Day Two–God the Son

Today I was less impressed by the Council as a whole because we all seemed to be thinking more about our own agendas than about unity. There was much back and forth arguing which seemed to only lead us in circles. This is, of course, almost to be expected when dealing with an issue as large as God the Son and where he fits in in relationship to God the Father.

Arius and his followers presented the idea that Jesus is inferior to God the Father and that the two are similar, but not the same.They claim that Jesus was created by God and was with God before time but not eternally, because he had to have been begotten at some point. These ideas I cannot support. If this were the case, I do not understand why Jesus should have any significance or be the object of any praise. An inferior deity to God seems unnecessary–not to mention polytheistic. I have a problem with the idea of worshipping a “Creature” as the Arians have termed Jesus the Son.

For this reason, I fully support the Alexandrians in their position that Jesus and God are of the same substance, and that they are co-equal and co-eternal. This is why I like the part of the Alexandrian’s proposed Creed that talks about Jesus not being made but that everything was made through him. This powerful statement reveals the greatness of Jesus in the fact that it differentiates him from all of God’s creations. This seems more like a picture of the true Jesus, powerful and uncreated, who existed eternally with God before anything.