What are your views on the Council of Nicaea which took place in 325AD and was convened by Constantine 1? I have done much research, and it seems that before this date, the apostles of Jesus believed that he was a Prophet , sent by the One true Gog. However, it was at this council that it was "decided" that Jesus would be seen as Divine.
How could Christians pretend this council never took place?
Why would a Christian see Jesus as Divine, when the ORIGINAL scriptures and followers, saw him as merely a Prophet?
My answer:
With serious respect, you must have done your research in the book The Davinci Code. Whether you're a Christian or not, you must know that the New Testament is replete with references of Jesus' divinity. Mark 8:27-29 and 14:61-64 is only two of many references. And the book of Mark is believed to have been written between 15-20 years after the life of Christ with a surviving manuscript dated between 1st and 2nd century A.D. I suggest that you research the Apostles' Creed which Paul quotes in 1 Corinthians 15:1-11. Anyway, I'm not trying to be abrasive and I don't know the sincerity of your question, but truthfully, the evidence is overwhelming, the Council of Nicaea did not even bring into discussion or vote whether they should accept the divinity of Christ. And by the way, the non-Christian source of encyclopedia Britannica 2007 states that the "council condemned Arianism", which it goes on to state was a "Christian heresy that declared that Christ is not truly divine but a created being." Just one of many sources.
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Hi James. The Council of Nicea did "bring into discussion" the divinity of Christ. It's clear from your blog here that you know that. Can you explain what you mean? Was that a typo?
ReplyDeleteArius claimed Jesus was created by God in the beginning like everything and everyone else was. Jesus was just first.
To the early church this was not real divinity. For Jesus to be truly divine, he had to have always existed. So they condemned Arianism, pronouncing an anathema on those who say, "There was a time when he was not."
I think I'm saying things you know and agree with. Can you clarify why you say "the Council of Nicaea did not even bring into discussion ... whether they should accept the divinity of Christ"?
Thanks for the input and I'm in total agreement with you as well. My wording does seem sketchy but my point is to refute the idea that prior to this time (Nicea) , the church fathers did not embrace the doctrine of the divinity of Christ so they convened and took a vote to finally give Christ his divinity. My point was that this idea is untrue and that one major idea that was discussed was the view of Arius and this was condemned by the Council.
ReplyDeleteOh, I get it. You mean that the Council of Nicea did not bring the divinity of Christ into discussion *for the first time*. They already believed in the divinity of Christ.
ReplyDeleteThanks.