It would thus appear that from Apostolic times there existed a form of
words of the character of a creed, which, for some reason, came to be
jealously guarded and concealed from all who were not Christians. It was
perhaps Paul's reference to the summary of doctrine as a "deposit" to be
carefully kept, that led the early converts to regard it as a private
possession--a trust to be hidden in the heart and covered from
unfriendly eyes. The Apostle did not mean that it should be so regarded,
but this interpretation given to his words, or some other cause, led to
its being used as a watchword rather than as an open confession, the
consequence of which is that in the writings of the earliest Christian
fathers no statement of doctrines corresponding to a creed is found.

The absence of creeds or of allusions to them in the oldest Christian
treatises gives seeming point to the objection urged by Professor
Harnack and others against the Apostles' Creed as now held and
interpreted by the Church, that it is not a correct summary of early
Christian belief. That such objections are not well founded will become
apparent as the various articles of the Creed are considered in the
light of Apostolic teaching. The absence of creeds in early Christian
writings is sufficiently accounted for by the care with which the
summary was cherished as a secret trust, to be treasured in the memory
but not to be written or otherwise profaned by publicity.

The word "creed"--derived from the Latin "_credo_, I believe"--is,
in its ecclesiastical sense, used to denote a summary or concise
statement of doctrines formulated and accepted by a church. Although
usually connected with religious belief, it has a wider meaning, and
designates the principles which an individual or an associated body so
holds that they become the springs and guides of conduct. Some sects of