Since my first post a couple days ago, the (few) people who have read my (terrible) blog have inevitably asked, "What does that crazy long title mean, anyways?" What follows is a brief attempt to explain...although it has been a many-years process...
A mere six years after the Roman emperor Constantine declared (in 313 AD) Christianity to be an official religion of the Roman Empire, a terrible heresy attacked the Church. A man named Arius of Alexandria began teaching that Christ was not an eternal deity or the Son of God. A just-ordained deacon named Athanasius responded to this attack with statements of the Truth--Christ's equality, eternity, sonship, and oneness with God.
As Arius wrote letters explaining his beliefs to bishops around the world, however, the debate over Arianism continued to grow. Finally, in 325 AD, Emperor Constantine called for a council at Nicea to address and resolve the issues. At this Nicean Council, Athanasius became the voice of Truth, the leader of Arius' opposition. After lengthy discussion the Council created and officially agreed upon the Nicean Creed, which centered around the Greek word "homo-ousios" (of the same substance, nature, or essence) and declared Christ's co-equality, co-eternity, and sonship.
Yet as time progressed, the Arian heresy infiltrated and permeated the Church. Seeking unity and unwilling to stand for Truth, bishops and leaders compromised the Nicean Creed in acceptance of Arianism.
However, Athanasius refused to participate in these allowances--yet as Arianism became almost wholly accepted, he continued fighting for the black-and-white Truth he believed. He fought desperately against magistrates and emperors (five emperors even banished him!) and faced incredible opposition from fellow Christians, including bishops and theologians. At one point, an aquaintance asked Athanasius if he realized that he was fighting against the ideology of an entire world. Athanasius responded in Latin:
"Athanasius contra mundum"..."Then it is Athanasius against the World".
And that is where I draw some inspiration for my blog title. Like Athanasius and countless Christian brothers and sisters throughout history (think William Wilberforce, Martin Luther, etc), I desire to seek, stand, and fight!
"For Truth, even against the World".
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
This comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteMy Latin being a bit non-existent as of yet, what does the 'Pro Veritas' part of the title stand for?
ReplyDeleteAlso, in regards to the council of Nicea (325 AD), as taken (and paraphrased) from "Christianity Through the Centuries" (textbook for Billington's history of the church class):
There were three main parties at Nicea: Arius, presenting Arianism; Athanasius, presenting the modern-day orthodox view; and Eusebius of Caesarea, presenting a "middle-ground" were Jesus was co-existent with the Father but only of 'like' essence, not 'same' essence (as Athanasius held). Athanasius' view won, and the original (325 AD) Nicene creed did reflect it. However, this is not the exact Nicene creed that the church uses today; the modern version came into play at Chalcedon in 451 AD. The newer version added onto the original (which had stopped at 'and in the Holy Spirit,' and then added a section condemning Arius' views).
You probably already knew that, but I thought it might serve useful as a footnote. I found it interesting, anyhow :)
Thanks, Alex :-) You know I'm a fan of Dr. Billington...and I really loved that textbook!
ReplyDeleteOh, and the Latin is "For Truth"...my first post references that...
ReplyDeleteI found your blog through Dr. Caneday's. Good post, great blog title! Keep up the good work! I would be honored if you would stop by The Rabbit sometime. www.theyodelingrabbit.blogspot.com
ReplyDeleteThank you very much! I am extraordinarily new to the concept of blogging...and I'm a little preoccupied with school. I love that blogging gives me a place to "vocalize" my thoughts, spark discussion, and share good literature. Thanks for reading!
ReplyDelete