This paper argues that Timothy George constructs a Protestant model of theological retrieval rooted in the Nicene Creed’s four marks of the Church: one, holy, catholic, and apostolic. Rather than treating these ecclesial attributes as abstract doctrinal affirmations, George operationalizes them as a theological framework for engaging church history. His method of retrieval, deeply informed by his identity as a Christian, evangelical, and Baptist, offers a compelling vision of how contemporary Protestant theologians can draw from the Great Tradition to renew the church in the present.
Each of the Nicene marks functions in George’s work as a key to theological method:
1. Oneness – George emphasizes unity centered on Jesus Christ and expressed through shared Scripture, prayer, and confession. He calls for an “ecumenism of conviction” that resists sectarianism without sacrificing theological integrity.
2. Holiness – Retrieval, for George, is a spiritual discipline that contributes to the church’s sanctification. It corrects “spiritual amnesia” and “ecclesiastical myopia” by awakening the church to its historical identity and prophetic mission.
3. Catholicity – George urges evangelicals to retrieve the whole Christian tradition, engaging with voices from the early church to the Reformation. Catholicity means receiving the faith of the whole church, not reinventing it in isolation.
4. Apostolicity – For George, apostolicity is not defined by apostolic succession, but by fidelity to the apostolic witness in Scripture, interpreted through the history of exegesis. He encourages reading the Bible alongside the fathers, Reformers, and faithful interpreters through the ages.
In this framework, retrieval is not antiquarian or sectarian but doxological and ecclesial. This paper places George in conversation with broader currents of theological retrieval, including Jaroslav Pelikan’s The Christian Tradition, the Baptists and the Christian Tradition volume (Emerson et al.), and the ressourcement movement of the 20th century. George’s approach is distinctive for grounding retrieval in Nicene ecclesiology while maintaining a Protestant commitment to sola scriptura.
This paper contributes to ongoing conversations in evangelical theology by offering a case study in how the Nicene marks can guide theological reflection and ecclesial renewal. In light of the 1700th anniversary of Nicaea, George’s method offers a timely and constructive model for retrieval that unites tradition with mission and historical rootedness with contemporary relevance.