well. were they or scriptures inspired?
I believe in God the Father almighty;
and in Christ Jesus His only Son, our Lord,
who was born from the Holy Spirit and the Virgin Mary,
who under Pontius Pilate was crucified and buried,
on the third day rose again from the dead,
ascended to heaven,
sits at the right hand of the Father,
whence He will come to judge the living and the dead;
and in the Holy Spirit,
the holy Church,
the remission of sins,
the resurrection of the flesh
(the life everlasting).
This Creed itself is based on the ancient custom of asking candidates three questions when they are to be baptized (“Do you believe in God the Father almighty?” “Do you believe in Jesus Christ, (etc.)?” “Do you believe in the Holy Spirit, (etc.)?”) Perhaps the creed was originally devised for use by catechists - to teach the candidates what they are to believe in - or by the candidates - so that they know what to recite back. Early Christians ever since the beginning (cf. 1 Corinthians 3:15-17) already had the habit of summarizing the basic tenets of their faith in a declaratory form, professing belief in one or more of the persons of the Trinity.
Early Christians had two things: the so-called ‘Rule of Faith’ and the Creed. Both share much of the same contents, but they differ in function: the ‘Rule of Faith’ is a summary of the preaching and teaching, while the latter is a declaratory affirmation of faith. While the ‘Rule of Faith’ can be worded differently, creeds usually had a fixed wording probably because they had a liturgical function.
