Let me start by saying that, although I was raised a Protestant, I no longer consider myself a Protestant. Most Catholics would probably still consider me a Protestant, simply because I am not Catholic, but I do not protest the Catholic Church. I don’t recognize the Pope as the leader of the whole church, either, but I’m not going to protest against that idea. Having said that, there has been a lot of discussion about the Council of Nicea. Some people have criticized it, some have said it was the best thing that could have happened. I think most people don’t really know what happened at Nicaea.
First of all, Constantine was an Emperor with a problem. He had this vast empire that struggled with religion. Many people didn’t accept the traditional Roman gods: some preferred the Greek gods (not that there was much difference), but there was also a significant Hebrew population, and there was a growing Christian presence. Of all the different religions in the Roman Empire, Christianity was growing the fastest. He allegedly had a dream in which he was given inspiration that he would be victorious using the sign of the cross. As far as I have been able to tell, the cross was not a Christian symbol prior to that.
Anyway, whether a result of the dream, or just a matter of trying to learn more about Christianity, Constantine began trying to find out what Christians actually believed. Unfortunately, Christianity had already begun to splinter by this time. Some people that called themselves Christians believed in the divinity of Christ, some didn’t; some that believed in the divinity of Christ didn’t believe that He became divine until He was baptized. There weren’t separate denominations yet, but Christianity might have been better off if there had been—at least if you go to a Methodist church, you know that church teaches what the Methodists believe; without denominations, you may visit a church that believes very differently than you do, and not realize it for twenty years (well, if you pay attention to the sermons, you’ll probably figure it out quicker than that, but there were probably many snoozers then, just as there are now).
So, Constantine wants to unite his empire under this religion, and he can’t even be sure what Christianity is. The realization sets in that a lot of people who call themselves Christians don’t even know what their religion is all about. So, he sets up a meeting. He invites all of the known Christian leaders in the world to come to Nicaea (why Nicaea and not Rome? Nicaea was more of a central location), to discuss, debate, and codify the beliefs of the Christian church. This could have, and possibly would have, been a milestone in Christian history (many people still believe that it was) except for the fact that it was being presided over by an outsider, an unbeliever.
Many Christians were suspicious of Constantine. Traditionally, the Roman government had been a source of persecution against the church. Certainly it was possible that Emperor Constantine had finally figured out that the more he persecuted the church, the more it grew, but many church leaders were not willing to give him credit for having that much intelligence.
Undoubtedly, many church leaders prayed about this council, and felt very strongly that this council was not of God, and that they should not go. Many others thought about it, and came to the conclusion that it was probably a trap, that Constantine simply wanted to gather together the leaders of this thorn in the Empire’s side in order to butcher them, and hopefully get rid of Christianity once and for all. Some of the leaders felt that this was simply Constantine trying to tell them what to believe, and didn’t go. Less than twenty percent of the ones that were invited actually went. Did the views of the twenty percent accurately represent the views of the other eighty percent? One could certainly argue that a twenty percent sample is usually representative of the whole, but a lot depends on how the sample is obtained. If I take a gallon of milk that has not been homogenized, and just pour out twenty percent of it, and test that twenty percent, it should be roughly equivalent to the rest of the gallon. If I skim off twenty percent off the top, I’m probably going to get a lot more cream. Did Constantine skim twenty percent off the top of the church? Probably not intentionally, but I submit that, if those church leaders that prayed and felt that God did not want them to take part in the council were right, then whoever showed up in Nicaea did not represent the church.
First of all, Constantine was an Emperor with a problem. He had this vast empire that struggled with religion. Many people didn’t accept the traditional Roman gods: some preferred the Greek gods (not that there was much difference), but there was also a significant Hebrew population, and there was a growing Christian presence. Of all the different religions in the Roman Empire, Christianity was growing the fastest. He allegedly had a dream in which he was given inspiration that he would be victorious using the sign of the cross. As far as I have been able to tell, the cross was not a Christian symbol prior to that.
Anyway, whether a result of the dream, or just a matter of trying to learn more about Christianity, Constantine began trying to find out what Christians actually believed. Unfortunately, Christianity had already begun to splinter by this time. Some people that called themselves Christians believed in the divinity of Christ, some didn’t; some that believed in the divinity of Christ didn’t believe that He became divine until He was baptized. There weren’t separate denominations yet, but Christianity might have been better off if there had been—at least if you go to a Methodist church, you know that church teaches what the Methodists believe; without denominations, you may visit a church that believes very differently than you do, and not realize it for twenty years (well, if you pay attention to the sermons, you’ll probably figure it out quicker than that, but there were probably many snoozers then, just as there are now).
So, Constantine wants to unite his empire under this religion, and he can’t even be sure what Christianity is. The realization sets in that a lot of people who call themselves Christians don’t even know what their religion is all about. So, he sets up a meeting. He invites all of the known Christian leaders in the world to come to Nicaea (why Nicaea and not Rome? Nicaea was more of a central location), to discuss, debate, and codify the beliefs of the Christian church. This could have, and possibly would have, been a milestone in Christian history (many people still believe that it was) except for the fact that it was being presided over by an outsider, an unbeliever.
Many Christians were suspicious of Constantine. Traditionally, the Roman government had been a source of persecution against the church. Certainly it was possible that Emperor Constantine had finally figured out that the more he persecuted the church, the more it grew, but many church leaders were not willing to give him credit for having that much intelligence.
Undoubtedly, many church leaders prayed about this council, and felt very strongly that this council was not of God, and that they should not go. Many others thought about it, and came to the conclusion that it was probably a trap, that Constantine simply wanted to gather together the leaders of this thorn in the Empire’s side in order to butcher them, and hopefully get rid of Christianity once and for all. Some of the leaders felt that this was simply Constantine trying to tell them what to believe, and didn’t go. Less than twenty percent of the ones that were invited actually went. Did the views of the twenty percent accurately represent the views of the other eighty percent? One could certainly argue that a twenty percent sample is usually representative of the whole, but a lot depends on how the sample is obtained. If I take a gallon of milk that has not been homogenized, and just pour out twenty percent of it, and test that twenty percent, it should be roughly equivalent to the rest of the gallon. If I skim off twenty percent off the top, I’m probably going to get a lot more cream. Did Constantine skim twenty percent off the top of the church? Probably not intentionally, but I submit that, if those church leaders that prayed and felt that God did not want them to take part in the council were right, then whoever showed up in Nicaea did not represent the church.
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