Protestantism

» Migisi - Nicea

.
These are just a few of Paul's affirmations of Jesus' deity. And they are all written sometime before Paul's death in the 60s AD. Those who argue that Nicaea invented or codified Jesus' deity must account for Paul's writings, which pre-date Nicaea by nearly three centuries.
.
Quoting from: THE COUNCIL OF NICEA
http://www.septinity.org/ncouncil.htm
.
"The central issue at the Council of Nicea was the identity of Jesus Christ in relation to the Godhead. The main questions were, Is Jesus truly God? and Are the Father and the Son of the same essence?...
.
"Arius said there is one God, not a trinity, and that Jesus is not truly God but, in effect, a demigod. He is a created being of greater rank than humans but not equal to the Father. The Arian position is equivalent to that of Jehovah's Witnesses today.
.
"Three factions developed at the council: a minority of Arians, a minority of Athanasians, and a majority who did not fully understand the issues involved but who wanted peace. In general, this third group took an intermediate position... The majority did not necessarily embrace the complete trinitarian doctrine of Athanasius, but they eventually voted with him in defense of Christ's deity and against the Arian view.
.
"... The creed that the Council of Nicea passed clearly rejected Arianism, but it did not definitely establish trinitarianism or reject modalism.
.
"To put the Council of Nicea in historical perspective, briefly here are the major steps in the development of trinitarianism.
.
"About 150 [AD], the Greek Apologists, beginning with Justin, defined the Word to be the Son, described the Word/Son as a second divine being begotten by God the Father at a point in time before creation, and said that the Word was subordinate to God. A threefold baptismal formula was introduced, along with some vague notions of threeness in relation to God.
.
"About 210, Tertullian introduced the term trinity and formulated the concept of one God in three persons. In his trinity, the Father alone is eternal, and He is superior to the other two persons. About 215-30 Origen likewise promoted trinitarianism, contributing the key doctrines of the eternal Son and the eternal generation of the Son. He thereby prepared the way to elevate the status of the second person, although he himself still taught that the Father was superior to the other two persons.
.
"Under the influence of Athanasius, the Council of Nicea in 325 rejected Arianism. It declared that the Father and the Son are of the same substance, making them equal.
.
"The Council of Constantinople in 381 followed the doctrine of Athanasius and the three theologians of Cappadocia. It clarified the status of the Holy Spirit and placed all three persons on an equal footing. The Nicene Creed used today reflects the theology established here.
.
"Based in part on the theology of Augustine and produced sometime in the fifth to eighth centuries, the Athanasian Creed put in definitive form the doctrine of the victors of Nicea and Constantinople. It declared the coequality, coeternity, and consubstantiality of the three persons.
.
"Over two hundred years passed from the first teaching of a plurality of divine persons (two) (c. 150) to the full acceptance of the doctrine of the trinity (381). About one hundred years passed from the introduction of trinitarianism (c. 200) to the time it became dominant (e. 300), and almost another century before it reached its definitive form and received official acceptance (381). Yet a third century passed before all significant political threats to it ended with the conversion of the victorious barbarians from Arianism to trinitarianism (496).
.
-----------------------
.
My questions are....
.
If everybody was familiar with Paul's writings, and Paul proclaimed that Jesus was God, why was there controversy about Jesus' deity in the first place? One would think that if Paul proclaimed it, it would've been universally accepted within all the churches.
.
And why did it take two hundred + years for the theology to be 'officially accepted', and another 4 centuries (Augustine) to finally get a definitive doctrine?
.

-- posted by Migisi