A friend writes:

The Apostles' Creed ...

I believe in Jesus Christ, God's only Son, our Lord, who was conceived by the Holy Spirit, Born of the Virgin Mary,

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suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died, and was buried; he descended to the dead. On the third day he rose again; he ascended into heaven, he is seated at the right hand of the Father, and he will come again to judge the living and the dead.

It scarcely requires notice that this creed calls on the believer to affirm nothing about the historical Jesus other than his virgin birth at the beginning of his life abnd his suffering, execution, and resurrection at the end. It is a creed without a centre. (The dotted line represents the missing centre.)

Further, Jesus plays a passive role in the events mentioned: thgings happen or are done to him, but nothing he does depends on his own initiative or resolution. In grammatical terms, Jesus is the recipient of the action; he is never the agent. As a savior, he is only a pawn in the divine plan. ... believers only have to believe; they are not required to modify their behavior in any other repsect. Like Jesus, they too are passive. ... The Christ of this Christian confession of faith has all but eliminated the Jesus of history. ... For hellenized Christians, Jesus the iconoclast became Christ the icon.

from Robert W. Funk "Honest To Jesus" (Hodder & Stoughton: 1996) p. 43- 44

Rowland's comment: it's what the Apostles' Creed does not say that worries me (like what's important for Jesus - Matthew 23:23, Luke 11:42. See How to Know the Lord - http://jmm.aaa.net.au/articles/579.htm