Why were the Councils of Nicea Necessary?

Question

If the early Christians believed Jesus to be divine, why was the councils of Nicea necessary?

Was it because they couldnt determine if Jesus was equal to God?

And because Jesus said that the Father was greater than him, which makes God and Jesus not on the same level?

Answer 1

Since there aren't any real gods, they had to straighten their story out as they went along. The body of Christian tenets has gone through many iterations of reinterpretation and conjecture, and that continues today.

The same is true of other religions.

Answer 2

There were two main purposes of the Council of Nicea:
1. To end the debate on whether or not Jesus actually WAS God. There was little doubt that He was, in fact, the Son of God. But they weren't sure He was actually God in human flesh.
2. Because of the influx of heretical teachings that were contrary to the original Gospels. By the fourth century A.D., MANY books had appeared with the claim that they were written by disciples. But they weren't. They were written MUCH later. It was decided that they needed to have ONE last council to decide once and for all what was canonical. The process used for this included the age of the Gospels. Revelations is the "newest" book in the Bible. It was written in 95 A.D. (at the latest. Some scholars think that it may have been written as early as 85 A.D.), by the Apostle John.

Great question, by the way.

Answer 3

Good question.

Depends upon how many books you're read to actually know the truth of the answer.

On a superficial level, the Aryan (God created all things and Jesus came later and was a sub-set) remained a powerful force in the earlies church.

By 320 CE, most of the Nazarenes, the true first church of Jesus and the apostles and the ancestors of gnosticism had successfully been murdered and sidelined. That just left a few stragglers.

On a deeper level, the title "Son of God" was historically always known to be the title of the Pharaoh of Egypt. As Jesus was a Nazarene and therefore an Essene and therefore a "Son of Zadok", therefore Pharaoh Akhenaten (the real Moses), he was probably claiming the title to reveal the lies of the Old Testament.

Of course, this all sounds like hocus pocus babble, if you have never read an ounce of truth.
see:
http://one-faith-of-god.org/final_testament/bible_of_god.htm

Answer 4

According to “The New Schaff-Herzog Encyclopedia of Religious Knowledge,” pagan Greek philosophers influenced Christendom’s teaching: “The doctrines of the Logos and the Trinity received their shape from Greek Fathers, who --if not trained in the schools-- were much influenced --directly or indirectly-- by the [pagan] Platonic philosophy.” (Vol. 9, p. 91)

Constantine --the Roman emperor-- also played a key role. He viewed religious division as a threat to the unity of the Roman empire, so he summoned a council of bishops at Nicea in 325 C.E. After debates lasting two months, the (unbaptized) emperor decided in favor of the Trinitarian teaching advocated by several. Reports the “Encyclopedia Britannica” (Vol. 6, p. 386): “Overawed by the emperor, the bishops, with two exceptions only, signed the [Nicean] creed, many of them much against their inclination.” Dissenters were banished.

How Did the Trinity Doctrine Develop?
- Constantine's Role at Nicaea
- Further Development
- The Athanasian Creed
- Apostasy Foretold
- What Influenced the Teaching
- Platonism
- Why Did God's Prophets Not Teach It?
http://www.watchtower.org/e/ti/article_04.htm

Answer 5

Because Constantine needed a way to unite the Roman empire politically. He began putting money into the coffers of these early "churches" and getting their leaders in his back pocket. He called the Council of Nicea together for the express purpose of setting doctrine that would unite paganism with this jewish gnostic group. This would give him the power and puppets he needed to keep control.

The debate over whether Jesus was divine was the biggest one they had. Many of the early believers felt this doctrine was blasphemous. But, Constantine insisted that they have one doctrine- and the council chose to go with Jesus being God.

Answer 6

You are right. Those were the very issues which the Council of Nicea resolved. The divinity of Christ was not accepted by Arianists; hence, the Nicean Creed which Catholics still use today.

Peace and every blessing!

Answer 7

I was going to make a flippant comment about tourism, but it seems the flippant got in ahead of me.
As I understand it, the council was about 'getting the story straight'.
Again, using the excuse of my limited knowledge, I believe this is where the schism between Eastern (Orthodox) and Western Christian churches happened.
Unfortunately, the history of Christianity is not my strong point, so I can only offer my humble, and quite probably inaccurate opinion.

Answer 8

They had to "doctor" the books, and put thier own spin on it. Then they destroyed or hid all other writings that didn't agree with their interpretation. This was the start of organized religion.

Answer 9

Because man tried to make His deity null & void...

Wasn't happening though.......we know the truth.