Throughout Christian history, there have been crucial turning points. Points in time that the Church addressed dramatic crises of doctrine. To the world, these historic moments may have seemed of little importance. But they were divinely appointed to protect the Church from heresy.
No earthly oppression has ever crippled God’s Body of Believers for long, despite the horrors from the Roman Empire, Islamic Caliphates, Communism, and others. The greatest danger to Christianity has always been false doctrine that confuses and leads people astray. Thus, clarification and reiteration of orthodoxy has always been critical to the Church. This has led to statements, creeds, and confessions of faith throughout history to reaffirm Biblical Truth as plainly stated in the Bible. I present a couple of examples here for historical background.
In the 4th Century AD, the early Church Fathers met in a time of crisis. A man named Arius was spreading a heresy known as Arianism, which denied Christ’s divinity. This went against clear Biblical teaching. Arius was spreading false doctrine and creating deep divisions in the Church. Arianism needed to be addressed and refuted. So a meeting of approximately 300 Bishops from throughout the Roman Empire and Persia was called at the behest of Emperor Constantine the Great (the first Christian Emperor) and Pope Sylvester I to address the controversy. In the end, the Nicene Creed was written and ratified, affirming the divinity of Christ. It is a profound statement of faith still read in many Christian churches every Sunday throughout the world today.
The Nicene Creed simply re-asserted the teachings of the Apostles as true, thereby correcting the errant teaching of Arius. But it was critical to the health of the Church in a time of turmoil.Read the rest from Nick Kammer HERE and follow links below to related stories/opinions:
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