The objection
Anyone acknowledging scripture alone as the infallible norm cannot cite Nicaea as the final authority. Why should a Christian follow a vote of bishops?
1. A vote does not make a proposition true
Jesus' deity would not have become false if a majority had decided otherwise. God's being depends neither on imperial approval nor on ecclesiastical vote counts. For theology bound to scripture, the council therefore possesses no ultimate authority independent of God's Word.
This does not mean, however, that the church's collective doctrinal work is worthless. Between “infallible source” and “arbitrary opinion” lies a responsible summary of faith that can be tested against the text.
2. The creed discloses an interpretation
Nicaea says, for example, that the Son is begotten and not made. This does not simply place a new word alongside the Bible. A disputed reading is excluded: The Son is not to belong to the class of things that came into being.[1]
The decisive follow-up question therefore leads to John 1,3, the creation statements and worship of the Son. Does scripture support this exclusion? If so, the creed is true in this respect because it aptly summarizes scripture. It does not make scripture Trinitarian only through its decision.
3. “Only Bible words” does not prevent dispute
Two parties can quote the same verse while asserting different things with it. An explanation of the intended meaning is then necessary. Anyone prohibiting every additional word does not end interpretation; they merely make it invisible.
Titus 1,9 requires exhorting with sound doctrine and refuting those who contradict. This includes showing a reading's substantive consequences. Precise formulations are tools for this task as long as they submit to scripture.
4. Examination is no presuppositionless vote about God
The Bereans examined proclamation against scripture. They thereby appealed to God's already acknowledged Word, not to a tribunal independent of him. Correspondingly, we examine ecclesiastical formulas against revelation. Thomas likewise distinguishes revealed truth's authority from the limits of human demonstrations.[2]
We can therefore affirm a council in its Trinitarian confession without adopting every one of its ecclesiastical political decisions or every later interpretation. The correct order remains: God speaks; the church hears, explains and confesses. Its authority serves and is derived.
Biblical texts in context
Sources and further study
- Council of Nicaea 325, CreedThe Son is confessed as begotten, not made and of the same essence as the Father.
- Thomas Aquinas, Summa theologiaeI, q. 32, a. 1: revelation is the ground of knowledge of the divine persons.