Why did Athanasius of Alexandria feel there was a need for the incarnation?

Answer 1

St. John 1:14 clearly teaches the Incarnation.

Many years later, some had doubts about the Incarnation or the "nature" of the Incarnation.

And so the Athanasian Creed, circa 500AD, to attempt to put in a short statement a summary of what the Scriptures teach concerning the Incarnation.

Athanasius did not decide there "was a need for the incarnation" and so "invented" it; rather, he tried to formulate a Creed that summarized the Scriptural teachings on the subject.

Answer 2

Some modern historians suggest that the tactics of Athanasius, while often downplayed by church historians, were a significant factor in his success. He did not hesitate to back up his theological views with the use of force. In Alexandria, he assembled a group that could instigate a riot in the city if needed. It was an arrangement "built up and perpetuated by violence."[1] Along with the standard method of excommunication he used beatings, intimidation, kidnapping and imprisonment to silence his theological opponents. Unsurprisingly, these tactics caused widespread distrust and led him to being tried many times for "bribery, theft, extortion, sacrilege, treason and murder.[2] While the charges rarely stuck, his reputation was a major factor in his multiple exiles from Alexandria. He justified these tactics with the argument that he was saving all future Christians from hell. Athanasius stubbornly refused to compromise his theological views by stating, "What is at stake is not just a theological theory but people's salvation."[3] In this assertion that violence was justified in defense of theology and the church, Athanasius, some hold, laid the foundation for theological concepts such as just war and the inquisition. He played a clear role in making the Constantinian shift a part of the theology of the church.

Answer 3

Maybe we get it wrong the first time around.

Answer 4

to start again