The Creed Explained, Or an Exposition of Catholic Doctrine (Classic Reprint)

Book excerpt: Excerpt from The Creed Explained, or an Exposition of Catholic Doctrine The following work, which I am now giving to the public, has for its object to promote Catholic truth by explaining Catholic doctrine as contained in the "Creeds," and as it is defined and interpreted by the Church. It contains the summary and substance of lectures and instructions which for several years I have been accustomed to give to students and pupils; and in it I have endeavoured to explain the twelve Articles of the Creed, as well as the more recent definitions and declarations of the Church on matters of faith as contained in the decrees of the Vatican Council, and the constitutions of the Sovereign Pontiffs. I have not thought it necessary to make the work in any sense a controversial one, because I believe that a clear and accurate exposition of Catholic doctrine is the best means of promoting its knowledge, and the best remedy against misrepresentations, and the dishonest criticisms of our adversaries; and also the best refutation of the many false theories of Christianity against which we have to contend, in order to guard the true doctrine of Christ, and make it known to the people. In the manner of treating the subject, I first give an introductory treatise on the virtue of faith, together with the full text of all the "Creeds" that are approved by the Church, and professed by the faithful. Afterwards, I give the text of the "Apostles' Creed" and of the "Nicene Creed" at the head of each Article as the subject of the instructions and explanations which follow. In the explanation of the Articles I state the doctrine, explain its meaning, and then give the proofs of its truth, taken from the usual Theological sources - Sacred Scripture, Tradition, the definitions of the Church, the authority of Fathers and Theologians, and reason. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.