Faith and Culture 2

Last updated on: February 9, 2009 at 1:00 pm by Scot McKnight

Faith and Culture 2 2009-02-09T13:00:10-06:00 Scot McKnight

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

* F&C.jpg *I’ve been asked and given permission to publish this week a series of chapters from the new A Faith and Culture Devotional: Daily Readings on Art, Science, and Life

History:
The Council of Nicaea:
The Voice Beneath the Altar

By Frederica Mathewes-Green, MA, columnist and author of nine books, including
The Illumined Heart: The Ancient Chris tian Path of Transformation. Since 1997,
she has recorded books for the blind with the Radio Reading Network of Maryland.

When he opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of those who had
been slain because of the word of God and the testimony they had maintained.
They called out in a loud voice, “How long, Sovereign Lord, holy and true, until
you judge the inhabitants of the earth and avenge our blood?”
REVELATION 6:9 – 10

During the first centuries of Christianity, the church was battered within and
without. Pseudo-Christians distorted the faith and misled the faithful, while
the powerful Roman Empire persecuted Christians with torture and death.
When local church members were able to gather the remains of their fellow
believers (often, this was forbidden), they lovingly interred these broken bodies
beneath their altars, a reminder that the blessed departed are invisibly
present to join us in worship. John writes that, in his vision, he heard the voice
of the martyrs crying out from under the altar. The persecutions ended when,
by God’s mercy, the Roman Emperor Constantine had a miraculous conversion
in 312 AD. However, a new distortion of the faith was about to arise. A
priest named Arius proposed that, if Christ is the Son of the Father, he can’t
be the same age as the Father. Christ must have been created by God, at some
point before the universe was made. This would mean that Jesus is not really
God, not in the way God the Father is.

That theory may sound familiar to you; throughout the centuries, there
have been many who find it more appealing to see Jesus as an exalted man
than to recognize him as fully God. The teachings of Arius provoked great
controversy, and Emperor Constantine summoned church leaders from
around the known world to come to Nicaea, a suburb of Constantinople, to
settle the matter (not to reconfigure the canon and burn the banished books,
as many have claimed). The Council of Nicaea rejected Arianism and affirmed
that Jesus is truly God — “begotten, not made, being of one substance
with the Father.”

The Syrian writer Marutha of Maiperqat is credited as author of a description
of how the council convened. When the 318 church leaders assembled,
it was obvious that many of them had endured persecution. Virtually all of
them, Marutha says, “were more or less maimed. . . . Some had the nails of
their fingers or toes torn out; some were otherwise mutilated.” Thomas of
Marash, he says, had been imprisoned for twenty-two years, and each year
his captors had cut off a finger, put out an eye, or wounded him some other
way in an attempt to make him deny Christ.

The emperor was astounded by the suffering evident in the faces and
bodies of these men. Marutha says that Constantine went from one man to
the next, bowing his head and humbly kissing “the marks of Christ in their
bodies,” the scars that bore witness to their faith. When Constantine came
to Thomas of Marash, he was overcome. As a peasant would bow to a king,
the Emperor bowed to the wrecked body and shining soul of this Chris tian
conqueror. He said, “I honor thee, O martyr of Christ, who art adorned with
many crowns!”

For almost two hundred years, Roman emperors had brought persecutions
upon Chris tians, but God knew there would come a time when an emperor
would bow to a martyr of Christ.

For reflection and discussion
• What form does martyrdom take today? (For current stories see www
.prisoneralert.com.) Have you ever been harassed or persecuted for your
faith? How did you respond?
• What does this reading tell us about the end of time, when “every knee
should bow, . . . and every tongue acknowledge that Jesus Christ is Lord”
(Philippians 2:10 – 11)?
• How does this motivate you to pray? To act? To give?

Uncategorized

Previous Post

February 9, 2009

iGens 2

Next Post

February 9, 2009 Response to Atheist Bus Ads in London

Browse Our Archives

Select a Category Acts of the Apostles Adam Advent Anabaptism Angels Anglican Apologetics Atonement Baptism BCP Prayers Bible Biblical Studies Birds Blogging Bloglossary Bonhoeffer Books Calvinism Christianity Church Church History Coffee Colossians Commentary Recs Conversion Creation Creeds Culture Death Ecclesiastes Economics Education Embracing Grace Emergent Emerging Movement Eschatology Essays Ethics Eucharist Evangelicalism Family Fasting Fathers Fellowship of Differents Footsteps Tour Fun and Whimsical Gospel Grace Happiness Heaven Hell Holy Spirit Irenaeus James Jesus Jesus Creed Job Justification Kingdom of God Law Lectures Lent Liberalism Love and Marriage Mabanteneni Manhood Mary Miracles Missio Alliance MissioLife Missional Missional Jesus Movies and Film New Perspective Northern Seminary OneLife Origins Project Orthodox Parables Pastor's Spouse Pastoring and Leading Pastoring and Preaching Patristics Paul Paul-John Tour Pharisees Pietism Political Theology Prayer and Formation Preaching Problems for Faith Psalm 119 Psalms Public Issues Purgatory Religions Resurrection Revelation Romans Rule of JCreed Science and Faith Sermon on the Mount Sports Ten Commandments Theology Third Way Top Ten Lists Translations Uncategorized Universalism University Ministry Way Out Weekly Meanderings Wisdom Women and Ministry Work Worship Writing & Blogging Youth Ministry

Select a Month July 2021 January 2020 December 2019 November 2019 October 2019 September 2019 August 2019 July 2019 June 2019 May 2019 April 2019 March 2019 February 2019 January 2019 December 2018 November 2018 October 2018 September 2018 August 2018 July 2018 June 2018 May 2018 April 2018 March 2018 February 2018 January 2018 December 2017 November 2017 October 2017 September 2017 August 2017 July 2017 June 2017 May 2017 April 2017 March 2017 February 2017 January 2017 December 2016 November 2016 October 2016 September 2016 August 2016 July 2016 June 2016 May 2016 April 2016 March 2016 February 2016 January 2016 December 2015 November 2015 October 2015 September 2015 August 2015 July 2015 June 2015 May 2015 April 2015 March 2015 February 2015 January 2015 December 2014 November 2014 October 2014 September 2014 August 2014 July 2014 June 2014 May 2014 April 2014 March 2014 February 2014 January 2014 December 2013 November 2013 October 2013 September 2013 August 2013 July 2013 June 2013 May 2013 April 2013 March 2013 February 2013 January 2013 December 2012 November 2012 October 2012 September 2012 August 2012 July 2012 June 2012 May 2012 April 2012 March 2012 February 2012 January 2012 December 2011 November 2011 October 2011 September 2011 August 2011 July 2011 June 2011 May 2011 April 2011 March 2011 February 2011 January 2011 December 2010 November 2010 October 2010 September 2010 August 2010 July 2010 June 2010 May 2010 April 2010 March 2010 February 2010 January 2010 December 2009 November 2009 October 2009 September 2009 August 2009 July 2009 June 2009 May 2009 April 2009 March 2009 February 2009 January 2009 December 2008 November 2008 October 2008 September 2008 August 2008 July 2008 June 2008 May 2008 April 2008 March 2008 February 2008 January 2008 December 2007 November 2007 October 2007 September 2007 August 2007 July 2007 June 2007 May 2007 April 2007 March 2007 February 2007 January 2007 December 2006 November 2006 October 2006 September 2006 August 2006 July 2006 June 2006 May 2006 April 2006 March 2006 February 2006 January 2006 December 2005 November 2005 October 2005 September 2005 August 2005 July 2005 June 2005 May 2005 April 2005 0000

TAKE THE

Religious Wisdom Quiz

What does "Naphtali" mean in Hebrew?

Select your answer to see how you score.

My struggle God is my rock Chosen One The Lord is my strength