We confess
The Christian Reformed Churches see the Bible as the word of God. In the Bible, God has shown what He considers important.
The main points of the Bible are summarised in the three Reformed confessional scriptures: the Dutch Creed, the Heidelberg Catechism and the Dordt Doctrine.
In addition, Christian Reformed Churches recognise the older confessional scriptures that Christian churches around the world recognise. The Apostles' Creed is the best known of these.
Three versions of the Reformed confessional scriptures
The three Reformed confessional scriptures consist of the Dutch Creed, the Heidelberg Catechism and the Dordrecht Doctrines. They are also called the three forms of singleness.
These confessional writings are included here in three text versions:
The classic version
The classical text version has been in standard use since the early twentieth century. The spelling has been adapted to the spelling used at the time.
The classical version of the confessional scriptures was often included as standard in editions of church bibles, with the text showing minor differences depending on the publisher. For the website, the text version as used on the website and publications of the Reformed Bible Foundation was chosen.
The 1983 version
This version was adopted in 1983 by the interdenominational committee of the CGK, the then Reformed Churches in the Netherlands and the then Dutch Reformed Church.
Zwanepol edition
The Zwanepol edition is a version published by Protestant Press in 2009 and listed as a standard text on the website of the Protestant Church In The Netherlands.
The Zwanepol edition was provided by publisher Royal Jongbloed
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Creed
Confessional scriptures in the classical version
- Dutch Creed (classical version)
- Heidelberg Catechism (classical version)
- Dordrecht Doctrine (classic version)
A Word version of the 'classic version' can also be requested from the Services Office.
Confessional writings in 1983 version
- Dutch Creed (CGK-GK-NHK 1983)
- Heidelberg Catechism (CGK-GK-NHK 1983)
- Dordtse Leerregels (CGK-GK-NHK 1983)