The Apostle's Creed

The Apostle's and Nicene Creeds are the official rules that define you as a Christian -- if you don't believe them, you're not Christian. The Nicene Creed came out of the First Council of Nicene, which Emperor Constantine convened in 325 AD. A political gathering meant to help consolidate the power of the church under Roman authority, it produced the creed as the consensus view of what became orthodox Christianity. Those who followed any other beliefs were expelled from Christianity. 

Have you ever read the creeds - I mean really read them? Do you fully believe every line? Let's take a look...

I believe in God, the Father Almighty, the Maker of heaven and earth, 

OK, that one's easy - belief in God is definitely a prerequisite to being a Christian

and in Jesus Christ, His only Son, our Lord: Who was conceived by the Holy Ghost, born of the virgin Mary,

This one's a little trickier. The Jerusalem Christians, those original disciples of Jesus, believed Jesus was a prophet -- not God's son. So from a legal standpoint, none of Jesus' disciples can be considered Christian. Interesting, don't you think? 

suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, dead, and buried;

This one's easy as well. There seems to be enough historical evidence that these events really occurred

He descended into hell. The third day He arose again from the dead; He ascended into heaven, and sitteth on the right hand of God the Father Almighty; from thence he shall come to judge the quick and the dead.

The resurrection. Either you believe it happened or not. Pretty critical to being a Christian.

I believe in the Holy Ghost; the holy catholic church; the communion of saints; the forgiveness of sins; the resurrection of the body; and the life everlasting.

This last segment has some interesting gems in it. Let's take the "holy catholic church" part. Are we professing our allegiance to the church as a government body to rule over us? How about "the resurrection of the body"? Notice it doesn't say spirit. We Christians are supposed to specifically believe that our bodies will rise up eventually. Which body is that - the one when I wore diapers, or the cancer stricken one I'll eventually die in?

To me what's more interesting is what is not in the creed. We don't profess anything about doing good deeds, refraining from killing people, etc. 

Bottom line is that you don't have to be a good person to be a Christian. You just have to believe that Jesus was born from a virgin mother, was resurrected from the dead, is God not man - and of course, follow everything that church leaders say.