EXECUTIVE SECULAR POWER INVOKED TO QUENCH THE FIRE OF RELIGIOUS SCHISM. Acts 26:26 For the king knoweth of these things, before whom also I speak freely: for I am persuaded that none of these things are hidden from him; for this thing was not done in a corner. For 200 years after the apostles had died, the Church of Jesus Christ suffered a terrible internal strife. One historian has recorded it thus, In every city, bishop was contending against bishop, and the people were contending against one another, like swarms of gnats fighting in the air. Another historian wrote, In former times, the church was attacked by enemies and strangers from without. Today those who are natives of the same country, who dwell under one roof and sit down at table together, fight with their tongues as if with spears. What was the problem? It has come down to us now as the Arian controversy or heresy. Arius was an African priest in Alexandria. He had asked a very simple question about the divinity of Jesus. If Jesus was begotten by the Father, then is it not logical to conclude that there was a time when he did not exist? A young man called Athanasius saw a great danger in this and refuted the doctrine with all his might. The Arian doctrine persists unto this day and is held by the Jehovahs Witnesses, the Bahai Faith, Islam and Orthodox Judaism. They all deny that Jesus Christ was very God, equal to God and eternal. The schism became so vicious that it spread throughout the whole of the Roman Empire and threatened political stability. Emperor Constantine was concerned about this. He had no idea what the controversy was exactly. His problem was that Pax Romana (the peace of Rome) was under threat. For this reason, he wrote a letter to bring together all factions to sit down at table and come up with an agreement. His letter concludes, Seeing that our great and gracious God, the preserver of all, has given us the common light of his grace, I entreat you that my endeavors may be brought to a prosperous end, and my people be persuaded to embrace peace and concord. Suffer me to spend my days and nights in quiet, and may I have light and cheerfulness instead of tears and groans. A council was convened at Nicaea (present day Isnik, Turkey). 1,800 bishops were ordered to attend. As a result of this, we now have the doctrine of the Trinity firmly established in Christendom, and Arianism condemned as a heresy. Not only that, the subsequent councils went on to define the canon of scripture. Over a thousand years later, another king, James 1 of England would also invoke secular executive powers to compel theologians to come together and agree what the authorised version of the Bible should be. As a result of this, we have more uniform translations of the Bible from more accepted copies of the original manuscripts. These differences were very great. If they had been allowed to go on and on, Christianity would not have been what it is today. The motives of earthly leaders may not be pure, but God has authorised them to run the affairs of the state so that we may live at peace (1 Tim 2:2, Rom 13:1-5). Peace, even in the Christian church and among believers may be enforced by secular laws. We as Christians, may be so blindly wedded to our church, that we zealously defend our narrow interest, forgetting to pursue peace with all men that God may have to use secular government to bang our heads together so that we agree, or agree to disagree quietly.
Posted on: Sat, 19 Jul 2014 09:44:52 +0000
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