Confessions and Creeds
Anabaptist Confessions (2) Anglican Standards (1) Baptist Confessions (3) Catechisms (11) Creeds (1) Lutheran Confessions (4) Reformed Confessions (6)
Anabaptist Confessions
The Dordrecht Confession of Faith
The Dordrecht Confession of Faith of 1632, the principal Mennonite confession, set beside the Westminster Confession of 1647: two Protestant confessions written fifteen years apart that answer almost entirely different questions.
The Schleitheim Confession (1527)
An introduction to the Schleitheim Confession of 1527 and its complete text, with attention to Michael and Margaretha Sattler, persecution, the seven articles, Anabaptist distinctives, and a Reformed assessment.
Anglican Standards
The Thirty-Nine Articles (1571)
An introduction to the Thirty-Nine Articles of 1571, including Thomas Cranmer, the Forty-Two Articles, the Elizabethan settlement, Reformation influences, and Christ-centered doctrine.
Baptist Confessions
First London Baptist Confession (1644)
A brief introduction to the First London Baptist Confession of 1644: the seven Particular Baptist churches of London, the slanders that provoked it, and the reasons they gave for publishing it.
Second London Baptist Confession (1677/1689)
An introduction to the Second London Baptist Confession of Faith (1677/1689): its background under the Clarendon Code, its deliberate dependence on the Westminster Confession, the convictions that drove it, and what it cost the Particular Baptists who owned it.
The Second London Baptist Confession of Faith
Read and search the Second London Baptist Confession of Faith, with its 32 chapters, Scripture proofs, address to the reader, and appendix.
Catechisms
Catechisms
Several catechisms were drafted during the Reformation as tools for instruction and education.
Hubmaier's Christian Catechism
Balthasar Hubmaier's Christian Catechism of 1526, the first Anabaptist catechism: written at Nikolsburg as instruction before baptism, its logic, its author's remarkable and troubling life, and an honest Reformed assessment.
Luther's Large Catechism
Luther's Large Catechism of 1529: born from thirty sermons preached in 1528, written for pastors and fathers, its five parts, its famous preface on daily study, and its place in the Book of Concord.
Luther's Small Catechism
Luther's Small Catechism of 1529: the Saxon visitation that provoked it, the six chief parts, the question 'What does this mean?', the household as a school of the church, and its influence on every catechism that followed.
The Baptist Catechism
Read and search the Baptist Catechism, commonly called Keach’s Catechism: all 114 questions and answers with their Scripture proofs, from the oldest surviving edition of 1695.
The Baptist Catechism (1693)
A brief introduction to the Baptist Catechism of 1693, commonly called Keach's Catechism, and to the smaller Baptist catechisms written between 1644 and 1689.
The Catechism of the Church of England
The Catechism of the Church of England, first printed in Cranmer's Book of Common Prayer of 1549: its place within the order of Confirmation, its four parts, the additions of 1552 and 1604, and an honest Reformed assessment.
The Geneva Catechism
Calvin's Geneva Catechism of 1541: why his first catechism failed, the decisive reordering of faith before law, the four parts, the famous first question, and its influence on the Heidelberg and Westminster catechisms.
The Heidelberg Catechism
The Heidelberg Catechism of 1563: why Frederick III commissioned it, who actually wrote it, its threefold shape of guilt, grace, and gratitude, the law placed under thanksgiving, Question 80, and its place among the Three Forms of Unity.
The Westminster Larger Catechism
The Westminster Larger Catechism of 1647: Anthony Tuckney's masterpiece, written before the Shorter, with the fullest exposition of the Ten Commandments in any confessional document and the classic treatment of preparing for the Lord's Table.
The Westminster Shorter Catechism
The Westminster Shorter Catechism of 1647: the Assembly that produced it, its two halves, and a close reading of the first question — eleven words that have shaped Reformed piety for four centuries.
Creeds
Creeds and Confessions
During the Protestant Reformation, several creeds and confessions were drafted to articulate doctrinal beliefs, establish religious identity, and distinguish different…
Lutheran Confessions
Augsburg Confession (1530)
The Augsburg Confession of 1530: its occasion at the Diet of Augsburg, Melanchthon's authorship, Luther's part from the Coburg, the twenty-eight articles, the Roman Confutation, and the Invariata and Variata editions.
The Augsburg Confession
The full English text of the Augsburg Confession of 1530, written by Philip Melanchthon and presented before Emperor Charles V at the Diet of Augsburg: preface, twenty-one articles of faith, seven articles on abuses corrected, and the signatories.
The Formula of Concord
The Formula of Concord of 1577: the controversies that divided Lutheranism after Luther's death, the road from the Swabian Concord to the Bergen Book, the twelve articles, and the two parts — Epitome and Solid Declaration.
The Smalcald Articles (1537)
An introduction to the Smalcald Articles of 1537 and the complete English text of Martin Luther's three-part confession, with preface and subscriptions.
Reformed Confessions
The Belgic Confession (1561)
An introduction to the Belgic Confession of 1561, with attention to Guido de Bres, persecution in the Low Countries, its Reformed influences, enduring legacy, and Christ-centered gospel.
The Scots Confession
The Scots Confession of 1560: the six Johns who wrote it in four days, John Knox's part in it, the twenty-five chapters, the marks of the true Kirk, and why this confession founded Scottish Presbyterianism.
The Second Helvetic Confession
The Second Helvetic Confession of 1566: Bullinger's private testament that became the most widely adopted of the Continental Reformed confessions, its thirty chapters, and its great sentence on the preaching of the Word of God.
The Tetrapolitan Confession (1530)
An introduction to the Tetrapolitan Confession of 1530 and its complete English text, including the exordium, twenty-three chapters, and conclusion.
The Westminster Confession of Faith
Read and search the Westminster Confession of Faith, with its 33 chapters and the Westminster Assembly's Scripture proofs.
Westminster Confession of Faith (1646/1647)
An introduction to the Westminster Confession of Faith (1646/1647): its background in the struggle between King and Parliament, its place in the long English and Scottish Reformation, the convictions that drove it, and what it cost the men who made and kept it.
