In the summer of A.D. 325 the Council of Nicea brought men of the church together from all over the world. Their task? To write a creed stating the true nature of Jesus Christ. It would be a creed that would stand for centuries as basic doctrine of the church of Christ everywhere. It is […]
The year was 325. The city was Nicea. The issue was—is Jesus God or not? The Arians were winning. There were more of them. They spoke the loudest. They would surely be able to sway the many church leaders who were undecided. “Jesus was created,” they said. “He is not of the same substance of […]
Arius was not a man to give up. He had very influential and outspoken friends. He and his followers stirred up divisions in the church. Their heresies and lies worked as a cancer in the body of Christ. The divisions even threatened the unity of the whole Roman Empire. Constantine the emperor would have to […]
Go back in time approximately two millennia, and in doing so, erase from your mind all the knowledge the church has gained as she has developed the faith once given by her Lord. Wipe from your memory all you know about eschatology (doctrine of last times), ecclesiology (doctrine of the church), soteriology (doctrine of salvation), […]
The history of the church during nearly the entire 4th century A.D. is chiefly a history of the Arian controversy. And, if it may be said at all that the controversy was settled in those two generations, it was followed by a series of controversies essentially connected with it, which for centuries tore the Church […]
In a department such as this one it is essential that we see the connection between what was written last time and what is written today. History is not a loose or jumbled mass of facts. One event leads to another and stands in a certain relationship to the other. Therefore, we would remind you […]
In our last installment in this department of early New Testament church history, we called your attention to the rise of the Arian doctrine which denied the divinity of Christ. We called your attention to the fact that this doctrine denied one of the indispensable requisites for our salvation. If Christ is not very God […]
A nation that is at war with a neighboring country finds itself hindered to a great extent in its efforts at home in construction and general improvement of living conditions. Today our country is not yet back to normal after the war has been brought to a close for a considerable length of time. To […]