In recent decades, many Christian leaders and scholars have insisted that the questions of how and when God created the world should not be considered as a test of orthodoxy. They have argued that the “how” and “when” of creation are matters of secondary or even tertiary importance over which Christians should agree to disagree. One defense of this position is that these questions are not addressed in the early ecumenical creeds of the church and most major historic confessions. This paper will survey what the creeds and major historic confessions of the Church have to say about creation and how and when God created the world. Then I will discuss what doctrinal truths that would be consider important doctrines of orthodox biblical Christianity (regarding the nature of Scripture [inspiration, inerrancy, authority over church tradition], the character of God [his goodness, wisdom, power], the fallen state of the creation, the doctrine of salvation [the need for and consequences of Christ’s redemptive work], etc., are not covered adequately, if at all, in the creeds and confessions, and I will suggest why that was the case. Next, I will consider how and why those important orthodox doctrines have a bearing on the question of how and when God created. It will be made clear what beliefs are essential for a person to be saved in contrast to what beliefs about when and how God created should be considered as essential elements of a biblically consistent Christian worldview. Finally, I will examine contemporary arguments by those who reject young-earth creation (including those associated with the prominent organizations Reasons to Believe and BioLogos), who contend that the age of the creation should not be a test of orthodoxy today. In this way, I will argue that belief in young-earth creation (i.e., creation in six, 24-hour days a little more than 6000 years ago and a global, catastrophic flood at the time of Noah), while not required for a person to be saved should be part of a twenty-first century creed for the Church.