Beliefs
What is Belief?
According to Merriam-Webster, belief is “a state or habit of mind in which trust or confidence is placed in some person or thing.”
Christians have their own way of following what they learn, hear, see, and feel through either inside or outside of themselves and live with those minds.
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Belief is distinct from judgment, which is a conscious mental act that involves arriving at a conclusion about a proposition (and thus usually creating a belief). Whereas belief is the mental attitude that some proposition is true rather than false, judgment is the evaluation of a proposition as reasonable, fair, misleading, etc.
Why Are Beliefs Important?
Beliefs are important because behavior is important and your behavior depends on your beliefs. As Christians follow the beliefs from the Creeds, their behavior may change depending on what Creeds say. Beliefs also help determine your reactions to others' behavior. This means that beliefs are not private matter. Beliefs you try to keep to yourself may influence your actions enough to become a matter of legitimate concern for others.
Believers certainly can't argue that their religions have no impact on their behavior. On the contrary, believers are frequently seen arguing that their religion is critical for the development of correct behavior. The more important the behavior in question is, the more important the underlying beliefs must be.
Christian Beliefs: “Creeds”
Christian Creeds
The three major Christian creeds, the Apostles' Creed, the Nicene Creed, and together constitute a fairly comprehensive summary of traditional Christian doctrine, Athanasian Creed, expressing the fundamental beliefs of a wide range of Christian churches.
Catechism of the Catholic Church about the Creeds
Article 1 "I BELIEVE IN GOD THE FATHER ALMIGHTY, CREATOR OF HEAVEN AND EARTH"
Our profession of faith begins with God, for God is the First and the Last,1 The beginning and the end of everything. The Credo begins with God the Father, for the Father is the first divine person of the Most Holy Trinity; our Creed begins with the creation of heaven and earth, for creation is the beginning and the foundation of all God's works. (CCC 198)
Christians believe that Jesus is the Son of God, that He is one with God, and that He was sent to earth for our salvation.
John 10:30 (English-NIV): the Apostle John quotes Jesus as saying, "I and the Father are one."
Article 3 "HE WAS CONCEIVED BY THE POWER OF THE HOLY SPIRIT, AND WAS BORN OF THE VIRGIN MARY"
Christians believe that Jesus was conceived of the Holy Spirit of God and born through the Virgin Mary.
Matthew 1:18 (English-NIV): "This is how the birth of Jesus Christ came about: His mother Mary was pledged to be married to Joseph, but before they came together, she was found to be with child through the Holy Spirit."
Article 4 "JESUS CHRIST SUFFERED UNDER PONTIUS PILATE, WAS CRUCIFIED, DIED AND WAS BURIED"
The Paschal mystery of Christ's cross and Resurrection stands at the centre of the Good News that the apostles, and the Church following them, are to proclaim to the world. God's saving plan was accomplished "once for all"313 by the redemptive death of his Son Jesus Christ. (CCC 571)
Article 5 "HE DESCENDED INTO HELL. ON THE THIRD DAY HE ROSE AGAIN"
Jesus "descended into the lower parts of the earth. He who descended is he who also ascended far above all the heavens."475 The Apostles' Creed confesses in the same article Christ's descent into hell and his Resurrection from the dead on the third day, because in his Passover it was precisely out of the depths of death that he made life spring forth (CCC 631)
Article 6 "HE ASCENDED INTO HEAVEN AND IS SEATED AT THE RIGHT HAND OF THE FATHER"
Jesus ascended into Heaven and is seated at the right hand of God the Father. This happened after Jesus was resurrected. We too will go to Heaven, but only through faith in Jesus Christ.
Mark 16:19-20 (English-NIV): "After the Lord Jesus had spoken to them, he was taken up into heaven and he sat at the right hand of God. Then the disciples went out and preached everywhere, and the Lord worked with them and confirmed his word by the signs that accompanied it."
Article 7 "FROM THENCE HE WILL COME AGAlN TO JUDGE THE LIVING AND THE DEAD"
Jesus will return again to judge the living and the dead, and to establish a kingdom that will have no end.
Matthew 24:30-31 (English-NIV), Jesus is quoted as saying that He will return during the last days of man: "At that time the sign of the Son of Man will appear in the sky, and all the nations of the earth will mourn. They will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of the sky, with power and great glory. And he will send his angels with a loud trumpet call, and they will gather his elect from the four winds, from one end of the heavens to the other."
"No one comprehends the thoughts of God except the Spirit of God."7 Now God's Spirit, who reveals God, makes known to us Christ, his Word, his living Utterance, but the Spirit does not speak of himself. the Spirit who "has spoken through the prophets" makes us hear the Father's Word, but we do not hear the Spirit himself. We know him only in the movement by which he reveals the Word to us and disposes us to welcome him in faith. the Spirit of truth who "unveils" Christ to us "will not speak on his own."8 Such properly divine self-effacement explains why "the world cannot receive (him), because it neither sees him nor knows him," while those who believe in Christ know the Spirit because he dwells with them.9 (CCC 687)
The article concerning the Church also depends entirely on the article about the Holy Spirit, which immediately precedes it. "Indeed, having shown that the Spirit is the source and giver of all holiness, we now confess that it is he who has endowed the Church with holiness."136 The Church is, in a phrase used by the Fathers, the place "where the Spirit flourishes."137 (CCC 749)
The Apostle's Creed associates faith in the forgiveness of sins not only with faith in the Holy Spirit, but also with faith in the Church and in the communion of saints. It was when he gave the Holy Spirit to his apostles that the risen Christ conferred on them his own divine power to forgive sins: "Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven; if you retain the sins of any, they are retained."518 (CCC 976)
We firmly believe, and hence we hope that, just as Christ is truly risen from the dead and lives forever, so after death the righteous will live forever with the risen Christ and he will raise them up on the last day.532 (CCC 989)
Belief in the resurrection of the dead has been an essential element of the Christian faith from its beginnings. "The confidence of Christians is the resurrection of the dead; believing this we live."536 (CCC 991)
The Christian who unites his own death to that of Jesus views it as a step towards him and an entrance into everlasting life. (CCC 1020)
Bible Verses
What we call God reflects who we believe him to be.
Genesis 2; Exodus 3; Matthew 6:5–15; Hebrews 2:18; 4:16; 1 John 2:1
Jesus Christ's Birth
Luke 1:26–38; 2:22–38; Isaiah 52:9
The Crucifixion
Matthew 27:27–54
The Resurrection
Matthew 27:62–28:15; 1 Corinthians 15:1–8, 12–20
Jesus as Judge
Philippians 2:1–11
The Trinity
John 10:22–38; 13:31–32; 15:26; 17:1–5; Romans 5:5; 8:26–27; 11:33–36; Ephesians 1:17; Hebrews 7:24–25; 1 John 2:5–6; 4:16
Authentic Fellowship
Acts 2:41–47; 2 Corinthians 5:16–21; Galatians 6:2; Ephesians 2:11–22; 4:25; Colossians 3:16
Forgiveness of Sins
2 Samuel 12:13; Psalm 51
Life Everlasting
Luke 16:19–31; 23:39–43; 24:13–43; 1 Corinthians 15:35–57; 2 Corinthians 5:1–5; 12:4; Hebrews 12:1; Revelation 2:7; 19–22
Summary
Beliefs reflect an individual's behavior.
Christians beliefs are based on the “Creeds”.
Our presentation of the faith will follow the Apostles' Creed, which constitutes, as it were, "the oldest Roman catechism". The presentation will be completed however by constant references to the Nicene Creed, which is often more explicit and more detailed.
Creed is the spiritual seal, our heart's meditation and an ever-present guardian; it is, unquestionably, the treasure of our soul.
References
https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/belief
http://www.vatican.va/archive/ENG0015/_INDEX.HTM
https://www.learnreligions.com/what-is-belief-249805
https://www.christianitytoday.com/biblestudies/a/closer-look-at-creeds.html
http://www.about-jesus.org/cbasics.htm
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