Christianity and Christ Changes and Controversy Via Seven Councils Over Centuries Research Paper

Open, View, and/or
Download this Document

Total Length: 2228 words ( 7 double-spaced pages)

Total Sources: 5

Page 1 of 7

Tracing the development of Christianity thousands of years ago demonstrates a journey that was as varied and as rife with controversy, confusion and integrity as developing democracy in America. In examining this multi-faceted and a times nebulous process, greater insight into modern-day Christianity can more easily be gained. The seven ecumenical councils of the early Church had clear positions regarding Jesus Christ within the evolving Trinitarian theology of the era. These seven councils occurred between the years of 325 and 787 in Nicaea, Constantinople, Ephesus and Chalcedon (Need, xiii). These councils were made up of leaders and men of influence within the church, such as bishops that were summoned by the emperor of the time in order to help illuminate certain confusions within Christianity and the greater theology that shaped Christianity (Need, xiii). It was through these councils, emperors and other leaders of the time believed, that a greater sense of unity could be given to the Church. In this case, ecumenical refers to “of the whole lived in world” and even the term gives a sense to how so much of the Roman world had become emperors under Constantine: there was perhaps an overwhelming sense of primacy of the Christian religion and its dominance and its importance. One can truly trace the development of theology and of Christ through the decisions and conclusions made by these ecumenical councils. These councils helped to develop much of the vocabulary that has been harnessed when referring to Christ. Thus the greater knowledge a scholar has of the inner workings of these councils, the deeper understanding one will have of the intermingling of the human and divine nature of Christ.

The first council occurred in Nicaea in 325. This council was largely motivated by Constantine who desired to harness the power of the quickly growing religion as a means of fortifying the Roman Empire (usislam.org). Constantine essentially believed that the lack of unity within the church was a source of lack of stability for the greater kingdom as a whole. Constantine architected this council, assembling 318 bishops, a decision motivated by political and military means (Elsaie, 150). “He claimed that he saw a vision of the Cross in the middle of the sun, his god before converting to Christianity in his last day. Even the bishops had no illusion about that, for not only did the Emperor preside over the Council, he also proclaimed that his will was a divine law” (Elsaie, 150). This meant that the emperor was viewed as a Universal Bishop, even though he had no knowledge of Jesus’ teachings. During this council, only a minority of the Bishops believed Athanasius? perspective of Christ (usislam.org). However, Athanasius harnessed his powerful talents of argument to impact his theology on the bishops and get almost all of them to sign the following creed: "the Creator, God the father, and the Redeemer, Son of God, were of the same nature, and that Jesus is the only begotten of the father" (Elsaie, 150). This became a truly crucial tenet of later Christianity, and is something, which is credited as forcing the religion to the next level.

The second council occurred within Constantinople, and was able to use the findings of the first council as a springboard.

Stuck Writing Your "Christianity and Christ Changes and Controversy Via Seven Councils Over Centuries" Research Paper?

View All Our Example Christianity and Christ Changes and Controversy Via Seven Councils Over Centuries Research Paper

Have A Custom Example Essay Written

The first council essentially asserted the overall duality of God (usislam.org). This foundation was ripe for expansion to the Holy Trinity that is sacred in Christianity today. It was the emperor Theodosius who was responsible for forcing this second council to convene. This emperor was a tyrant and caused a tremendous amount of suffering in his kingdom, despite the fact that he made Christianity the state religion. This leader ensured that the poor were kept in a state of intolerable poverty, and that all citizens were afflicted with unbearably high taxes. He was merciless and denied all of the inhabitants of his kingdom refuge. His oppressive regime knew no boundaries: “In the year 390, he had seven thousand rebellious citizens murdered in a frightful blood bath; at the same time the "Halleluiah" came to be used in the Christian churches” (Elsaie, 152). However, the notion of the holy trinity with God the father, the son and the holy spirit were introduced during this regime and accepted as part of the official church belief system. Hence via the acknowledgement of the Nicene Creed the council agreed to encompass the recognition and worship of the holy spirit, along side the father and son (Elsaie, 152). This Holy Spirit was viewed to be made of the same material as the other branches of God. This is part of the church dogma that still exists in a rather steadfast manner today.

This was so momentous because discord and disagreements about the trinity can sometimes seem to be as old as Christianity itself. “We can easily see how disputes could arise about the Trinity, who persons appear in the opening verses of the earliest piece of Christian literature, Paul’s first epistle to the Thessalonians (1:1-5)” (Kelly, 19). Hence, the ability to finally reach a consensus about this and to be able to put this issue to rest represented firm and definite progress in this regard. It represents an ability of philosophical expansion.

As a result of the fact that this second council was able to establish a certain level of stability of belief via the Holy Trinity, this created the opportunity for the third council to more readily engage in expansion. The third council enabled the transition of the shift of attention from the holy trinity to the holy trinity to the character of Christ. The third council pondered the humanity of Christ and how his humanity could coexist with his divinity and how all the factors of the holy trinity actually could be one and the same. Hence, this created a range of difficult questions and overall conundrums about the issue. Thus, the Virgin Mary was brought into the equation. Via this council, the Virgin Mary was then viewed as the official bearer of God, or the mother of God. “The council stated that what Mary bore, was not a human closely united with God, but a single and undivided entity who is God and man at the same time” (Elsaie, 153). However, this definition caused much controversy within the church, as they….....

Show More ⇣

     Open the full completed essay and source list


OR

     Order a one-of-a-kind custom essay on this topic


sample essay writing service

Cite This Resource:

Latest APA Format (6th edition)

Copy Reference
"Christianity And Christ Changes And Controversy Via Seven Councils Over Centuries" (2018, June 17) Retrieved June 1, 2025, from
https://www.aceyourpaper.com/essays/development-christianity-theology-christ-2169865
   

Open, View, and/or
Download this Document
order custom essay example