First Council of Nicaea and Jehovah S Witnesses
Arianism, a Christian heresy first proposed early in the 4th century by the Alexandrian presbyter Arius. It affirmed that Christ is not truly divine but a created being. Arius’ basic premise was the uniqueness of God, who is alone self-existent and immutable; the Son, who is not self-existent, cannot be God. Because the Godhead is unique, it cannot be shared or communicated, so the Son cannot be God. Because the Godhead is immutable, the Son, who is mutable, being represented in the Gospels as subject to growth and change, cannot be God. The Son must, therefore, be deemed a creature who has been called into existence out of nothing and has had a beginning. Moreover, the Son can have no direct knowledge of the Father since the Son is finite and of a different order of existence, Brown, and Heresies (1988;45).
The other definition of Arianism is that, Arianism is the idea that Jesus Christ is not equal to the Father by nature, but He is the first creation of God. The founder of Arianism was Arius who died in 336. His ideas would have a tremendous impact on the early Church by causing it to define orthodoxy with a number of creeds. However, his impact continues to this present day with such groups as the Jehovah’s Witnesses. As a result of their convictions, these modern day Arians produce a number of Biblical arguments to support their contention that Jesus is not God. Though Arianism is false Biblically, its doctrines force the Church throughout all generations to define what she believes regarding the person and nature of Christ.
As metioned above, the founder of Arianism was no other than Arius. He studied under Lucian of Antioch who saw Jesus as a semi divine intermediate being. In fact, Lucian thought the Logos was not fully God or man. Therefore, Jesus has a high status among the creatures even being called “the firstborn of all creation (Col. 1).” Jesus is supernatural, but He is not equal to the Father. Brown states, “Arianism developed the idea that the Son
The other definition of Arianism is that, Arianism is the idea that Jesus Christ is not equal to the Father by nature, but He is the first creation of God. The founder of Arianism was Arius who died in 336. His ideas would have a tremendous impact on the early Church by causing it to define orthodoxy with a number of creeds. However, his impact continues to this present day with such groups as the Jehovah’s Witnesses. As a result of their convictions, these modern day Arians produce a number of Biblical arguments to support their contention that Jesus is not God. Though Arianism is false Biblically, its doctrines force the Church throughout all generations to define what she believes regarding the person and nature of Christ.
As metioned above, the founder of Arianism was no other than Arius. He studied under Lucian of Antioch who saw Jesus as a semi divine intermediate being. In fact, Lucian thought the Logos was not fully God or man. Therefore, Jesus has a high status among the creatures even being called “the firstborn of all creation (Col. 1).” Jesus is supernatural, but He is not equal to the Father. Brown states, “Arianism developed the idea that the Son