He did have a much closer understanding of Christ than the Church was pushing. The second group also avoided invoking the name of Arius, but in large part followed Arius's teachings and, in another attempted compromise wording, described the Son as being like (homoios) the Father. The objection originally offered by Arius to Christ’s deity was that a son is inherently inferior to his father. After this, Constantine had Athanasius banished since he considered him an impediment to reconciliation. Discussion in 'General Theology' started by Ayenew, Apr 13, 2019. In the 18th century the "dominant trend" in Britain, particularly in Latitudinarianism, was towards Arianism, with which the names of Samuel Clarke, Benjamin Hoadly, William Whiston and Isaac Newton are associated. We follow first century Christianity, with understandings taken from the Bible and built on Bible principles.’ In 355 Constantius became the sole Emperor and extended his pro-Arian policy toward the western provinces, frequently using force to push through his creed, even exiling Pope Liberius and installing Antipope Felix II. [14] He taught that God the Father and the Son of God did not always exist together eternally. It is all that subsists by itself and which has not its being in another,[31] God the Father and God the Son and God the Holy Spirit all being uncreated.[32]. Anyone holding this belief is a heretic and not a true Christian. [33] Eusebius and Theognis remained in the Emperor's favor, and when Constantine, who had been a catechumen much of his adult life, accepted baptism on his deathbed, it was from Eusebius of Nicomedia.[10]. While they may be sincere and have good intentions, you can still ask whether they would reluctantly admit that they are trying to earn their own salvation, and whether they do have a personal assurance of salvation. The first recorded English antitrinitarian was John Assheton, who was forced to recant before Thomas Cranmer in 1548. [38] By the end of the 4th century it had surrendered its remaining ground to Trinitarianism. in God's Message magazine July–September 1995, Comparison of Nicene Creeds of 325 and 381, Ulfilas's translation of the Bible in Gothic language, Anthony Ashley Cooper, 1st Earl of Shaftesbury, his outspoken opposition to King Charles II, Beliefs and practices of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Jehovah's Witnesses beliefs § Jesus Christ, "The Controversies about Christ: Arius and Alexander", "Athanasius, Five-time exile for fighting 'orthodoxy, "First Council of Constantinople, Canon 1", "The Story of the Church – Part 2, Topics 2 & 3", "Emperor Constantine's Edict against the Arians", "Auxentius on Wulfila: Translation by Jim Marchand", "Second Creed of Sirmium or 'The Blasphemy of Sirmium, "The Holy Creed Which the 150 Holy Fathers Set Forth, Which is Consonant with the Holy and Great Synod of Nice", chapter-url=http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/basis/gregory-hist.html |Sigebert, A Scriptural Defence of the Doctrine of the Trinity: Or a Check to Modern Arianism as Taught by Campbellites, Hicksites, New Lights, Universalists and Mormons, and Especially by a Sect Calling Themselves "Christians", "The Only True God and Jesus Christ Whom He Hath Sent". All these statements can only be true of a person. Nevertheless, there are approaches that Christians can helpfully take when responding to JWs on the doorstep. In 1683, when Anthony Ashley Cooper, 1st Earl of Shaftesbury, lay dying in Amsterdam – driven into exile by his outspoken opposition to King Charles II – he spoke to the minister Robert Ferguson, and professed himself an Arian. You may ask, how do they do that? Arius wrote a letter in AD 319 to Bishop Alexander, reasoning that God’s Son, if he was actually his son, could not always … [1][4] Arian theology was first attributed to Arius[1][3] (c. AD 256–336), a Christian presbyter in Alexandria of Egypt. ), But since many persons are disturbed by questions concerning what is called in Latin substantia, but in Greek ousia, that is, to make it understood more exactly, as to 'coessential,' or what is called, 'like-in-essence,' there ought to be no mention of any of these at all, nor exposition of them in the Church, for this reason and for this consideration, that in divine Scripture nothing is written about them, and that they are above men's knowledge and above men's understanding;[34]. Therefore, there is one God of all, who is also God of our God; and in one Holy Spirit, the illuminating and sanctifying power, as Christ said after his resurrection to his apostles: "And behold, I send the promise of my Father upon you; but tarry ye in the city of Jerusalem, until ye be clothed with power from on high" (Luke 24:49) and again "But ye shall receive power, when the Holy Ghost is come upon you" (Acts 1:8); Neither God nor Lord/Master, but the faithful minister of Christ; not equal, but subject and obedient in all things to the Son. [17] Therefore, the Son was rather the very first and the most perfect of God's creatures, and he was made "God" only by the Father's permission and power.[18][19]. Such a deep controversy within the Church during this period of its development could not have materialized without significant historical influences providing a basis for the Arian doctrines. The JWs also teach that the Holy Spirit is not a person and distinct member of the Godhead, but an invisible force emanating from God. ", The Mystical Theology of the Eastern Church, SVS Press, 1997. Constantine's son Constantius II, who had become Emperor of the eastern part of the Empire, actually encouraged the Arians and set out to reverse the Nicene Creed. Arians do not believe in the traditional doctrine of the Trinity. They believ… This is generally considered the end of the dispute about the Trinity and the end of Arianism among the Roman, non-Germanic peoples. In 321, Arius was denounced by a synod at Alexandria for teaching a heterodox view of the relationship of Jesus to God the Father. Muslims today argue something similar. It involved most church members—from simple believers, priests, and monks to bishops, emperors, and members of Rome's imperial family. On 4 September 2016, Pope Francis canonised Mother Teresa as a Catholic ‘saint’ at a Vatican ceremony. Ulfilas's translation of the Bible in Gothic language and his initial success in converting the Goths to Arianism was strengthened by later events; the conversion of Goths led to a widespread diffusion of Arianism among other Germanic tribes as well (Vandals, Langobards, Svevi and Burgundians). However, in the New King James Version (NKJV), the same verse reads: ‘In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God’. [13][6] The Roman Emperors Constantius II (337–361) and Valens (364–378) were Arians or Semi-Arians, as was the first King of Italy, Odoacer (433?–493), and the Lombards were also Arians or Semi-Arians until the 7th century. The founder of Arianism was Arius who died in 336. Three credal statements found in fragments, subordinating the Son to the Father. Previous articleThe unhappy truth behind Happy Science. Ten years later, however, Constantine the Great, who was himself baptized by the Arian bishop Eusebius of Nicomedia,[10][11] convened another gathering of Church leaders at the regional First Synod of Tyre in 335 (attended by 310 bishops), to address various charges mounted against Athanasius by his detractors, such as "murder, illegal taxation, sorcery, and treason", following his refusal to readmit Arius into fellowship. Constantine is believed to have exiled those who refused to accept the Nicean creed—Arius himself, the deacon Euzoios, and the Libyan bishops Theonas of Marmarica and Secundus of Ptolemais—and also the bishops who signed the creed but refused to join in condemnation of Arius, Eusebius of Nicomedia and Theognis of Nicaea. For by him all things were created that are in heaven and that are on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or principalities or powers. Arian Ulfilas, who was ordained a bishop by Arian Eusebius of Nicomedia and returned to his people to work as a missionary, believed: God, the Father, ("unbegotten" God; Almighty God) always existing and who is the only true God (John 17:3). The Holy Spirit is a person within the Trinity and fully God. Modern groups which currently appear to embrace some of the principles of Arianism include Unitarians and Jehovah's Witnesses. The Vandals actively spread Arianism in North Africa. [29] The Nicene Creed's central term, used to describe the relationship between the Father and the Son, is Homoousios (Ancient Greek: ὁμοούσιος), or Consubstantiality, meaning "of the same substance" or "of one being" (the Athanasian Creed is less often used but is a more overtly anti-Arian statement on the Trinity). In contrast, among the Arian German kingdoms established in the collapsing Western Empire in the 5th century were entirely separate Arian and Nicene Churches with parallel hierarchies, each serving different sets of believers. "Arian" redirects here. In the NWT, John 1:1 reads: ‘In [the] beginning the Word was, and the Word was with God, and the Word was a god’. Because Arius and his followers had great influence in the schools of Alexandria—counterparts to modern universities or seminaries—their theological views spread, especially in the eastern Mediterranean. However, the NKJV states: ‘He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. However, there is no evidence that his son and ultimate successor, Constantius II, who was a Semi-Arian Christian, was exiled. Arian (Jehovah's Witness) Subordination Refuted. In 381, at the Second Ecumenical Council in Constantinople, a group of mainly Eastern bishops assembled and accepted the Nicene Creed of 381,[37] which was supplemented in regard to the Holy Spirit, as well as some other changes: see Comparison of Nicene Creeds of 325 and 381. Jehovah's Witnesses are Arians. The NWT, by (without textual justification) inserting the word ‘a’, no longer views Jesus as being very God, but simply a god. JWs feel obliged to complete a prescribed number of visitation hours each month. On my way, I have met with Jehovah's Witnesses and discussed on some faith matters. Here is a very detailed explanation, from a Jehovahs Witness, of the differences between his (JW) beliefs and Arianism. It is hard to see how they can still argue that Jesus was created. The Vandalic War of 533–534 dispersed the defeated Vandals. Arius stated: "If the Father begat the Son, then he who was begotten had a beginning in existence, and from this it follows there was a time when the Son was not. If friendship is offered to them and their questions patiently and thoroughly answered, their trust can be gained, while the truth is being brought to light. The NWT version of Colossians 1:15-17 reads: ‘He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation; because by means of him all [other] things were created in the heavens and upon the earth, the things visible and the things invisible, no matter whether they are thrones or lordships or governments or authorities. Having been militarily defeated by the armies of Emperor Justinian I, the remnants were dispersed to the fringes of the empire and became lost to history. UnitarianSubordination Refuted: Jehovah’s Witnesses. Ben Witherington III, The Living Word of God: Rethinking the Theology of the Bible (Waco, TX: Baylor University Press, 2009), p.241. For example, many pseudo-Christian cults, emerging in the nineteenth century, attacked the deity of the Lord Jesus Christ one way or another. God is unoriginate, unending, eternal, constant, uncreated, unchanging, unalterable, simple, incomplex, bodiless, invisible, intangible, indescribable, without bounds, inaccessible to the mind, uncontainable, incomprehensible, good, righteous, that Creator of all creatures, the almighty Pantocrator. In Western Europe, Arianism, which had been taught by Ulfilas, the Arian missionary to the Germanic tribes, was dominant among the Goths, Langobards and Vandals.