Introduction Challenging orthodox traditions, Arianism sought to abate Jesus of His divinity, rendering the Arian controversy a pivotal moment in the history of the Christian church. For this reason, Arianism often receives designation as the archetypal Christian deviation, a heresy that erodes the very foundation of historic Christianity. Unfortunately, the Arian philosophy remains prevalent in modern times, providing the basis for Christian cults in America. This paper will outline the fundamental doctrines of Arianism while demonstrating that the theological underpinnings are antithetical to Scriptural teachings and orthodox Christianity.
Background
Arius took exception to proclamations of Jesus’ divinity and equivalence with the Father
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Consistent with Arian teachings, the Bible affirms monotheism (cf. Deuteronomy 4:35; 6:4; Isaiah 43:10-11; 44:8; Nehemiah 9:6; 1 Timothy 1:17; James 2:19), declaring all other gods are mere idols (cf. Psalm 96:5). However, multiple attestations throughout the Old Testament provide indications of plurality within the Godhead. Initial indications of multiplicity occur as God refers to Himself in the plural (cf. Genesis 1:26; 3:22; 11:7; Isiah 6:8), first manifesting during the creation account as God says, “Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness” (Genesis 1:26a [emphasis …show more content…
While the New Testament reaffirms monotheism (cf. Mark 12:29; 1 Timothy 1:17; 1 Corinthians 8:6; Ephesians 4:6), it harmoniously demonstrates a distinctive unity between three persons—the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit (cf. Matthew 28:19; 2 Corinthians 13:14; Ephesians 4:4–6; Revelation 1:4–5a). However, in justifying their Christological assertions, the Arians appear to isolate carefully selected passages, forcing a literal interpretation of text dissociated from its proper context (i.e. selective literalism). For example, Arius purportedly references Proverbs 8, specifically verse 22, to justify the
Conclusion
After analyzing the fundamental truth-claims of Arianism, one must conclude the theology is inconsistent with Scripture and represents an unambiguous contrast from orthodox Christianity. In denying the deity of Christ, the theological underpinnings of Arianism are antithetical to Scriptural teachings and orthodox Christianity. Acknowledgment of Jesus’ deity remains essential to Christian theology, and modern organizations that depart from Trinitarian doctrine require designation as heretical cults, rather than Christina
One of the main principles of Christianity is the belief in both the divinity and humanity of Jesus, that these two natures are combined harmoniously in one being. In general, all modern Christians believe that Jesus was human, he was considered to be “The Word was made flesh” (John, I: 14). However, Jesus was more than just a human, despite being subjected to pain, suffering and death like all other human beings, he was sinless and also possessed the power to heal and to defy death in order to ascend, both body and spirit, into heaven. He was all man and all God, a combination of these two elements, remaining distinct but united in one being. The deity of Jesus is a non-negotiable belief in Christianity, which is referred to in many parts of scripture, “God was revealed in the flesh” (I Timothy, 3:16). The Christian faith does not perceive Jesus as God but rather a reincarnation of God, a mysterious deity who is the second person of the Holy Trinity. Throughout history, controversy has surrounded the issue of the humanity and divinity of Jesus, leading to the formation of Docetism, the belief that Jesus was fully divine but not fully human, Arianism, that Jesus was superior to all of creation, but less divine than God, and Nestorius, that there were two separate persons within Jesus. This the proportion of the divine and human within Je...
In David deSilva book, Honor, Patronage, Kinship, and Purity: Unlocking New Testament Culture deSilva states that context is extremely important as well as understanding the culture, without these elements one cannot properly understand the interpretation of Scripture. David deSilva gives an enlightening contextual study of first century Mediterranean culture. deSilva believes that all culture delivers the framework for all communication, and the New Testament writings is no different in how the culture provides the framework for communication.
In order to answer these questions, this paper will include an analysis of Plato’s theories as well as their influences on early Christianity. It will demonstrate to the reader that Plato’s theories are, in fact, still in use in Christian Theology and conclude with an evaluation of this assessment.
2. Orthodox Christianity has a history of trying to deceive humanity. In her book, Ellerbe proclaims that: "Orthodox Christianity fostered humanity's shift towards a world view that pays little heed to the idea of divinity." (Ellerbe 165). In addition, the Grand Inquisitor "...claims it as a merit for himself and his Church that at last they have vanquished freedom and have done so to make men happy." (Dostoevsky 1081).
The place and time in which Christianity developed was characterized by change and confusion in all areas of life. Political, philosophical and especially religious questions were being asked that had never been asked before, and traditional systems were not providing the answers. For nearly seven centuries, from the conquest of Alexander the Great to the establishment of Christianity as the state religion by the Roman Emperor Constantine, the ancient world sought these answers in the mystery-religions, independent groups worshipping in new and experimental ways. Ancient religious tradition had failed to fulfill the needs of this evolving and expanding society and these mystery-religions were a cultural expression of that need. Christianity grew into the midst of this world and was in fact the end result of the experiment started in the mystery-religions.
The Bible is the holy, inspired, infallible Word of God. Within the Bible, there are different stories and principles that the Lord gave us through special revelation. In the New Testament there were Jewish or religious groups that began teaching unbiblical doctrines. Two of those sects were the Pharisees and the Essenes. The importance of learning about these groups is so that we can see how they were wrong and to make sure we don’t mirror their actions. In this paper I will be comparing the Pharisees’ views on God and Jesus with that of the Essenes’.
How, then, is it possible to refer to God as three separate entities but still be unified in the same breath? The immergence of the doctrine of the Trinity was a development within the movement of Christianity rather than a sudden occurrence.
The thesis of this paper is that, setting aside the question of moral offense that has disturbed commentators from Thomas Paine (The Age of Reason) to William Empson (Milton's God), agape to neighbor makes sense only under monotheistic or specifically Christian assumptions, and therefore, the old saw, "Christianity may not be factually true, but it has a sublime ethical teaching", is problematical.
...s distributed in Theology 101 at the University of Notre Dame, Fremantle on 22 April 2008.
“Christianity, along with all other theistic belief systems, is the fraud of the age. It serves to detach the species from the natural world, likewise, each other. It supports blind submission to authority[control of the masses].”(Zeitgeist 2007) In this essay, we will explore the different roots of religion and the plagiarism that Christianity and a number of different religions have committed.
Hugo Meynell's book is a clear example of the growing interest in apologetics. Meynell considers four common objections to Christian doctrine, the belief in God is morally irrelevant; that there is no reason to believe in the special claims of Christianity over those of non-Christian religions. Meynell, also says no sense can be made of the doctrines of Incarnation, Atonement, and the Trinity and that Christian doctrine about life after death is based upon an indefensible view of the nature of human persons-and shows to his own views that these remarks can be met. It should be noted that Meynell on the prior assumption that God exists. This is not because Meynell takes that assumption to be indefensible or incapable of demonstration; it is rather that the existence of God is not his topic in this book.
Monotheism is a doctrine that is straight to the point, rather than complex. It is defined as a belief that there is only one existing god. Although this belief seems simple in comparison to polytheism; the belief in many gods, history has proven that monotheism had its fair share of consequences from its inception in Judea and Egypt all the way through the medieval era.
Throughout the modern age the subject of Gnosticism has stood in contrast to the concepts of traditional, orthodox Christianity. The subject of Gnosticism has served to represent the ideas and practices of Christianity that were not sanctioned by orthodox Christianity. Generally, we have come to understand that the world of Christianity has been assembled and constructed in the first five centuries after the death of Christ. In a sense, events such as the Council of Nicaea represent arbitrary decisions to compile the official church-sanctioned version of Christianity. Any writings or practices that fell outside of the formal circle of Christian doctrine became candidates for the label of Gnosticism.
Apollinarianism is the heresy, which denied the completeness of Christ’s humanity named after Apollinarius of Laodicea born circa 312 –315 who became a bishop of Laodicea in 360. Originally, a supporter of orthodoxy against the Arians, his Christological teaching becomes a heresy among scholars, at a synod in Rome in 374-80 and by the Council of Constantinople in 381. The Christology of Apollinarius is summarised as, one hypostasis, one physis, one prosopon and one energia (activity). The intention of this essay is to examine the background of Apollinarius and his teachings.
What is the Trinity? Is written by RC Sproul and gives historical and philosophical context as to the relationship of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Sproul starts the book with a look into what monotheism is and how religion has evolved. He explains all religions evolved from animism to polytheism, henotheism, and then monotheism. There has been much debate since then as to whether the bible is monotheistic and what the origins of monotheism were. Other than where, when, and with whom monotheism started, he gets into the Trinity. If there is in fact one god then how can he be three? The Old Testament firmly establishes that there is one God; meanwhile the New Testament declares that God the Father, Son and Holy Spirit is divine. This brings Sproul into how we have over time tried to figure this out.