Arianism: The worst enemy of the Christendom
Arianism is undoubtedly one of the most dangerous heresies the Church has ever known. Its proponent, Arius, was a priest in one of the larger churches in the great Egyptian city of Alexandria. Arius set out his views in a work known as the Thalia (“The Banquet”). He held that the Son and the Father do not have the same essence. That, the Son is a created being, even though he is to be recognised as first and foremost among them in terms of origination and rank.
“There was when he was not”
Arianism is of the view that although the Son was a creator of the worlds, and must therefore have existed before them and before all time, there was nevertheless a time when the Son did not exist. This led them to coin what later became their motto. “There was when he was not”. That is to say, there was a time in history when Christ did not exist since he is a creature and was created out of nothing like any other creature.
The Arians are of the view that the difference between Christ and other creations is that he was created first, and he in turn created the world. Arius’ most contended enemy was Athanasius, who deployed a triple onslaught based on the Church’s living faith against the Arian belief.
Christianity hinges on the belief in One God
First, he argued that Arianism undermined the Christian doctrine of God by presupposing that the divine Triad is not eternal and by virtually reintroducing polytheism [1]. Christianity like Judaism hinges on the belief in one God and the creator of heaven and earth. A declaration of faith in one God, creator of heaven and earth, was the first sentence of the classic creeds of Christendom. Although the first fathers were not thoughtful theologians, they were well aware that the monotheistic notion defined the boundary between the Church and paganism. This idea was rooted in the religion of Israel [2].
Polytheism as reintroduced by Arianism is seen as a great sin against God by Christians and even Judaism. Deuteronomy 6:4, referred to as the Shema reads “Hear, O Israel: The Lord is our God, the Lord alone.”
Christians fall into the sin of idolatry if the Son were not God
Secondly, Athanasius argued that Arianism made nonsense of the established liturgical customs of baptising in the Son’s name as well as the Father’s, and of addressing prayers to the Son. Christians pray in the name of the Son and also baptise in his name. The only way to validate this act by Christians is to acknowledge the Son as God. If the Son then is not God, as argued by Arius, Christians fall into the sin of idolatry.
The Bible has said categorically in Exodus 20:3 “you shall have no other gods beside me”. Christians worship the Son and also baptise in His name because we believe He is God. John 1:1 affirms that “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.”
No human being can save another human being
Thirdly, Athanasius argued that Arianism undermined the Christian idea of redemption in Christ through His Cross, since only if the Mediator was Himself divine could humanity hope to re-establish fellowship with God [3]. No human being can save another human being. Human nature is naturally a fallen nature. Therefore, no human has the power to redeem another human being. The redemption the Son brought is deemed legitimate because Jesus Christ is not only human, but also divine. His divinity accords him the privilege to redeem the world of sin.
Conclusion
The belief that Jesus Christ was himself created by God, therefore could not be God is a common belief in Islam and Jehovah Witness. They seemed to have been influenced by Arianism. Contrary to the belief and teachings of Arianism, Jesus Christ is God who was incarnated in human form to redeem the world of sin. Christians worship and baptise in his name because he is God. The redemption Jesus brought is legitimate because he is not only human, but also God, and therefore can redeem human beings from the bondage of sin.
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References
[1] J. N. D. Kelly. Early Christian Doctrines. (San Francisco: Harper & Row, 1978), 233.
[2] J. N. D. Kelly, Early Christian Doctrines, 96
[3] J. N. D. Kelly, Early Christian Doctrines, 233
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