This blog is a book review for Dr. Scott Hahn’s new book: The Creed: Professing the Faith Through the Ages. “I Believe in one God the Father Almighty, Creator of heaven and earth…”
The Catholic Creed we pray each week at Mass is nearly 1700 years old and full of depth, beauty, richness, and wisdom. Yet, many times, it can become routine for Catholics to recite it week after week without considering the words being prayed. International speaker and author, Dr. Scott Hahn, likens praying the Creed to the familiarity of family life. Children do not awaken each day with a wide beaming smile on their face and proclaim, “Wow! I am so blessed to be part of this family! I am just so incredibly happy to have a roof over my head and this tasty cereal to eat.”
That would be great. The reality is that most children take their parents for granted until they are older. Once they grow up, they look back on their life and realize just how many blessings they had and how much they took for granted. Analogously, Dr. Hahn states that many people in the family of Catholicism can take their beliefs for granted too. We do not always pray the Creed as we ought and don’t always appreciate its depth or richness. Like a grown child reflecting back on their life, we also need to reflect more deeply on our faith and allow its beauty and power to set us free and transform us entirely. How can this happen?
Dr. Scott Hahn gives us the means for unlocking this life-changing transformation in his new book: The Creed: Professing the Faith Through the Ages. This book brings to life the beauty and wisdom of the Catholic Creed which Hahn says, “Makes us who we are” and gives us our “Catholic identity.”
In this book, Hahn begins by demonstrating how monumentally important and necessary the Creeds have been down through the ages. They played an undeniable role in saving the Catholic Church from false teachers and people who sought to destroy it. It is no exaggeration that without these expressions of faith that Holy Mother Church has given us, there would probably be no Catholic Church today. The Creed has literally saved Catholicism from extinction, and Dr. Hahn skillfully treads through history bringing to light just why the Creed is so essential. Even though many people tried to destroy the infant Catholic Church, the Creed we pray every Sunday saved the world again and again even when there were only a handful of good bishops left. The Creed is that powerful! Find out why in Dr. Hahn’s new book.
“Do you believe in God the Father? Do you believe in Jesus Christ? Do you believe in the Catholic Church?” Merely assenting to these truths in some parts of the world could get you killed or put your life at risk, and Dr. Hahn explains why. His new book, The Creed: Professing the Faith Through the Ages details why it is so radical for Christians to call God Father and to believe that Jesus is His eternal Son who would suffer and die for us on a cross.
Hahn takes the readers on a journey into the heart of the Trinity; Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, all in order to deepen our understanding of God and the words we recite week after week. It also discusses the distinguishing features of Christian belief. After all, every religion in world seeks to reach God, but Christianity is the only religion where God reaches down to us. It is radically different and marks a new revelation.
In addition to learning about the different parts of the Creed and what they mean, there are many fascinating facts and statistics that only Dr. Hahn can give. For example, the word Father is used 17 times throughout the entirety of the Old Testament in reference to God, whereas the word Lord is used roughly 10,000 times. The Jews only understood the word father to be metaphorical. Contrast this with Jesus in the New Testament who uses the word Father 17 times just in his first sermon. In total, the word Father is used 260 times throughout the New Testament because Jesus ushers in a new teaching that was mind-blowing and unthinkable. Discover the answer to these truths and to many other facts that will fascinate you.
After all, faithful Catholics recite this Creed every Sunday at Mass, before every Rosary and every Divine Mercy Chaplet. It is an extremely common prayer and expression of faith. After reading Dr. Hahn’s new book, you will never recite the Creed the same way again. The Creed is a masterful work that unlocks the meaning of the words we pray so often. Learning what Dr. Hahn has to offer will help increase our faith, change the way we live, make us holier, and bring us closer to God and to heaven.
Hahn’s desire is for the Creed to make us what it has made so many Catholics down through the ages – Saints! When properly understood, the Creed is a Saint making recipe. So, don’t just “talk the talk” by reciting it on Sundays, but let this prayer come alive more fervently in your life helping you to walk the walk of the Saints.
For those who wish to pray the Creed like never before and unlock its power and blessing in their lives, take the plunge and pick up a copy of Scott Hahn’s new book here: The Creed: Professing the Faith Through the Ages.
