Authors: Paul Hartog

Jesus Christ As ‘God’ Before the Council of Nicea

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According to the popular historiography of various cults, the doctrine of the deity of Jesus Christ was “created” by the Council of Nicea in A.D. 325. For instance, the Restoration Church of God publishes a tract entitled “Who Is Jesus? Do the Creeds Tell Us the Truth About Him?” This work asserts that the belief that Jesus is God is not found in the Scriptures, but was only instituted by the Nicene Council in the fourth century, “well after the New Testament apostolic times.”1

Christianity and Liberalism

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A century ago, a new, “modernist” liberal theology was infiltrating Protestant seminaries throughout the United States, transported primarily from Germany. J. Gresham Machen, an opponent of this new liberal theology, wrote a volume entitled Christianity and Liberalism in which he argued that historic Christianity and “modernist” theology were incompatible systems. To Bible-believing Christians like Machen, certain “fundamentals” were non-negotiable for authentic Christianity, such as the inspiration of Scripture, the deity and virgin birth of Jesus, the substitutionary atonement, the bodily resurrection of Jesus, and the literal Second Coming.

Paul and the Pagans

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In Roman history, the term pagan refers to an individual who was neither Jewish nor Christian. In other words, pagans were non-Christian Gentiles. The Apostle Paul definitely knew some pagan literature. For instance, he quotes the poet Aratus of Cilicia in Acts 17:28: “For we are also His offspring.” And he quotes Epimenides, a Cretan poet, in Titus 1:12: “The Cretans are always liars, evil beasts, slow bellies [lazy gluttons].” These are examples of Paul’s direct referencing of pagan poets. But a cursory survey of pagan literature can indirectly assist in the interpretation of other Pauline texts, as it places his letters in their cultural milieu.