Do we need another Council of Narcea???

Question

The council of narcea (whatever it was called) and constantine was responsible for what christians were to believe. They said that this gospel is in and this one is out for whatever their purpose was.

Currently With so many different beliefs just within christianity, should we now have another council of Narcea or whatever it was called, and have a new Constantine to tell you what to believe???????

That should put things back on track again, dont ya think??

Man made religions made to suit.

Yep that aught to work a treat. Especially with the Mussers

OK OK OK My question is DO WE NOW NEED A NEW COUNCIL TO RESTORE ORDER TO RELIGION????

There are too many beliefs, get some bishops together to decide what to believe next???

Answer 1

Brother, I think you got the fact in the history wrong. And you are treating Da Vinci Code as History Text. Err. . . should not.

Only 2 Bishop out of over 300 against the formation of the present day Bible, and Constantine only organised it, and he have nothing to do with it.

Bible, even before the council, is also somewhat complete. Those majority have no conflct agaiinst each others, and all the Bishop represented are having the same point of view except 2.

Another Nicene Council? Yea, perhaps we should, and by than, the Gay Pastors, Bishop in US will be voted out by those in Africa and Asia, who are more Bible believing. Perhaps it is a good things.

Answer 2

You are misinformed. The Council of Nicaea did not tell Christians what to believe. The beliefs were there, the council simply assembled bishops from all over the wolrd to clarify the finer points. Secondly, Constantine had nothing to do with the actual proceedings of the Council, he simply decided that a council should be held. They did not make up the Biblical canon. The canon had already been mostly in place for hundreds of years. The council didn't vote on a fixed canon, that didn't happen until hundreds of years later. But there was no need, because most non-Gnostic Christians had been using the same texts for the last two hundred years.

I recommend you do some research into the history of the Church and don't believe whatever Dan Brown tells you. Brown is an idiot with no understanding of history, and anyone who takes him seriously is a fool.

Answer 3

It was Nicene (hence the creed in the C of E). If you read some of the Bible there are a lot of things that back up what you are arguing - you can certainly find gospel passages that talk about Jesus having brothers and sisters (Mark for one).
The reason for Nicene was to reconcile one God from the old testament with Jesus - who Christians believe is also divine. If you accept God is all powerful then he can create another diety if he wants to so one God and Jesus are not irreconcilable

Answer 4

The Ten Commandments predate Christianity, and most people are hard pressed to remember them, never mind obey them. I feel that if you cannot write a summary of your religious belief in one page of A4, its too much. Less is more. Why make religion a literary exercise when the truth is in deeds not words?

Answer 5

No what we need is for more people too let the HOLY SPIRIT reign in thier lives then the Word of God will become clearer to them.

Answer 6

I think your forgetting the Da Vinci Code is fictional

Answer 7

I would rather not see anyone use the word "Devil" in his name! But since you are, at this moment, still a brother (traditional wording) I will give to you my all:

Mankind, on earth, is in a state of separation. Separated from God. . .for you do not know Him. In your mind, is this not so? Man is also in a form of separation from his brothers (traditional wording) here on earth. We see ourselves as INDIVIDUAL. Is this also not so? We are all free thinkers, but true knowledge is not available to us in a separated state; but only through Jesus of Nazareth and the Holy Spirit. You see, God created you as Himself - Spirit. We are spirit minds in our Home with God. We are joined as one through the channels of the One Mind and are linked in the essence of Spirit (the body of spirit which the eye can not see). We form one great body with our Creator, filling all space and dimension.

On earth - man attempts to recognize God through "religion." He forms groups that definitely are organized into a pattern that he approves of and that teaches in a manner he accepts.

The problem is - RELIGION is another separation tool of man's. You see...if you do not like my religion or I don't like your's, we have a separation, of types, between us. Separation tools bring upset - not harmony. They bring division - not Oneness.

Oral traditions were passed from generation to generation. That allowed for many changes in the Old Testament stories. Scholars believe that around 1,300 B.C. writing the traditions began taking place. There was not great accuracy! The Bible is an inspired book at points of it - it contains myths as well that are instructive and helpful in making a point and some of it simply documents history before man could write anything down. The Council of Nicaea gave the world what it believed, as fact, to be the truths contained in new testament stories. But, inaccuracies would also exist due to anonymous authors who wrote in the name of disciples and people close to the flock, like Luke. Jesus can teach from knowledge given to Him by the Father. He can unveil mysteries to you. You don't need to depend upon books written by man. You don't need any Council to tell you what to believe. Jesus will tell you what to believe!

Jesus does not like separation. He asks His teachers to help Him end it. Religion did not become something pleasing to Him. He believes in teaching you, Himself, what you need to know. It would be the same teachings for every brother in the Sonship (traditionally speaking!). For it is simple truths: He teaches your relationship to the Father/Creator. He teaches you do not belong to yourself. You belong to your Father/Creator. He teaches you about your relationship with your brothers, about your Reality, about your faithfulness to each other - no matter the APPEARANCES of things. These are universal truths. There is no separation by wording it one way for one group and another way for another group. Truth is truth. Speak to Jesus in your heart. Ask Him for a relationship with Him - and see what occurs. He teaches one-on-one, if you are open to that. It requires reading with Him in whatever books you choose.

He established His church as a vehicle to get out the word of the gospels and what He was about. It was called Christian after His title of Christ ("Christos" is the original Greek word). He never intended for what later occurred. Sect after sect and groups aligned angrily against each other. Intolerance. Impatience. He would bring down the walls of our separateness and teach us the truth. Man used His "church" wrongly. Be non-denominational. Keep an open mind to any teachings. Be at home in ANY church. Help make this a non-denominational world. Let us all worship our Father together - as One! You may enjoy a church for fellowship. Amen.

Answer 8

No we need to look to Jesus and pray for his retern

Answer 9

no it's better not to be told what to believe - think for yourself already!

Answer 10

You have NO idea what you are talking about!

The Nicene Creed
Ancient Greeks believed in a wide variety of gods and goddesses -- beings who fought one another, were immoral, dishonest and only partly powerful. But eventually Greek philosophers began to teach that there was a supreme God, a being who had all power, wisdom and perfection. Since there could be only one being who had all power, there was only one supreme God. Since perfection does not change, this God did not change. This God was above all other gods, not swayed by humanlike emotions, not affected by physical things that change.

This philosophy eventually affected Christianity. At first, it was a convenient tool for the gospel. Christians who were criticized for having an invisible God could point out that even sophisticated Greek philosophers believed in an invisible, omnipotent God. The Christians then claimed to teach more information about this God whom the Greeks knew only imperfectly.

But sometimes it worked the other way around. Some Christians began to assume that the Christian God was like the philosophers' God -- he was one, perfect, unchangeable, totally unlike physical beings. Such a perfect God would have nothing to do with flawed human beings. Nor would an unchangeable spirit being have anything to do with the changing world of matter.

So some Christians began to speculate that the supreme God created angels, and that these angels were the ones who created the physical world and interacted with the physical world. They were intermediaries between physical humans and God. In this way of thinking, Jesus simply became an intermediary, more like an angel than like God.

The Arian heresy

One of the people who was affected by this philosophy was Arius, an elder in the Egyptian city of Alexandria. He taught that there was one Creator, who created the Logos, the Word or Wisdom of God, who in turn created everything else. This Logos became Jesus Christ.

According to Arius, Jesus was the Son of God because God had created him. Moreover, because he is the closest thing to God that we can relate to, he could also be called God even though strictly speaking, he was not God. He was a unique created being, created even before time itself was created. He was an intermediary between the perfect spiritual world and the ever-changing physical world.

But Alexander, the bishop of Alexandria, said that the Word was eternal, not created. "If asked to draw a line between God and creation, Arius would draw that line so as to include the Word in creation, while Alexander would draw it so as to separate all of creation on one side from the Father and the eternal Word on the other" (Justo Gonzalez, The Story of Christianity, vol. 1, p. 161).

Alexander tried to remove Arius from his position. However, Arius was a popular church leader. The people of Alexandria, as well as several other church leaders, greatly respected Arius for his strict morality, his self-discipline and his teaching abilities. The people took to the streets in public demonstrations, chanting slogans of Arius.

Christians had been debating theology and the nature of Christ for centuries. But now there was a new element in the debate: the Roman Emperor Constantine. Constantine had just finished a war to unite a divided empire. He did not want religious debates to divide the people again, so he ordered all the Christian bishops to meet together to decide the issue.

The emperor was not then a Christian, but he was favorably disposed toward Christianity, and he wanted this rapidly growing religion to support peace within the empire. Constantine thought that an official council could settle the matter once and for all. So he called a meeting in the year 325 at the city of Nicea, in Asia Minor near Constantinople.

About 300 bishops came, almost all from the Eastern Empire. The bishop of Rome could not come because of his age, but he sent some elders to represent Italy. "Most of the bishops from the Latin-speaking West had only a secondary interest in the debate, which appeared to them as a controversy among eastern followers of Origen" (Gonzalez, p. 164). Even many of the Eastern bishops were not too concerned about the controversy.

The Nicene Council

The bishops met to discuss the nature of God and Jesus Christ. They reviewed previous controversies and the new arguments of Arius and his supporters. Most of the bishops simply could not accept the idea that Jesus was a created being. When they worshiped Jesus, they did not worship a creature -- they worshiped God. They were saved not by a created being, but by God. They were convinced that Scripture taught that Jesus Christ was God.

So the bishops wrote a statement of faith concerning what they believed about the Son of God. They wanted to make it clear that they believed Jesus Christ to be fully divine, not created. So they said he was "God of God, light of light, true God of true God, begotten, not made, of one substance with the Father." The last portion was particularly significant in the debate: "of one substance" is a translation of the Greek homoousios, which means of the same substance, same essence, or one being. What God is in his essence, the Son of God is, too.

Two bishops at the council could not agree with this statement, and the council deposed them. So the controversy was seemingly resolved, Constantine was happy and everyone went home.

But one of the chief supporters of Arius happened to live near the emperor, and it was not long before he was able to convince Constantine to support the Arian idea. (Constantine wasn't a Christian and had no training in theology. He was more interested in political stability than in any particular doctrine.) With Constantine's support, some new bishops were appointed who supported the teachings of Arius.

Several smaller councils approved Arian statements of faith. Nicene supporters were thrown out of office, banished or killed. For several decades, theological and political intrigues swirled, opinions went back and forth, bishops were reinstated, deposed and reinstated again. The tides of opinion changed quickly as nine emperors fought for power over the next 50 years.

In time, more of the issues were given a fair hearing. Nicene supporters made it clear that they believed the Father and the Son to be distinct, even though of one substance. They supported their views from Scripture.

The Holy Spirit also came under discussion. The Nicene council had merely said that "we believe in the Holy Spirit," without saying anything about who or what the Spirit is. Arius had taught that the Holy Spirit was a created spirit being; bishops such as Athanasius of Alexandria made it clear that the Holy Spirit is divine in the same way that the Son is.

Council of Constantinople

Eventually, Theodosius became emperor, and the council of Constantinople was called in 381. Theodosius expelled the Arian supporters, and Nicene bishops were appointed. The council agreed that Jesus is fully divine, eternal, not created. They accepted the divinity of the Holy Spirit. They taught that the Father is God, the Son is God, and the Holy Spirit is God, yet there is only one God--one God in three Persona.* They did not explain how this is so -- they just said that it is so. They felt compelled by Scripture to come to this conclusion.

The result is a creed, called the Niceno-Constantinopolitan Creed, more commonly known by the shorter and more pronounceable name Nicene Creed. It is based on the creed of Nicea, reportedly edited at the council of Constantinople, but first seen in its final form 70 years later. Notice in it some phrases from Nicea, quoted above, and some phrases similar to the Apostles' Creed:

"We believe in one God the Father, the Almighty, creator of heaven and earth, and of all that is, seen and unseen.

"We believe in one Lord, Jesus Christ, the only Son of God, eternally begotten of the Father, God from God, Light from Light, true God from true God, begotten, not made, of one being with the Father. Through him all things were made. For us men and for our salvation he came down from heaven; by the power of the Holy Spirit he became incarnate from the Virgin Mary, and was made man. For our sake he was crucified under Pontius Pilate; he suffered death and was buried. On the third day he rose again in accordance with the Scriptures; he ascended into heaven and is seated at the right hand of the Father. He will come again in glory to judge the living and the dead, and his kingdom will have no end.

"We believe in the Holy Spirit, the Lord, the giver of life, who proceeds from the Father (and the Son). With the Father and the Son he is worshipped and glorified. He has spoken through the Prophets.

"We believe in one, holy, catholic** and apostolic Church. We acknowledge one baptism for the forgiveness of sins. We look for the resurrection of the dead, and the life of the world to come. Amen."

(Translation by the International Consultation on English Texts, 1975, published in appendix A of Gerald Bray, Creeds, Councils and Christ, InterVarsity Press, 1984.)

The Nicene Creed is accepted by almost all Protestant, Catholic and Eastern Orthodox churches, and it offers a basis for unity. Unfortunately, however, it has also been at the center of a controversy between Western and Eastern churches. The words "and the Son" were not in the Greek text of the creed, but they were added later in the Latin. The Eastern churches objected to this addition because it had not been approved by the council.

The church has its flaws. Doctrinal controversies are not always resolved in a Christlike way. The Nicene Creed is testimony to that. And yet truth wins in the end. Scripture supports the teaching of the Nicene Creed