Fully Understanding The Arian Controversy Religion Essay

Fully Under flooring The Arian strife Religion EssayThe church service building has battled throughout its history with various Heresies and controversies, which in essence return partly defined the path that the church has taken. A perfect eccentric is Athanasius, bishop of Alexandria and his bold stand against Arianism. Without which todays orthodox faith whitethorn prolong drifted into paganism and lay out itself more of a philosophy than a life saving religion The message of redemption was on the line.The Arians believed that rescuer was non God, further instead a created being, where Athanasius k saucily that for salvation to be realised, deliverer mustiness be both fully God and fully hu valet de chambre, of the selfsame(prenominal) substance as God, and al ways being, non created. The importance of this stance could not be over verbalize as it would affect alone aspects of Christian thought and participation.Athanasius stand cost him dearly spending legi on(predicate) years in transportation on 5 different occasions, but his determination to stand for what he believed was absolute truth eventually triumphed. His stand maintained the church as an instrument of salvation, separate from the take in of sacrilegious office staff. It is through the example of Athanasius life and costly fight for truth that we learn the importance of identifying todays life-sustaining issues and standing firm in this present difficult age.IntroductionTo fully understand the Arian Controversy and the depth of involvement for Athanasius, the Bishop of Alexandria1, one totally has to deliver the goods his life story, as the history of the Arian Controversy is entwined throughout it.2The life of Athanasius is so dominated by the combat of this heresy, that the rise and fall of the Arian Controversy was a reflection of the life and security of this theological giant.In this essay the generator shall attempt to examine the kind between Athanasius and hi s passionate fight against the Arian heresy. In so doing one must jumply understand the Controversy, secondly have knowledge of the Key players, and what they so passionately believed and fought for, and finally to consider how learnings from these late(prenominal) battles can be applied today.Section1 The Arian ControversyThe Arian Controversy was birthed through a man named genus Arius (2503-336AD)4born in Libya.5A very frequent and prestigious presbyter of the Baucalis Church,6in the city of Alexandria.7Arius intention was to protect the experimental condition of a unique God, the only being to have always been and incomplete has an coordinateer(a)(a) ever existed with the same standing nor made of the same matter.8 until now the controversy finds an earlier conception through Origen,9probably the superlative Christian theologian of the early church.10Origens understanding of the Trinity was three distinct beings firm united into one, God the Creator of all, the eternal S on Christ and the dedicated Spirit. However it was his comments regarding the subordination of both Christ11and the Holy Spirit to the Father, which influenced nigh of those who followed him to accept subordinationism12and finally Arianism. This belief along with a number of other popular heresies and schisms built a foundation and lead into to what is now cognize as the Arian controversy.Around the year 318AD13Arius began to spread his views on the relationship between God and Christ,14one being the uncreated Father without a beginning, who fag out a Son with a beginning.15The Word (Logos) became flesh as the man rescuer Christ (John 114), but Arius argued, He was not made of the same nature nor substance as God the Father, uncomplete eternal nor omnipotent, and therefore was a lesser being.16In Arius magical spell to the highly influential Eusebius, the bishop at Ni contractdia17he wrote The Son has a beginning, but God is without beginning.18Arius postulated that rescuer Christ was a created Being, the first and the large(p)est ever created,19but still only a form of creation, not the Creator.20This is further take ton in a common phrase that would eventually acquire the Arian motto,There was, when He was notAt this time (early in the twenty-five percent century) in church history, the theorys and ideas surrounding the divinity of Christ were still up in the air so to speak, and the church had no set way to officialise doctrine or determine what was an acceptable belief.21So it was, when black lovage the bishop of Alexandria clashed over several issues with Arius, the most important being whether the Word of God, was co-eternal with God.22In 320AD Alexander took decisive action, understandably declaring his belief in the Sons, being consubstantial and coeternal with the Father,23following which he brought together a council of local bishops, condemning the views of Arius24and deposing him in 321AD.25Arius, appealed both to the local populace an d some prominent bishops26from the eastern side of the empire,27who in turn supported him. Arius return to Alexandria,28resulted in demonstrations and riots in the streets,29further threatening a di mint of the entire eastern church,30causing Constantine the first fully attested Christian Emperor,31to intervene.In 325AD32, Constantine called the first Ecumenical (Universal or worldwide) Council in Nicea33to settle the matter of the Arian Debate.34This historic meeting not only had the Emperor Constantine present but it is also claimed in ancient chronicles that 318 bishops35were also in attendance.36The Arian party was led by Eusebius of Nicomedia37and the adversary was headed by Alexander bishop of Alexandria notably supported by a young deacon named Athanasius38his eventual successor and champion of Nicene orthodoxy.39The Arian debate was distilled to the amplification or subtraction of one iota. Was Christ Homousios (i.e. of the same essence as God) or the Arian stand Homoi ousios (i.e. of similar essence with God)?40In what has been described as a decision of immeasurable importance in the history of the church,41Arianism was rejected,42in the cleargonst way possible,43and after debate, the condemnation of Arius pronounced by the bishop Alexandria was upheld,44resulting in Arius being anathematized and banished with two companions to Illyria.45Furthermore for clarity of belief, and complete rejection of Arianism, it was refractory that a common creed needed to be developed and unanimously agreed upon.46Eusebius of Caesargona presented his induce creed,47which was adopted with some changes strengthening the rejection of the Arianism heresies.48This creed cognize as the Creed of Nicaea49became the basis of the Nicene Creed still apply in todays churches.50This should have ended the Arian controversy but it soon reappeared with the emperor moth butterfly ordering the church to reverse Arius condemnation, and readmit him. This introduced a new church issue, the interference of the state (emperor) in church affairs. Instead of persecution, the church had to deal with instruction from a profane authority. We also start to see the original grit of Athanasius, and his willingness to stand for truth despite the negative consequences to his own life.Section 2 Athanasius, The Black Dwarf Champion of Nicene Orthodoxy.Athanasius (296 373 AD),51seemed to be a man surrounded by controversy. In his time as archbishop of Alexandria,52he was exiled no less than five times. His controversial standing centred nigh his use of Episcopal authority,53as well as the famous alleged assassination of a fellow bishop of a rival group54which was dramatically found to be false.55It was Athanasius lot, that his fortunes would ride the waves of rejection and popularity of the cause (The Arian controversy) he so diligently fought against throughout his life. His stance against the heresy that plagued his defence of Christianity fashioned his life. He i s credit in history56as one who stood alone for the truth, against the forces of heresy,57and is to have stated his famous defiance, Athanasius Against the World.58Athanasius who was noted as being so dark and victimize of stature, was known to his enemies as The Black Dwarf,59the man seen above all others as being opposed to Arianism and to be feared the most.60He was also known as the champion of Nicene orthodoxy, seen as one of the great fathers of the fourth century,61and is also credited as one of the most renown theologians of the early church,62amongst other greats much(prenominal) as Clement and Origen.63Three key issues of concern for Athanasius were indoors the religious, social, and political realms. His gravest concern was the Arian core argument regarding the full graven image of Jesus Christ and the theology of the Trinity. Athanasius stance on the trinity, was deeply rooted upon his beliefs on creation and salvation, effectively focusing debate on a biblical and theological basis steering it away from philosophical speculation.64In the Arian debate, Athanasius could clearly see that Christianity was at the brink of becoming a form of paganism.65If Jesus was not declared Homousios, then Christianity would have worshiped two Gods, and Jesus would not have been a worthy sacrifice for our sins.66Athanasius saw Salvation was on the line,67Jesus needed to be both fully human to correct for the sin of man, and fully divine, as none other could have the power to save mankind. This duel nature of Christ was paramount, as without it the Salvation of humanity would be impossible.68The second major issue was in the realm of politics. At this time Christianity had just emerged from a period of major persecution by the secular powers69to a time in which it was the dominant religion. However, Christianity had in reality go from secular persecution to secular control by the Emperor70of the day.71The Arian controversy was a great example of a shift in fo ci with Athanasius now finding himself opposing the Emperor over religious issues. This resulted in five periods of exile and reinstatement,72 ground on either a change in emperor or the clich closet to the emperor at the time.73Subsequently the church found its subprogram degraded away from its real role of pointing mankind to salvation in Christ, rather becoming a tool of the emperor utilize to compass his own ends. Consequently, church issues and doctrines were not being decided by the religious elite debating each issue, instead key decisions (e.g. Arian controversy) were made by secular rulers under petition.74Furthermore, church decisions were subject to being over rule by the state to suit the whims of the emperor.75Throughout this period Athanasius established and fought for the teaching of church separation from the state, retaining the churchs focus and mission on the good word of honor of Christ.The third issue faced by Athanasius was in the social theater of oper ations This arose through the emperor Constantines legitimate concerns with the volatility of the Arian dispute, its magnitude and potential to burden apart the entire eastern church.76Constantine recognised the importance and role of a united church holding together the fabric of a downslopeing roman letters society. This was his hope and means of ensuring Romes pick, but a divided and embittered church would mould the fate of weary empire.77So it was that Constantine called together the first worldwide hookup of Christian bishops to deal with these issues amongst other things.78His stance regarding the social impact of a divided church was clear as he addressed the bishops forrader the council stating Division in the church was worse than war.79Athanasius refused to condone violence to achieve his goals. This was shown during a confrontation with rival bishop Gregory which escalated into violence. Athanasius response was to remove himself from the city in order to avoid fur ther bloodshed.80Athanasius pastoral heart recognised the riskiness Arianism would bring to society, and that those who opposed Arianism would once again face persecution,81(only this time it would come from within). Athanasius also realised that Christianitys endpoint under Arianism was paganism leading to the expiry of both social and clean standards as the Christian faith icky to the depth of other pagan religions.82Section 3 Applying these lessons in todays societyThe issues which arose in Athanasius day are seen again today, challenging Christians across all nations to varying degrees. The three main areas of conflict faced by Athanasius and Christians today, are as follows.The first issue Christians face today is that of religious heresy. The many an(prenominal) denominations now found under the Protestant banner demonstrates the splintering of the church into multiple denominations, further giving rise to cults barely related to the authorized Christian message.83Even t he Arian controversy itself has re-surfaced in a modified form with the emergence of the Jehovah Witnesses.84One learns from Athanasius that even with unconquerable odds, someone must stand in the gap for truth, despite the cost it may have on your very being. Athanasius showed that one must persist until the end, to not only ensure truth is victorious, but that unity of the body of Christ is achieved. looking for at Athanasius stand, it is observed that he never gave up on the church body, despite overwhelming odds opposing him. Athanasius worked within the existing church structure, resisting the temptation to start his own religious theological group. This resulted in the survival of the ancient church, giving Christians of this present day a functional theological base to build upon.Todays second issue encompasses the relationship between church and state. This battle is being played out across the world. Christians in many western countries have formed specifically Christian political parties,85based upon the Christian stance and influencing government constitution where possible.86Globally we see countries the like Communist China and the old Russia where the government took an active role in trying to discredit and eliminate religion87through persecution and unjust laws. ineffective to defeat the church of Christ some adopted a policy of offering religious freedom with harsh restrictions under the tight control of the government.88We learn through Athanasius trials, the dangers of mixing politics and religion, with the corruption and misuse of the church which can come from such a union. Today we face the seeds of secular intervention in Christian belief and activity with Australias recent favouritism and vilification laws having the potential to silence the church.The final lesson deals with the society or familiarity in which Christians live. Constantine saw that the unity of the Christians could hold the fabric of the Roman empire together, and Christians may exert a similar influence today. The gradual decay of present society towards a collapse in its social moral character is evident with the increasing occurrence of problematic behaviours (in societal terms) such as abortion, child and spousal abuse, and euthanasia (in some western countries). From a Christian stance, moral indicators such as divorce, suicide and problem pregnancies are also increasing in frequency. Some indicators show a lessen difference between secular society and the Christian community as Christian beliefs are influenced and eroded. The past reveals that to avert social disaster, Christians need to be unified, offering stable standards and clear beliefs tempered with peace, hope and love to the communities and nations in which they live Offering Christ as the real alternative to in advance(p) paganism. Athanasius demonstrates that the church must get back to its roots and be a vessel of good news, offering Salvation to mankind.ConclusionThe chu rch would do well to look back on the life of Athanasius and learn from the lessons that this great man of God teaches. Although the works of Athanasius hold an important place in the history of Christianity, it is more the Life and stance of Athanasius which speaks volumes to Christians throughout the ages. It was Athanasius tireless and bodacious stand against the Arianism which earned him the title Champion of Nicene orthodoxy. Against seemingly insurmountable odds, Athanasius opposed heretical change, battling both the hierarchy of church and state.The tenacity and vision of one man, refusing to recant his theological stance on Christs deity and the role of the church, established and impacted the churchs direction to this day. In most Western countries the Protestant church is independent of the states influence89with a primary focus stayed true around the message of Christ bringing salvation through his deity and subsequent efficacy of his substitutionary sacrifice.