The Nicene Creed: Part 1 - What is the Nicene Creed? What is the Council of Nicea?

[@rachele.471]

Wow, this is fascinating!

[@TolkienAnswers]

I am sure you are aware of the revival of Thomistic thought among Protestants circles especially in light of the recent debates concerning the nature of the ontological trinity (social trinity vs. classical trinity). The claim of the Thomists is that Nicaea supports their classical view especially regarding the eternal generation of the Son from the Father and the eternal spiration of the Spirit from the Father and the Son (in the west). My question is, is this truly what is claimed by Nicene or is this understanding a latter development found more particularly in the Athanasian Creed?

[@BibleandTheologyMatters]

Hello @TolkienAnswers, I will pass this question along to Dr. Cary, and repost it once he answers.

[@BibleandTheologyMatters]

Hello @TolkienAnswers here is the answer we received from Dr. Cary - "Some recent Protestant writers evidently deny the doctrine of eternal generation not because they deny the eternity of the Son, but because they deny his generation, i.e. his originating from the Father (his being "begotten," as the Nicene Creed puts it). Some of them do this because they seem to think that if the Son originates from the Father, that implies he is less than the Father or subordinate to the Father--an implication that the Nicene fathers firmly deny. And others seem to be captivated by the picture of three persons "within" the Godhead, as if all three originated from a prior divine nature or essence, rather than originating ultimately from the Father. And some even attribute this very modern and un-Nicene notion to Augustine, which (as Augustine scholars now agree) is nonsense. If you want a picture, it's best to drop the language of three persons "within" the divine essence, and instead to picture the Father, having the divine essence within him, eternally and fully bestowing this divine essence on the Son and the Spirit-- precisely as he gives them eternal divine being, in an origination that is eternal, not a process in time. You can move beyond the picture by realizing that what this literally means is that every divine attribute (including eternity, omnipotence, etc) belongs equally to Father, Son, and Holy Spirit precisely because these attributes are wholly bestowed on the Son and the Spirit by the Father."

[@TolkienAnswers]

@@BibleandTheologyMatters Thank you for the detailed answer.

[@ProtestantismLeftBehind]

The Nicene Creed was and is authoritative, infallible, inerrant, and binding. These are the characteristics that mirror the Ecumenical Councils that created it as it was seen as being guided by the Holy Spirit. I’m wondering if any Protestant would adhere it this? Also one cannot cherry pick the Nicene Creed. It’s an all or nothing Creed. Unlike the Westminster or London Baptist Confessions where adherents can accept some parts and deny other parts. The Nicene Creed is an all or nothing Creed as per the EC’s and Church Fathers that produced the Nicene Creed. Baptism was understood in one way, it was for the remission of sins, it cleansed a person of sins, it regenerated the one receiving baptism. This was both the understanding of the Church Fathers and what was meant by one baptism. Last, one holy Catholic Apostolic Church. The links act like an inseparable chain defining the Church. It’s one, Catholic and Apostolic. It must be all of these as understood by the creators of the Creed and the Church since it’s inception or it’s not a part of Christ’ Church. I say all this to ask, can any Protestant group claim to accept the Nicene Creed?