Showing papers on "Divinity published in 2004"

In search of Paul : how Jesus's Apostle opposed Rome's empire with God's kingdom : a new vision of Paul's words & world

Abstract: "With dusty, tired, much-traveled Paul came Rome's most dangerous opponent, not legions but ideas, not an alternative force but an alternative faith. Paul too proclaimed one who was Lord, Savior, Redeemer, and Liberator. He announced one who was Divine, Son of God, God, and God from God. But Paul's new divinity was Christ, not Caesar. His was a radically divergent but equally global theology." -- from the Prologue Many theories exist about who Paul was, what he believed, and what role he played in the origins of Christianity. Using archaeological and textual evidence, and taking advantage of recent major discoveries in Italy, Greece, Turkey, and Syria, John Dominic Crossan and Jonathan L. Reed show that Paul was a fallible but dedicated successor to Jesus, carrying on Jesus's mission of inaugurating the Kingdom of God on earth in opposition to the reign of Rome. Against the concrete backdrop of first-century Greco-Roman and Jewish life, In Search of Paul reveals the work of Paul as never before, showing how and why the liberating messages and practices of equality, caring for the poor, and a just society under God's rules, not Rome's, were so appealing. Crossan and Reed's concise, engaging prose conjures up the complex and rich world of Paul's time, from the imperial intrigues of Rome to the theological infighting among Christian communities in Greece and Turkey to the beautiful landscapes and the cultural conflicts of the Middle East. The illustrations and short, rich, "you are there" descriptions help the reader to follow in the footsteps of Paul and, indeed, in the footsteps of Christianity.

The suffering of the impassible God : the dialectics of patristic thought

Abstract: Introduction 1. Testing the fall into Hellenistic philosophy theory 2. The function of divine impassibility in patristic theology 3. The reality of Christ's suffering defended in the struggle with Docetism 4. Patripassian controversy: the Son, not God the Father, is the subject of the Incarnation 5. The orthodox response to Arianism: involvement in suffering does not diminish Christ's divinity 6. The case of Cyril against Nestorius: a theology of divine self-emptying Conclusion

An Examined Faith: The Grace of Self-Doubt

Abstract: An Examined Faith: The Grace of Self-Doubt. By James M. Gustafson. Minneapolis: Fortress Press, 2004. xi + 119 pp. $15.00 (paper). In the course of some fifty years at Yale Divinity School, the University of Chicago Divinity School, and Emory University, James Gustafson has taught two or three generations of scholars and teachers and sent them on their own ways to form the multifaceted discipline we now call theological ethics. Gustafson has not created a school of thought. Instead, he has given definition to the Held of Christian ethics, offered critical readings of major thinkers, pressed questions of the coherence and truth of theological convictions and other sources of knowledge, and developed his own constructive account of Christian faith and the moral life. An Examined Faith is the third, and perhaps last, book to be published since Gustafson's major, two-volume, constructive work, Ethics from a Theocentric Perspective (1981, 1984). It is something of a coda to his work as a whole. As such it offers a clear account of the task and challenges before the disciplines of theology and ethics if they are to have intellectual integrity as well as meet the needs of persons seeking religious truth and guidance. Rhetorically, in An Examined Faith Gustafson threads through the book the voice of an inquiring college student who asks how learnings in one class are related to learnings in another. She has taken courses throughout the university and wonders how such claims as those from sociobiology, neurophysiology, and sociology "square" with religious and moral understandings of human action and the world. And this is precisely Gustafson s concern: how are religious accounts of ourselves and the world informed and modified by accounts from the natural and social sciences? In turn, how do religious understandings contribute to our understanding of ourselves and our world? If we are to make sense of ourselves, our faith, and our world, the dissonance between the various accounts must be addressed. This will rule out singular, exhaustive explanations, whether religious or scientific. Instead, if Christian faith is to have intellectual integrity, the varied accounts of the world must mutually inform each other. More practically for religious understandings, the danger of dismissing such critical engagement is various forms of fundamentalism in which understandings from the sciences are uncritically rejected or accepted as they are viewed as in accord with uncritical, authoritarian accounts of Christian faith. …

The Problem with Social Trinitarianism: A Reply to Wierenga

Abstract: In a recent article, Edward Wierenga defends a version of Social Trinitarianism according to which the Persons of the Trinity form a unique society of really distinct divine beings, each of whom has its own exemplification of divinity. In this paper, I call attention to several philosophical and theological difficulties with Wierenga’s account, as well as to a problem that such difficulties pose for Social Trinitarianism generally. I then briefly suggest what I take to be a more promising approach to the Trinity.

The Gospels of Mary: The Secret Tradition of Mary Magdalene, the Companion of Jesus

Abstract: Collected together for the first time are the original "Gospel of Mary," one of the "Gnostic Gospels," and three other secret texts that reveal the significant role Mary Magdalene played in Jesus' inner circle of disciples. This is a new translation of the" Gospel of Mary," as well as Meyer's translations of significant portions of other Gnostic gospels and texts in which Mary Magdalene plays a major part, including the" Gospel of Philip," the "Gospel of Thomas, Dialogues with the Saviour," and "Pistis Sophia." Also included are the passages in the New Testament Gospels that feature Mary Magdalene, and they can now be read in a whole new light. Cumulatively, these texts reveal a vibrant oral tradition in which Mary Magdalene is not only a follower of Jesus but his companion and closest disciple. The book will include lively historical introduction by Meyer, and an interpretive essay by Karen King at Harvard Divinity School, the foremost expert on the Gospel of Mary, whose translation and commentary on the Gospel of Mary is being published by an academic press in October '03.

Das Göttliche in der Natur erkennen. Tiere, Pflanzen und Phänomene der unbelebten Natur als Manifestationen des Göttlichen

Abstract: Apart from the well-known sacred animals (like e.g. the Apis bull) a concept of divinity not only of animals but of animate and inanimate nature in general can be documented for Ancient Egypt. This concept is typically tobe found in scientific writings and lists rooted in the priestly and intellectual elite milieu. In an appendix, the hieratic pBerlin 29027 is edited. On its recto, it contains a list of trees and associated gods.

The Vorlage of Psalm 45:6-7 (44:7-8) in Hebrews 1:8-9

Abstract: The origin and text form of Psalm 45:6-7 (44:7-8) in Hebrews 1:8-9 are investigated. On a tradition-historical level it is established that Psalm 45:1-2b was quoted in 4Q171 in early Judaism, but in early Christianity, prior to Hebrews, no evidence of quoting Psalm 45 has been found. Messianic connections might have prompted the author to use it. On a text-critical level, new manuscript evidence is assessed and variant readings are discussed. It is concluded that the author himself made minor changes to his text without following another Vorlage. Insofar as Jesus is being called “God” by God himself, Psalm 45 confirmed to the author of Hebrews the divinity of Jesus. The royal imagery, righteous rule and eternal throne are christologically applied.

The Mirror Of Divinity:: The World and Creation in J.-K. Huysmans

Abstract: Using a multidisciplinary approach, this book argues that the operation of art-as-mirror is the key to the hidden unity of Huysmans' fiction. The author claims that only the elimination of Huysmans' stylistic distortions enabled his art finally to become faithful and clear.

A Trinitarian Ontology of Missions

Abstract: Based on the premise that nature and action are inextricably linked, it is contended that any construal of missional theology as the church's participation in the missio Dei, cannot disregard the doctrine of the immanent Trinity. Four images of the Trinity are appropriated as theological maps for a critical and "thick" description of missions. The trinitarian paradigms characterising the three divine Persons as Source, Word and Love (emphasised by the Greek, Protestant and Latin traditions respectively) are used to counterbalance the contemporary bias toward a social Trinity, which draws its inspiration from the classical doctrine of perichoresis. In the processional model, God's transcendence secures a theocentric missiology, while the reciprocity of the Son and Spirit is correlated to incarnational and charismatic ministry. The linguistical paradigm points to our participation in the mission of the Word that demands both proclamation and action; the eternal dialogue within God prompts our continual hearing and speaking, in relation to God and the world. The dispositional image highlights the Spirit of love, who brings about missional spirituality, humility and unity, even as the loving embrace of the Father and Son leads as to participate in the sufferings of those at the margins. Finally, the perichoretic model of the Trinity points to the inseparability of the missio Dei and the imago Dei, being and doing, the self and the Other. The oneness of the divine mission implies an integral missional praxis that is rooted in the worship of this triune God. Introduction In Karl Rahner's groundbreaking treatise The Trinity, he observes that the "monotheistic" character of much practical, Christian piety betrays the church's orthodox confession of its trinitarian God. (1) One might extrapolate his insight to include much of our practical Christian missions. Nevertheless, the future of missions seems hopeful judging from the current renaissance of trinitarian discourse within contemporary, academic theology. With its strong ecumenical foundations in biblical, patristic and credal sources, this doctrine has reshaped many of the most recent denominational and ecumenical missiological treatises. Such is the present theological climate that the necessity to ground our missional theory and practice within a trinitarian framework needs no further justification. However, this paper is not an apologia for a purely functional trinitarian theology of missions. Rather, its premise is that an inseparable link between the economic Trinity and immanent Trinity is crucial, if not necessary, to any trinitarian discourse. Its goal is to allow for a full description of our missions as participation in the mission and nature of the triune God. This allows us to embed the Christian missionary vocation not only within the recta-narrative of God's historicity, but in his very being as Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Specifically, four paradigms of the Trinity will be examined in this exercise: the processional, revelational, dispositional and social. Each of the first three sections will highlight (1) a unitive property attributed to a particular divine Person, and (2) a correlative, relational pattern between the other two. By highlighting the particularities of Father, Son and Holy Spirit and the plurality of their relational configurations, specific missiological issues will be defended and/or critiqued where appropriate. The final section, as a counterpoint to the previous three, will focus on the fundamental unity and inter-relatedness between the nature and work of the Trinity, and its implications for Christian missions. The eternal God, who is Spirit and truth (processional model) The Father, the source of divinity As an import from Dionysius of Alexandria, the portrayal of the Father as the "source of divinity" is evidenced in the writings of the Greek and Latin Fathers, the great scholastic theologians and in contemporary Catholic theologians like Karl Rahner and Leonardo Boff. …

Converse in the Spirit: William Blake, Jacob Boehme, and the Creative Spirit

Abstract: Converse in the Spirit is a comparative study of the writings of William Blake and the German visionary philosopher Jacob Boehme. While exploring the influence of Boehme on the poet, it focuses on the relationship between creativity, imagination, and spirituality. Blake and Boehme shared an unorthodox and radical view of the spiritual, rejecting all conventional, literal views of an overseeing God in His Heaven. Underlining the importance to both of a living, creative, and spiritual tradition, Converse in the Spirit argues that the relationship between Blake and Boehme was a meeting of like minds that transcended place and time, that each regarded himself as part of a community of vision and aspiration, and believed that any predominant form of thought and understanding was only partial. Through this, Boehme is used to illuminate the more esoteric aspects of Blake, and Blake those of Boehme. Their writings are not a simple or direct description of the movements of divinity nor of what divinity is or is not, but a medium for approaching it. This view in turn works toward a fuller appreciation of both the imaginative and spiritual possibilities afforded to the reader through an active engagement with Blake and Boehme, an ongoing "converse in the spirit." Kevin Fischer is a novelist who works with people with disabilities for the University of Nottingham.

The Role of Concepts of God in Cross Cultural Comparative Theology

Abstract: The obvious problem with concepts of God as cross-cultural comparative categories is that some religions do not have them, or conceive gods in relatively trivial ways. To appreciate why this is a problem, however, it is important to see why concepts of God are so attractive for comparative purposes. The main reason is that, at least for the monotheistic religions, the categories spelling out divinity refer to what is religiously most important. God is the center around which all other religious elements move. Whether conceived in metaphysical ways as creator or in existential ways as judge, savior, lover, goal or eschatological finisher, God is conceived in the monotheistic religions to be the most important reality for human life, concepts of which determine more of all the other religious notions than any of them directly affects the concepts of God. So naturally comparative theology ought to be able to recognize what at least some religions take to be the most important reality and compare religions in respect of it. If a religion cannot be compared to others with respect to what it takes to be most important, the comparisons that are left seem trivial. Religions can be compared on their respective attitudes toward eating popcorn, but so what? Religions can be compared with respect to their moral codes, but, without connection to the concepts of God, moral codes fail to be religious for the monotheistic traditions.

Does the History of Theology Still Matter

Abstract: Historians of American religion and culture who care about the history of ideas, especially the history of New England theology, feel a little bereft. Their colleagues seem to have deserted them to study visual culture, lived religion, gender, ritual, colonial encounter, sexuality, immigration, and diaspora and look glassy-eyed at the very mention of the New Divinity movement or the Unitarian controversy. In Protestant scholasticism, angels may not have danced on the heads of pins, but they might as well have. "Of all the questions you might want to ask/ about angels, the only one you ever hear/ is how many can dance on a head of a pin," the poet Billy Collins writes. "What about their sleeping habits, the fabric of their robes,/ their diet of unfiltered divine light?" The politely muffled yawns seem to suggest that there have to be more interesting and material questions in American religious and cultural history than the fate of Calvinist metaphysics.' E. Brooks Holifield, at work on this history of Theology in America for much of his distinguished career, knows that the historiographical terrain has shifted under him and confesses as much at the outset: "I have written this book during an era in which most students of American religion have turned their attention away from literate elites, the history of ideas, the abstractions of intellectuals, and the activities of leaders" (p. viii). Gone are the days when the Protestant theological interests of Yale's Sydney Ahlstrom, Holifield's esteemed mentor, dominated this domain of inquiry. Gone are the days when even an iconoclastic soul like the University of Chicago's Sidney Mead cut his teeth in the field by doing an in-depth study of Nathaniel William Taylor and the New Haven Theology. Gone, too, are the days when Neoorthodoxy offered a credible intellectual framework for legitimating the recovery of New England Calvinism for believers and unbelievers alike (Joseph Haroutunian and Perry Miller come to mind). As Holifield's masterful work takes its place in this new terrain, it is worth asking the pointed and tendentious question: does the history of theology still matter in the study of American religion and culture?

On the Divinity of the Roman Emperor Once More

Abstract: The book 'Emperor Worship and Roman Religion' written by Ittai Gradel is reviewed. The controversial perspective of the thesis regarding the ruler cult and the associated hierarchical rituals in the early Roman empire are discussed.

Between poland and jerusalem: kabbalistic prayer in early modernity

Abstract: Jewish mysticism in the early modern period was dominated by a specific tradition of meditative prayer, the practice of mystical kavvanot, or prayer intentions. This complex prayer represents a resurgence of a contemplative, if not meditative, system within Kabbalah. The central premise of the practice of kavvanot is that the adept's contemplative mind is the agent of theurgic change. At the same time, the adept's purified body, with yogic intensity, is absorbed into the cathartic processes of the Divine. The practitioners of this rite flourished in Poland up to the late eighteenth century. The practice continues to this day in a separate, Middle Eastern version of the tradition native to the mystical circles of Jerusalem. Today, there is a renewal of intellectual and practical interest in this form of prayer, in spite of its exotic and obscure nature. Lurianic prayer kavvanot constitute a rite, with a transitive function, as opposed to a system in which meditative inwardness is the goal. The practice of the kavvanot consists of contemplating esoteric formulas while uttering the words of the exoteric petitional prayer service. These formulas, the kavvanot themselves, consist of Divine names, symbolic associations, numerical coefficients, and other kabbalistic themes. The recitation of the prayers with their appropriate intention unified the adherent with the successive worlds of divinity above the realm of corporeal reality. During prayer, the practitioner's mind was at one with the cascading descent of Divine effluence through the hierarchies of the Divine superstructure. In the Lurianic system, the energies were directed to the reconciliation and unification of a dysfunctional cosmic family. These countenances had been rent asunder as a result of certain prehistoric catastrophes, such as God's withdrawal from phenomenal reality (zimzum) and the breaking of the vessels that had housed the emanative Divinity (shevirat hakelim). Following these catastrophes, the faces or "countenances" (Heb. parzufim) of the cosmic family sat uneasily over the shattered infrastructure of the Divine. Prayer was employed as the instrument of the

From Nowhere to Know How Sydney College of Divinity: The First Twenty Years

Abstract: MONDAY, 15 SEPTEMBER 2003, marked the twentieth Anniversary of the official incorporation of the Sydney College of Divinity (SCD). To state the fact so glibly and leave it at that, would be to neglect the long period of negotiations, stretching over almost seven years, that preceded this faltering beginning, or to dismiss the context in which all of this happened. Bishop George Augustus Selwyn in response to the question of how he would like his own life to be written, replied: ''Tell first of all my faults, and then tell whatever the grace of God has enabled me to do in spite of them.\"! That is what I propose to do in recounting the story oftheSCD. Nevertheless, this article has been a necessarily selective attempt to distil and delineate the essence of the major phases of the SCD's life. That there are omissions is hardly surprising, and for those of you who would prefer a more detailed account of the earliest years, I would strongly recommend John Hill's definitive articles, \"The Foundation of the Sydney College of Divinity't.? Perhaps my treatment of events has been blemished and restricted in its charity. Some may claim that I am simply too close to the Sydney College of Divinity, having now been associated with it for exactly half of its life. All I can claim is that my intention has not been to downgrade or discount, but to affirm and advance. In presenting this paper it is also my earnest hope that, by being more informed of the past, we might more easily master the challenges and events of the present, and therefore move forward with greater confidence and with a sure hope.

Heidegger made simple (and offensive)

Abstract: Christopher Rickey (rightly) presents Heidegger as a devout mystic who viewed the Nazi Party as the sacred vessel of a divine message—even though, the author adds, his religion is secular and so it has no divinity and no immortal soul. Rickey sees him as a utopian. This makes some sense: the unique in the Shoah involves the unique descent of a highly cultured, enlightened nation to the rock bottom of barbarism. Ricky’s text belies his effort to exonerate Heidegger.

Blending the Erotic and the Divine in Mystical Literature

Abstract: THE BEGINNINGS OF SYMBOLIC-RELIGIOUS COGNITION - Cognitive Archeology and Cognitive Fluidity: About 30,000 years ago (70,000 years after the fossil records of the anatomically modern human), religious thought and symbolic conceptual activity arose from the capacity of integrating specific-domain a process called "cognitive fluidity" (Mithen 1996). Metaphor, Anthropomorphism and Cognitive Science: Metaphor is a basic mental capacity by which people understand themselves and the world around them through conceptual mappings of knowledge between mental spaces, using everyday knowledge to reason about more abstract concepts. Of all the templates for supernatural concepts, the ones that seriously matter to people are invariably person-like, because people are the most complex type of object that people know (Boyer 2001). WHY GOD AS AN EROTIC LOVER? - Diffusion and elaboration of religious memes: To reason about the ties between divine and human, man looks at his repertoire of human relationships, and the more significant ones are used to explain and speak of re-ligio. There are many metaphors used to represent the relationship between the divinity and the devotee (father/child, doctor/patient, teacher/pupil, etc.) The most significant relationship chosen by the mystic in terms of balance is Lover-Beloved. Blending between God and Lover: The idealized conceptual models of the Divinity/beloved and of a devotee/lover began to blend through composition, completion and elaboration. The concept of human love relationship of these ancient cultures probably needs to be re-evaluated by modern students if it had become such an entrenched concept to be used as a source for a cognitive input space. BLENDING THE EROTIC AND THE RELIGIOUS - Examples of erotic religious texts and emergent structure: Sir hassirim, or Song of Songs (Judeo-Christian); Jayadeva’s Gita Govinda (Hindu); Rumi’s Mathanawi (Islam). Strongly erotic in content, these are part of the canons of the respective religious traditions, and so have deeply influenced subsequent elaboration of the erotic symbolism The lover (the faithful) and the Beloved (the Divinity) are usually on a par, and the domination of one is hardly ever present. Poetic descriptions include psychological states of jealousy, passion, separation and reunion, and ultimate union. The time of reunion is spring and the place is nature. What emerges is a relationship that not only unilaterally satisfies the material and spiritual needs of the religious person, but is reciprocal. In other words, the needs of both parties are fulfilled (devotee: food, explanations; god: praise, sacrifice). Moreover, due to the blend, an emotional need is also fulfilled. The dignity of the woman is finding her place in society, like the devotee finds his/her place in his/her creator’s creation, and so their relationship must be lived in the same natural setting. Because of the fusion between counterpart input spaces, there is a completion that humanizes the divinity so it becomes a he, the Man, motivated by the dominating role. However the elaboration of the blend tends to eliminate any domination in the relationship, as the needs of both sides are equal, and only when they are united do they feel completely realized. Their place is in nature, at it’s most energetic and vibrant moment of springtime (ideally the time of life), and the time is eternal.

Feminism and Religion

Abstract: Although difficult to define, the term ‘religion’ refers, in general, to beliefs and practices through which people express their understanding of divine powers or of the spiritual dimension of human existence and structure an appropriate response. In discussions of religion in the western world, the emphasis still tends to be placed on belief in a single transcendent and masculine divine being as creator and sustainer of human life within and beyond terrestrial existence and on the corresponding institutional structure; that is, the Christian Church. In the broader sense, of course, important differences exist between the various world religions or in less formalised religious positions. Having a belief in a single divinity which is justified on basically empirical grounds, for example, may be regarded by some people as the benchmark for a religious position. But, of course, amongst individuals and groups which regard themselves as religious, some will certainly not accept this as definitive and may cite quite different factors such as growth of selfknowledge or participation in ordained rituals. Nevertheless, it could be said that feminists in the field use a common methodology that cuts across these divisions.

The body in the realm of desire: Gendered images on the horizon of the divine

Abstract: This paper examines the relation of body, soul, and God in the context of spiritual desire. It connotes a gendered relationship with the nature of divinity. A prime exponent of this mode of realization is Mechthild of Magdeburg, who longingly reaches for God, and employs vivid imagery in describing her quest.

Mary in Contemporary Ethiopian Orthodox Devotion

Abstract: IN a double monastery located near the important pilgrimage place of Lalibela, two nuns I had been interviewing suddenly asked me, ‘Why don’t you ask us about Mary?’ They wanted to tell me about how she cared for them, loved them, and answered their prayers. ‘Whatever we ask her she will give us’, they stated. Mary was important for the Ethiopian Orthodox believers I worked with; it became obvious that Mary has an exclusive place in Ethiopian devotion in general. Most of the time, Ethiopian Christians relate to Christ as a distant saviour and turn to Mary in dealing with their daily lives. Mary is pure in both body and soul, a human being without sin, so that Christ becomes the union of divinity and humanity.

Thomas Reid : context, influence and significance

Abstract: Reid and Personal Identity: A study in sources ~ M. A. Stewart, University of Aberdeen Reid's Defence of Freedom ~ R. F. Stalley, University of Glasgow Testimony Contrasted with Judgement and Opinion by Thomas Reid ~ J. Houston God and Darkness in Reid ~ Nicholas Wolterstorff, School of Divinity, Yale Reid and "Reformed" Epistemology ~ Paul Helm, University of British Columbia Rational Religion and Common Sense ~ M. A. Stewart Reid and Kant against the Sceptic ~ Rene van Woudenberg, Free University, Amsterdam

The Regulation of Academic Society in Early Eighteenth-Century Scotland: The Tribulations of Two Divinity Professors

Abstract: When David Hume when sought to obtain employment in 1744-5 as pro fessor of moral philosophy at Edinburgh, and in 1751-2 as professor of either logic or moral philosophy at Glasgow, he ran into opposition on both religious and political grounds.1 In a nation still strongly under the influence of Calvinism, his reputation for scepticism was sufficient to ensure that ministers and other city notables would react with horror to the danger of exposing youthful minds to such an influence.2 Hume was under a second disadvantage as a supposed Argathelian candidate at a date when Argyll's influence had waned.3 Since religious tests were part of the university appointment procedure, and since nominations to vacant positions were dominated by political patronage, both these factors served to handicap Hume. Hume's case is well known and is sometimes seen as an example of the continuing power of the Kirk over academic appointments. Nevertheless, an examination of earlier situa tions where the Kirk failed either to block such appointments or to depose a professor whom it deemed to have lapsed into error, demon strates some flaws in this argument, and indicates that political and coll? gial influences were of greater consequence. The discussion in this article will go back several decades to investi gate two cases where the clerical attempts at regulation occurred after a professor had either received a royal presentation or had been elected by a faculty, and to argue that, once a professor had been admitted into the academic ranks, the universities became active in defending his interests, and hence their own autonomy, against such regulation. It is

I. İznik Konsili (325) ve İslâm Kaynaklarındaki Yeri

Abstract: The Council of Nicea I (325)—the first ecumenical council—is an important turning point in the history of Christianity. It was at this particular council that the very bases of the Christian theology were founded—anathematizing one of the main controversial streams of that time, Arianism. The Council of Nicea I has had an extraordinary place in Muslim refutations of Christianity. This historical event was scrutinized not only in the context of Jesus’ divinity but also—and most especially after the 19th century—within the question of canonization process of the Bible. This article aims to highlight various essential critical points of these sources dealing with the Council of Nicea I.