Jesus in the West

In the "Christian West" Jesus became God and God became Jesus officially at the Council of Nicea - The One God was short-circuited by a trinitarian equation that lumped together the God-Head (father, son, and holy spirit) with God-as-such:

One God = God-Head = Father, Son, Holy Spirit

Athanasius et al saw that:

Father = Son = Holy Spirit

And, since:

Jesus is the Son

Then:

Jesus the Son = the Father = the Holy Spirit = God

But when the "Christian West" made JesusGod, there followed grave consequences on all levels - By making Jesus the ULTIMATE point of reference, a plethora of issues popped-up on the scene:

Which JesusGod should one attest to? ... Our JesusGod or theirs? ... Mine or yours? ... His or hers? ... Of this Church or that? ...

What about other sacred figures in the world? - They surely don't look like our JesusGod, no? -

And so forth and so on -

In short, it was very convenient for the Emperor, Constantine, to claim Jesus as God - Not just any god, mind you, but the One God that is -

All other gods shall kneel to Him and to his devout servants: the Emperor and the Church (But of course!) -

So better watch out, ye Barbarians! - Here comes the army of the Lord to Christianize and Civilize you and help you out of your heathen ways! - (Hallelujah anyone?) ~

* * *

When Jesus Became God: The Struggle to Define Christianity During the Last Days of Rome

By Richard E. Rubenstein

Book Overview:

The story of Jesus is well known, as is the story of Christian persecutions during the Roman Empire. The history of fervent debate, civil strife, and bloody riots within the Christian community as it was coming into being, however, is a side of ancient history rarely described.

Richard E. Rubenstein takes the reader to the streets of the Roman Empire during the fourth century, when a fateful debate over the divinity of Jesus Christ is being fought. Ruled by a Christian emperor, followers of Jesus no longer fear for the survival of their monotheistic faith but break into two camps regarding the direction of their worship.

Is Jesus the son of God and therefore not the same as God?

Or is Jesus precisely God on earth and therefore equal to Him?

The vicious debate is led by two charismatic priests:

Arius, an Alexandrian priest and poet, preaches that Jesus, though holy, is less than God.

And, Athanasius, a brilliant and violent bishop, sees any diminution of Jesus' godhead as the work of the devil.

Between them stands Alexander, the powerful Bishop of Alexandria, who must find a resolution that will keep the empire united and the Christian faith alive.

With thorough historical, religious, and social research, Rubenstein vividly recreates one of the most critical moments in the history of religion.

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Constantine and the Bishops: The Politics of Intolerance

By H. A. Drake

Book Overview:

Historians who viewed imperial Rome in terms of a conflict between pagans and Christians have often regarded the emperor Constantine's conversion as the triumph of Christianity over paganism. But in Constantine and the Bishops, historian H. A. Drake offers a fresh and more nuanced understanding of Constantine's rule and, especially, of his relations with Christians.

Constantine, Drake suggests, was looking not only for a god in whom to believe but also a policy he could adopt. Uncovering the political motivations behind Constantine's policies, Drake shows how those policies were constructed to ensure the stability of the empire and fulfill Constantine's imperial duty in securing the favor of heaven. Despite the emperor's conversion to Christianity, Drake concludes, Rome remained a world filled with gods and with men seeking to depose rivals from power.

A book for students and scholars of ancient history and religion, Constantine and the Bishops shows how Christian belief motivated and gave shape to imperial rule.

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Credo in Unum Deum: A Challenge

And here are questions to consider for the those who speak of "Christian West" and "Islam and the West" and what not:

The Issue Today

We leave to Jews and Muslims to point out where synagogue and mosque fall shofrt of belief in One God of all. The issue here is whether Christianity can be redeemed, or whether it has become so exclusivist that it is lost in its hundreds of different views of its own identity, each claiming to be the right one. It may be that this is one of the reasons God raised up Islam and many other ancient religions, and has preserved Judaism, so that Christians may be reminded of what Jesus himself taught, especially about the One God of All.

Christians must ask themselves:

* Whether their claims to exclusivity do not belie belief in One God;

* Whether they understand the vast difference between henotheism and true monotheism;

* Whether any one view of Christ is the only true one;

* Why churches tend still to be the most segregated institutions in the culture;

* Why "the other" is often called evil;

* WHY Christians often find war and killing others noble;

* Why the churches tend to uphold whatever culture they find themselves in and sponsor the status quo even when it is oppressive and demonizes those the culture excludes.

Have Christians made distortions of Christ into an idol, in effect displacing God?

Indeed, would a theocentric Christology not be more responsible to Scripture and sound theology than the traditional Christocentric theology?

What would a One-God centered understanding of the Trinity, of Christ and the Holy Spirit truly mean?

The ancient cry, Credo in Unum Deum, has become largely meaningless to those who claim to be Christian today. These are a few of the questions that must be addressed if the church and the earth as we know them are to survive through the twenty-first century

-- James A. Sanders, Paul E. Capetz

Credo in Unum Deum: A Challenge

Biblical Theology Bulletin: A Journal of Bible and Theology, Vol. 39, No. 4, 204-213 (2009)