The Compulsory Question:

What is Arianism and how did the Council of NICAEA 325 deal with it?

• One can be sure that once Arius was deposed even what was available in his time must have been
destroyed.
• There was a time when he was not.
• The Son is not God; he is therefore a creature.
• This statement attributed to Arius summarises Arianism, and it is this teaching that prompted the
council of Nicaea, and was the subject matter of discussion of the Council 318 fathers.

Council’s Response:

• The formulation of the Council of Nicaea in response to Arius is summarized in one a word:
Homoousius = same substance.
• The Second Person of the Holy Trinity is Homoousius with the Father= of the same substance
=consubstantial with the Father.
• The teaching of Nicaea was formulated in the form of a Creed, a teaching to be believed by all
those in communion with the Church.
• It is what we call the Nicene Creed.

We believe in one God, the Father almighty creator of all things, visible and invisible. And in our one Lord,
Jesus Christ, the Son of God, the Only-Begotten born from the Father, that is, from the substance of the
Father, God from God, light from light, true God from true God, born not made, of one substance with the
Father (Homoousius), through whom all things were made, those in heaven and those on earth, who for our
salvation came down and became flesh, and was made man, suffered, and rose again on the third day,
ascended into heaven, and will come to judge the living and the dead. And in the Holy Spirit.

• After formulating the faith in the Creed, Nicene fathers went on to condemn and
anathematize Arianism.

Answer any three questions from the following questions:

1. What are the main characteristics of the gods of the people of Middle-East who
surrounded the people of God?

A brief Summary of the Middle- East Religious Thought:

• The name YHWH, pronounced with vowels YAHWEH, is the mysterious name given to
Moses in the burning bush, (Ex. 3: 14-15).
• I am who I am =YHWH, in Gen. 2-3 for some mysterious reason, the deity is called, YHWH
Elohim, combining of strictly proper name (YHWH) and a common name (Elohim) God is
that mystery that can be known only through revelation.
• God reveals his name to Moses in the episode of the burning and sends him to go to liberate
his people Israel from Egyptian captivity (Ex. 3: 4ff).
• He reveals himself as the God of our fathers: the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.
• He reveals himself as one who is Holy (Moses has to remove his shoes because the place
was holy due to the presence of God).
• He revealed himself as one who hears the cry of his people, hence a merciful God.
• He reveals himself not only as God of the fathers, but also as I am Whom I am (Translated
Yhwh=Yahweh), meaning self-existence, a necessary being, that is not caused by another
being, hence eternal being.
• It is worthy noting that the deity was simply referred to as El by the Western Semitic people
where Abraham and his clan belonged.
• One of the derivatives of El was Elohim, which literally meant Deities, but which entered in
early Israel in singular form.
• Such that when the Israelites used the word Elohim, they meant one reality that we call God.

3. Briefly show how the strong monotheism enshrined in Deuteronomy 6: 4-9 came about in
the history of the people of God.

• On the above summary of Israelites monotheistic faith, one would be tempted to think that
Israelites have had monotheistic faith pretty early in their history.
• Yahweh who was originally one of the gods, came to mean the One and Only God (Strict
monotheistic faith).
• This journey of gradual development can be traced from monarchical times to the second exile.

a) The prophetic times; Prophet Elijah. The prophetic times coincides with the monarchical times.
• Prophet Elijah fought with the Baal gods promoted by Ahab and his wife Jezebel
(1 Kings 18: 20-40).
b) Prophet Hosea: For prophet Hosea, Israel should recognize and worship one God.
• To go to other gods is considered adultery, the infidelity of the wife to husband. (Hosea
13: 4)
c) Reformation of King Hezekiah (728-698): Hezekiah smashed the bronze serpent (nehushtan)
that Moses had made in the desert because Israelites were offering sacrifices to it which is
tantamount to idle worship.
• In the time of Hezekiah Yahweh worship alone prevailed in the royal court of the
kingdom of Judah and the in the Temple of Jerusalem.
 d) Reforms of King Josiah (641-609). This period is credited with the discovery of the book of
Deuteronomy in the Temple of Jerusalem around 621 and Josiah undertook a series of reforms
including burning strange symbols of worship.
e) Babylonian Exile (587-537 BC). Exiles were moment of purification and serious reflection about
God.
• The second exile provided that opportunity.
• Ezekiel requires some special mention here.
• He was taken to exile in Babylon and it was in his time that he saw the vision of God’s
glory leaving the Temple of Jerusalem and following the exiles in Babylon, a vision that
brings consciousness that Yahweh is not any other god, for gods were confined within
their land.
• If Yahweh can get out of the Temple of Jerusalem and follow the exiles, then Yahweh is
universal.
• He is not personal god for Israelites, he rules even in Babylon (Cf. Ez. 10:1-23).
• This is also the moment of the second –Isaiah, or Deutero-Isaiah.
• It is in this moment Israelites start to have consciousness of the idea that Yahweh is
Universal God, and the God’s plan is to unite all nations.

4. We read in John’s prologue: “In the beginning was the Word and the Word was with
God and the Word was God” (Jn 1:1). Show the meaning of the term Word=Logos in the
Old Testament.

• The concept is employed rarely in the NT. Only in John’s prologue 1:1-14 and casually in Rev.
19:3.
• Christ was early identified with the divine wisdom in Christian reflection. 1 Cor. 1: 22-24: See
also Lk11:49.
• Wisdom is presented as a daughter or feminine comparison of God the Most High.
• Of all the texts, Proverb 8 is really striking. Verses 22-23:
• The divine wisdom is first associated with Creation and then with the Law.
• Creation is attributed to the utterances of God-Word of God, Dabar Yahweh.
• The law in its turn is summed up in the Ten Commandments, known as the deca-logue, or the ten
logoi, ten words.

5. Show the internal relationship between Christology and the Trinitarian theology.
• Jesus of Nazareth is the key to the Trinitarian experience of God.
• Whereas in the Old Testament we have insinuations/traces of the Holy Trinity, in the experience
of the New Testament, that is, Jesus of Nazareth, there is much more revelation of the Father, the
Son and the Holy Spirit.
• What are we saying here? We are saying that some experiences of Jesus of history have more
intensification than others in matters of revelation of who God is.
• The story of Jesus of Nazareth was read from a different perspective with the experience of the
resurrection.
• What he had said and done took a different interpretation.
3:1 Jesus is the Christ:

• Jesus: More than a man: He is the Lord and Son of man

6. “Let us make man in our own image, after our likeness. ...God created man in his image;
in the divine image he created him; male and female he created them.”(Gen.1: 26-28).
What is significance of the plural usage in God? Is Trinity being alluded to here?

• The, Elohim/God said: “Let us make man in our image, after our likeness.
• So Elohim/God created man in his image he created him; male and female he created them.
• Christian exegesis has sometimes read into these texts of plurality in God, a veiled anticipation of
the doctrine of the Trinity.
• Such an Interpretation, however, cannot be allowed.
• Though the form here is plural, the sense is clearly singular.
• The plural usage is of purely grammatical significance, El and its many derivatives were
generic names and carried with them that sense of remoteness and abstraction typical of such
terms.
• They were not specific personal names and therefore lacked that note of close personal
relationship and allegiance which we expect to find in our address to and acknowledgement of
God.
• It is precisely this remoteness and impersonal quality which leads to Moses’ question on Mount
Horeb.

7. What does “God of our fathers” mean?

• Thus shall you say to the Israelites: The Lord (Adonai), the God of your fathers, the God of
Abraham, the God of Isaac, the God of Jacob, has sent me to you.
• This is my name forever; this is my title for all generation (Ex. 3: 15).
• Unity of the Old Testament and the New Testament - Unity of the Old Testament and the New
Testament. Some texts are of critical importance here – Heb. 1:1-2, Gal. 4:4-7, Col. 1: 15-20.
• b) Revelation of God’s Name, YHWH (Iam Whom Iam) - God is that mystery that can be
known only through revelation.
• God reveals his name to Moses in the episode of the burning and sends him to go to liberate his
people Israel from Egyptian captivity (Ex. 3: 4ff).
• He reveals himself as the God of our fathers: the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.
• He reveals himself as one who is Holy (Moses has to remove his shoes because the place was
holy due to the presence of God).
• He revealed himself as one who hears the cry of his people, hence a merciful God.
• He reveals himself not only as God of the fathers, but also as I am Whom I am (Translated
Yhwh=Yahweh), meaning self-existence, a necessary being, that is not caused by another being,
hence eternal being.
 • What is in the name? By knowing God, the sons of Israel now have a personal relationship with
Him.
• A journey of purification was necessary to come to a clear knowledge of God who was calling
them.
• God distinguished himself from other gods by what he did for the Israelites: He was able to smite
the firstborn of the Egyptians including the firstborn of Pharaoh, who was at this time considered
a deity himself (Ex.12: 29).
• The God of the Covenant: Creation of the Nation - In making a nation, God made a pact with
the people of Israel.
• There were two types of treaties in the time in question:
• 1. A Treaty/Covenant between two equal parties whereby the two had equal rights and duties.
• 2. A treaty between two unequal partners referred to as Suzerainty treaty.
• The Sinai covenant, obviously between two unequal partners, followed the pattern of the Hittite
Suzerainty treaty that was practiced between 1400-1200 BC.
• Parts of that treaty were: Preamble (Introduction of the titles and sovereignty of the King to his
vassal), Historical prologue (list of all the favours the King has done to his vassal and hence
reason for obedience and service), stipulations (the terms of the covenant:
• I will do to you this if you keep this covenant), List of witnesses, Blessings and curses depending
on the way you treat the covenant.
• The Sinai Covenant sounds in this manner:

8. Show the evolution from “God of our fathers” to “God of Israel”

• Blessings and curses: By keeping the covenant Israelites will be blessed and they will proper and
have the land that God was to give them, if they refused to obey YHWH, YHWH will leave to
their own fate and they will be conquered by their enemies and will be enslaved.
• So far, God is identified with a name YHWH pronounced YAHWEH. Israelites have accepted
Him as their God.
• He is the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, so God of the fathers, who eventually becomes God
of the Israelites, hence their father through the covenant.
• Hence we start to have the concept of the father (YAHWEH) and the son (Israel –Israelites).