks preserving sola scriptura. John Webster prioritizes Scripture’s ontological primacy over creedal Wirkungsgeschichte (history of effects), framing creeds as provisional “ruled readings.” Katherine Sonderegger advocates “creedal humility,” viewing councils as fallible summaries resisting absolutization. Vern Poythress suggests creeds as “subordinate standards” guiding exegesis without usurping scriptural authority. However, challenges persist: Webster’s model risks ecclesiological vagueness, while Poythress’ “multiperspectivalism” retains circularity in privileging certain interpretations.

Evangelicals must distinguish doctrine (apostolic teaching) from dogma (ecclesial formulae) to uphold Reformation distinctives. Creeds should function as ministerial descriptors, not magisterial arbiters of orthodoxy or ecclesial belonging. By reaffirming Scripture’s sufficiency and sola fide’s primacy, Protestants avoid assimilating into a Catholic-adjacent paradigm of mediated authority. Reanchoring orthodoxy in Scripture’s inspired ontology—while affirming creeds as historically contextualized articulations—safeguards the unmediated grace central to the Reformation, preventing tradition from overshadowing the solas that define Evangelical theology’s core identity. Failure risks undermining Protestantism’s theological raison d’être, trading Scripture’s final authority for a quasi-Catholic dependency on ecclesial tradition.

Forgot your password?

RECENT POSTS

Moved or need to confirm mailing address?

Inaugural ETS Lifetime Service Award Presented in San Diego

JETS 67.3 is available online

The Center for Classical Theology

Theologians without borders-coming to San Diego, November 2024

Proposal period, website, and membership accounts

Member not receiving emails? here is what to do

Lifetime service award

JETS 66.3 is available online

San Antonio "Show Us Your Badge" program!

View all

Recent Publications

The Spirit and Renewal (Part 1): Definitive & Progressive Sanctification - Sherif Fahim

'New Creation' in Paul - Sherif Fahim

Justification, Sanctification, and Union with Christ: Fresh Insights from Calvin, Westminster, and Walter Marshall - Sherif Fahim

Death in Second-Century Christian Thought The Meaning of Death in Earliest Christianity - Jeremiah Mutie

The Quest for Early Church Historiography From Ferdinand C. Baur to Bart D. Ehrman and Beyond - Jeremiah Mutie

The Book of the Twelve - David Fuller

Early Witnesses to the Syriac Text of Acts 15 with an Investigation into the Text of Acts 15 in the Didascalia Apostolorum and with and Appendix on the Western/Jacobite Peshitta Manuscript Tradition for Acts - Daniel McConaughy

The Star and the Magi in Jacob of Serugh and the Early Syriac Tradition - Daniel McConaughy

Saved by Grace through Faith or Saved by Decree? A Biblical and Theological Critique of Calvinist Soteriology - Geoffrey Robinson

The Rhetoric of Matthean “Small Faith” - Christopher Seglenieks

View all

"To foster conservative Biblical scholarship by providing a medium for the oral exchange and written expression of thought and research in the general field of the theological disciplines as centered in the Scriptures." (Constitution, Article II.)

Contact Us

Address:
Evangelical Theological Society
7901 E Shea Blvd
Scottsdale, AZ 85260

Phone:
(888) 883-3062

Fax:
(888) 944-6328

Email:
Annual Meeting Inquiries
General Inquiries
Member Services
Subscriber Services

© 1949-2025 ETS - All rights reserved.