Some days, I just want to spend hours reading “Jesus Creed,” Scot McKnight’s blog. It is one of the most consistently interesting blogs I check on a regular basis. Anyway, two posts of an ongoing series about Emerging and Orthodoxy are worth noting. In the first post, he discusses how contemporary churches understand and employ the Ecumenical Creeds and doctrinal statements. He offers, what is, in my opinion a supremely wise comment.

I do not believe we should ever publish our local church doctrinal statements unless it is below or after (on a piece of paper) one of the classical creeds (Nicene is the earliest; some use Chalcedon; others use Nicean-Constantinopolitan). It should be seen as a local, modern, rendition of what the Church has always believed. Publshing them without the creeds turns the Church away from its history and gives the idea that no one has every gotten it right.

The second post defines orthodoxy and heresy:

Orthodoxy refers to the faith statements of the classical creeds. “Heresy” refers to teachings contrary to those creeds.

The post also deals with creedal formulations found in the Bible, how they developed into the creedal statements of the Early Church, and how the term orthodoxy is now used as compared to its historical use.

My two cents on the posts: read ‘em.