Book | When Jesus Became God: The Struggle to Define Christianity during the Last Days of Rome

[EccentricM]

https://www.amazon.com/dp/0156013150/

 

Quote

The life of Jesus, and the subsequent persecution of Christians during the Roman Empire, have come to define what many of us know about early Christianity. The fervent debate, civil strife, and bloody riots within the Christian community as it was forming, however, is a story that is rarely told. Richard E. Rubenstein takes readers to the streets of the Roman Empire during the fourth century, where a divisive argument over the divinity of Jesus Christ was underway. Ruled by a Christian emperor, followers of Jesus no longer feared for the survival of their monotheistic faith, but they found themselves in different camps—led by two charismatic men—on the topic of Christian theology. Arius, an Alexandrian priest and poet, preached that Jesus, though holy, is less than God, while Athanasius, a brilliant and violent bishop, saw any diminution of Jesus' godhead as the work of the devil. Between them stood Alexander, the powerful Bishop of Alexandria, in search of a solution that would keep the empire united and the Christian faith alive.

 

I came across this very interesting book, wanted to know if anyone knew about it.

 

It goes through the history of the development of the Trinity doctrine, and how the early church fathers adopted Greek terms from people like Aristotle to change the meaning/interpretation of the scriptures. As well as the not so often told drama between the early church leaders, of non-trinitarians vs trinitarians (which even was said to include poisoning and assasinations of people in the church at the time who were making a good case against the trinity, and a lot of political rivalry). 

 

 

Edited October 31, 2020 by EccentricM

[Old]

39 minutes ago, EccentricM said:

https://www.amazon.com/dp/0156013150/

 

 

I came across this very interesting book, wanted to know if anyone knew about it.

 

It goes through the history of the development of the Trinity doctrine, and how the early church fathers adopted Greek terms from people like Aristotle to change the meaning/interpretation of the scriptures. As well as the not so often told drama between the early church leaders, of non-trinitarians vs trinitarians (which even was said to include poisoning and assasinations of people in the church at the time who were making a good case against the trinity, and a lot of political rivalry). 

 

 

I have it and greatly enjoyed it. 

[Dages]

More and more people in the field are understanding that the Trinity isn't original

Edited November 1, 2020 by Dages

[Pjdriver]

On 10/31/2020 at 5:38 PM, EccentricM said:

https://www.amazon.com/dp/0156013150/

 

 

I came across this very interesting book, wanted to know if anyone knew about it.

 

It goes through the history of the development of the Trinity doctrine, and how the early church fathers adopted Greek terms from people like Aristotle to change the meaning/interpretation of the scriptures. As well as the not so often told drama between the early church leaders, of non-trinitarians vs trinitarians (which even was said to include poisoning and assasinations of people in the church at the time who were making a good case against the trinity, and a lot of political rivalry). 

 

 

I read it a few years ago. It amazed me how corrupt the church was by Constantine's time. Also how prone to violence the church leaders were against one another for control.
As soon as they became “friends of the world” and politically active in the empire  and no longer persecuted, they became immersed in the worlds struggle for power. I can only imagine how the some of the faithful ones must have felt living at that time.

[Nelly Kim]

On 10/31/2020 at 10:38 PM, EccentricM said:

https://www.amazon.com/dp/0156013150/

 

 

I came across this very interesting book, wanted to know if anyone knew about it.

 

It goes through the history of the development of the Trinity doctrine, and how the early church fathers adopted Greek terms from people like Aristotle to change the meaning/interpretation of the scriptures. As well as the not so often told drama between the early church leaders, of non-trinitarians vs trinitarians (which even was said to include poisoning and assasinations of people in the church at the time who were making a good case against the trinity, and a lot of political rivalry). 

 

 

Yes indeed... It was irrefutable... Used it on one of my studies..

[rbrown1205]

The Encyclopedia Britannica has some interesting information about the role of the Roman Emperors of that time in the acceptance of the Trinity Doctrine and many other doctrines and practices that are now a part of the Catholic and Orthodox churches.  Their articles about Constantine and Theodosius of the fourth century are very enlightening, and fit right into the role that the Empire played in the eventual requirement that was imposed on citizens.  https://www.britannica.com/biography/Theodosius-I

https://www.britannica.com/biography/Constantine-I-Roman-emperor