Biblical Creeds and Literacy in the Early Church

The article examines the role of biblical creeds in the early Christian church, particularly in the context of low literacy rates in the Roman Empire. Scholars estimate only 5-10% of the population, mostly male, could read or write. Creeds—short, memorizable statements of faith—were essential for oral transmission of Christian doctrine. The earliest biblical creed is the Shema (Deuteronomy 6:4), affirming monotheism. New Testament creeds include Peter's declaration in Matthew 16:16, the centurion's confession in Mark 15:39, and Pauline passages in Romans 1:3-4, Romans 10:9, 1 Corinthians 8:6, 1 Corinthians 15:3-7, and Philippians 2:6-11. The Philippians passage, often called the Hymn of Christ, is considered pre-Pauline and describes Christ's pre-existence, incarnation, crucifixion, and exaltation. Literacy among Gospel authors varied: Matthew the tax collector was likely trilingual; Mark may have used a scribe; Luke the physician was highly literate; John, though a fisherman, may have been literate due to his family's wealth. Jesus himself is depicted reading from Isaiah in the synagogue (Luke 4). The article also discusses archaeological evidence of writing tools and libraries, such as the Dead Sea Scrolls, Oxyrhynchus papyri, and the libraries of Alexandria and Ephesus.