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CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTION
During the opening centuries of Christianity, the early Church soon realized that certain
theologies needed to be established if it was going to survive. The first of these foundational
doctrines addressed how Christ related to the Father. The discussion soon came to include the Holy
Spirit. The establishment of Christianity as monotheistic; therefore, maintaining the divinity of the
Father, Son, and Spirit, was an issue. But how could God be one and three? The answer found a
voice in the doctrine of the Trinity.
In 325 bishops gathered to draft a document intended to definitively explain Christ`s role in
the Godhead; however, the doctrine of the Trinity did not begin in Nicea. The issue had been
burning for centuries.
The question before the church was a Christological one: Who is Jesus in relationship with
God? If Jesus is God, how can Christianity claim to be monotheistic? And if Jesus is not God, how
can Christianity claim to be theistic?
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The works of the Ante-Nicene Fathers bear this out.
By the second century certain cities were able to start theological traditions capable of
serving as a framework for future thought. As the Church matured, new ideas began circulating.
Theological experimentation was prevalent. Over time a rule of faith was becoming established by
the more influential churches, setting the standard for what would and would not be accepted as
orthodox. These influential churches grew into important Christian centers developing their own
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R. P. C. Hanson, The Search for the Christian Doctrine of God: The Arian Controversy 318-381
(Edinburgh: T & T Clark Ltd., 1988), 164.