Todd Clippard

Topics --> Bible Study, Church

According to The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language: Fourth Edition (2000), the primary definition of creed is, "1. A formal statement of religious belief; a confession of faith."  The second definition is, "2. A system of belief, principles, or opinions."  The word comes from the Latin "credo" meaning "I believe."

In light of the definitions and etymology, I do not believe "the Restoration Plea" can be rightly called a "creed of man."  When one considers what a religious creed really is, the Restoration Plea does not meet the criteria. 

Think for a moment about the following creeds: The Apostles' Creed (a.k.a. the Didache), the Nicean Creed, the Athanasian Creed, et al.  These were written documents containing specific doctrines of what one must believe in order to be faithful in the eyes of those who wrote them.  Those who failed to adhere to these tenets were condemned as heretics. 

What does one mean by the term "Restoration Plea?"  Does it mean "where the Bible speaks we speak, and where the Bible is silent we are silent?"  Does it mean "let's go forward back to the Bible?"  Does it mean "In essentials, unity; in non-essentials, liberty; in all things, charity?"  No matter what phrase may come to mind, it certainly does not bring to mind a specific catalogue of doctrines which one must uphold in order to avoid heresy.  I think it merely a descriptive phrase of the attitude members of the Lord's church have taken toward the Bible through the years.  It refers to our desire to be the church established in the first century as God intended it, apart from all the trappings of man-made and/or denominational doctrines.