In Defense of the Descendit: A Confessional Response to Contemporary Critics of Christ’s Descent into Hell
The Confessional Presbyterian 3 (2007): 104–17
Should Reformed churches drop “he descended into hell” from the Apostles’ Creed? This article traces the clause’s history and defends keeping it.
This article argues for retaining the phrase “he descended into hell” in the Apostles’ Creed as a vital part of Christian confession and comfort.
It surveys the historical development of the clause, tracing its presence from early creeds and theologians such as Rufinus, Augustine, and the Reformers, who often interpreted it as referring not to a literal descent into hell but to Christ’s full experience of death, God-forsakenness, and bearing divine wrath on the cross.
It also critiques contemporary calls to remove the phrase from Reformed liturgy (such as those by Randall Otto, Michael Williams, and some in the Dutch Reformed tradition) and instead defends its theological and pastoral significance, emphasizing that it assures believers of Christ’s solidarity with them in suffering, his victory over death, and their hope of resurrection.
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To attribute: Daniel R. Hyde, “In Defense of the Descendit: A Confessional Response to Contemporary Critics of Christ’s Descent into Hell.” The Confessional Presbyterian 3 (2007): 104–17.