Page 40 - Prophet Jesus (Pbuh): A Prophet Not A Son, Of God

38 Prophet Jesus (pbuh): A Prophet, Not A Son, of God

by Roman Emperor Constantine I, who
wanted to end this divisive debate for the
sake of Byzantium's future and security. At
this Council, the belief that constituted the basis
of Christianity would be defined for the security
of the Empire, according to a decision to be taken
by human beings. Saint Gregory of Nyssa de-

scribes the ensuing debates in these terms
(Surely God is beyond the expressions em-
ployed in this extract):
Every corner of Constantinople was full of
Saint Gregory of Nyssa. their discussions: the streets, the market
place, the shops of the money-changers, the
victuallers. Ask a tradesman how many obols he wants for some ar-
ticle in his shop, and he replies with the disquisition on generated
and ungenerated being. Ask the price of bread today and the baker
tells you: "The son is subordinate to the father." Ask your servant if
the bath is ready and he makes an answer: "The son arose out of
nothing." "Great is the only Begotten," declared the Catholics, and
the Arians rejoined: "But greater is He that begot." 3
Constantine permitted the Empire's Christians considerable free-

dom of belief and worship, despite the fact that he was not a Christian
and continued to protect Rome's traditional pagan beliefs. In his quest to
further the empire's interests, he worked for a compromise between, or
even a coming together of, all of its various religions, particularly be-
tween the cult of Sol Invictus, based on Sun worship, and Christianity.
Concerned over how the Christians had embarked on an internal theo-
logical debate just when he was trying to bring the religions together, he
convened this council. One side were those who believed that Prophet
Jesus (pbuh) was God made flesh on Earth. (Surely God is beyond that!)
The leader of this group was Athanasius, bishop of Alexandria. On the