History of the First Council of Nice: A World's Christian Convention A.D. 325 With a Life of Constantine (Paperback)

~ Dean Dudley (Author) "The words Council, Synod and Convention are synonymous..." (more)
Key Phrases: Council of Nice, Son of God, Eusebius Pamphilus (more...)

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Great dissensions had arisen in the church of Egypt about the nature of Christ, and the time to celebrate Easter, by which Constantine was much troubled. He therefore ordered a convention to be held at Nicea in Bithynia, to which bishops were invited from all parts of the world, hoping that harmony might result from the decision of such a Universal Assembly of the chief Christians of the world. -- from the Life of Constantine.

Product Description

The author of the History of the First Council of Nice, Dean Dudley, has searched the annals of history using the most scholarly and trusted sources available to reveal exactly how Christianity, as we know it today, was "railroaded" into existence. This was the first major council in Christendom, taking place in the year A.D. 325. The major controlling force behind this convention was the Roman Emperor Constantine. Constantine came to power in ruthless fashion, one of six sovereigns of the Roman Empire in the year A.D. 308 (they had been collectively appointed in 305). Only Constantine survived beyond the next decade and only one of the other sovereigns died a natural death. Constantine seemed to be involved in the deaths of each of the others, who were all non-Christian. It became politically expedient for Constantine to side with Christianity during this early and ruthless power struggle, and murderous plots were its central theme. After Constantine triumphed, he recalled or released Christian ministers who had been persecuted by his rivals. With his ruthless past weighing heavily on him, he was told by a counsellor that there were no sins so great that they cannot be forgivin in Christianity. This was exactly what he wanted to hear. He embraced the faith enough to justify what he had done and, although he did not officially convert, approved the faith in 313 for the entire Roman Empire. Following this, he went on to eliminate close relatives and family who might otherwise challenge his crown. Christianity seemed to be his "partner in crime." Later, on Constantine's own deathbed, he made sure to officially convert to the faith in an effort to wash away his sins. The Council of Nice, basically run by Constantine, endorsed a few erroneous and inaccurate concepts which were accepted by the faith, and thereby opened the door for such practices to continue in later years. We should study the origins of our human problems so we can make an attempt to solve them. Christianity was created during a political power struggle, and some of the most important facets of the religion were created to serve political agendas rather than the truth. It is our hope that this book, as you read it, will shed more light on the truth. --This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.

Product Details

• Paperback: 110 pages
• Publisher: A & B Book Dist Inc (July 1992)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1881316033
• ISBN-13: 978-1881316039
• Product Dimensions: 8.3 x 5.5 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 6.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #806,826 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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22 of 27 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars a bit unbalanced, October 13, 2000

By	matt (the reading room) - See all my reviews

Dudley takes his place along with the other historians (some very capable) who seem to criticise the Church for what took place at Nicea as the usurpation of power by Constantine. Obviously there is an element of this at Nicea, but to claim, among other things, that Christians were not already and from the beginning worship and celebrating the Eucharist on Sunday and that it took the emperor to settle it is a stretch. Argue if you want, but at least read a few other books that are not so biased. If you think that the Church became something radically different after Nicea, you have some learning to do. The Orthodox tradition only makes sense, however, if you believe that some theological opinions are more faithful to the apostolic tradition than others. In other words, "rainbow theology" is not how the early Church functioned. If she did, then the Lord's apostles were in extreme delusion, for they too discerned light from darkness in aspects that were not strictly moral (i.e. gnostic trends, although many false teachings lead to immorality).

I recommend Davis' "The First Seven Ecumenical Councils" and Allison's "The Cruelity of Heresy" to start with (and no, they are not "let's dump on the heretics" sort of books). Others include "God For Us" by LaCugna, "Jesus as God" by Harris, "Christology" and "THe Tripersonal God" by O'Collins.

If you're interested in the cannon of scripture, check out Metzger's "The Canon of the New Testament: It's Origin, Development, and Significance".

10 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars A bit dissapointing, November 23, 1999

By	O. B. Makhubela (South Africa) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

The book goes into good and interesting details on the life of Constantine and to a greater extant on the history of the council of nice which made christianity a formal institution. I was VERY dissapointed when the book FAILED to deal in detail with the books/canons that were LEFT OUT (LOST) of the conventional bible. The book only lists those books/canons that were included, BUT fails to inform the reader as to those canons/books that were omitted (lost) or excluded from the conventional books adopted at the council. To be honest I baught the book for this (excluded/lost canons) part! Yet the book does well to inform the reader as to the main issue that was brought to the council, viz. the divinity of Jesus the Messiah (Christ). It also informs the reader of some of the agreements reached by the council regarding the church and its formalized religion: especially that Sunday was decided solely by Constatine to be our Sabbath, while the proper rest day is supposed to be Suturday..

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars It's ok but not alot of info., August 29, 2009

By	James Madison "Looking for facts" (USA) - See all my reviews

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A little hard to follow but does at least give enough information to understand where the dogma of the trinity originated.