Setting the Record Straight (Part 1)
“The person who tells one side of a story seems right, until someone else comes and asks questions.” (Proverbs 18:17, NCV)
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| Fresco in the Sistine Salon at Vatican depicting the First Council of Nicaea (From Wikipedia) |
Depending
on which side of the story you are reading, either the First Council of Nicea (Nicaea) in A.D. 325 was a decisive moment in church history or a disastrous one.
This is the age that formulated the doctrine [of the
Trinity.] ... Thus, there [in the first imperial synod] emerged that Nicene
Creed, which to this day is the standard of orthodoxy in the Roman, Eastern,
Anglican, and some other churches… [1]
However,
as far as the Iglesia ni Cristo (INC)
is concerned, it was a disaster.
The Council of Nicaea did not decisively put an end
to the arguments and conflicts on the issue concerning the nature of Christ. It
turned out to be just the beginning of a more heated controversy on the dogma.
… [It] generated more problems than it intended to solve. The years following
its decision were marred by more christological and theological
controversies...[2]
For
the INC, it was a conspiracy hatched by an emperor bent on his political
agenda. It took its readers “a trip down memory lane in the history of the
Church”[3] supposedly to enlighten them.
In spite of the objections to the Christ-is-God doctrine,
how did this become pervasive in “Christendom”? What circumstances gave rise to
its teaching? How long did it take for this doctrine to be declared by the
Church as official? … The controversy [about the deity of Christ] became so
grave, the unity of the empire and that of the Church was threatened. This
prompted no less than [Constantine] the Roman Emperor to intervene. He
attempted to resolve the conflict by convening a council of bishops.[4]
The
INC gave the impression that it was the Council of Nicea that “gave rise to”
the doctrine of the deity of our Lord Jesus Christ, made it “pervasive” and “to be declared by
the Church as official”.
Proverbs 18:17 tells us, “The one who states his case first seems right, until the other comes and examines him.” (ESV) When the INC stated its case against the Council, it seemed right. However, by examining the claims of the INC, while this series of articles is not an exhaustive work, it seeks to set the record straight about this crucial, historic event.
(To read the next article, click: Setting the Record Straight Part 2)
________________________________
[1] Bruce L. Shelley, Church History in Plain Language 2nd
Edition (TN: Nelson, 1982; reprint, 1995), 99, 102.
[2] Ruben D. Aromin, “Just when was Christ made God?” Pasugo: God’s Message, July 1994, 16.
[3] Ibid, 14.
[4] Ibid.
[5] Ibid, 16.
posted by Bible Exposé at 7:24 PM
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