Bishops at Nicaea

[PatThePoet]

An anti-Catholic video I saw a while back claimed that the bishops who met at the Council of Nicaea were “independent bishops who sought their authority from their local church communties, not by a universal church” then the video says that the Catholic Church was a creation of Constantine who turned the godess Isis into Mary and the pantheon of Roman gods into the saints, while the true Christian bishops (who met at Nicaea) were hunted down and killed by the pagan Catholics. Thus apostolic sucession was destroyed and true Christanity had to go underground while the Catholics under Caesar worshiped idols.

Is there any proof of pre-Nicaean church leaders teaching modern Catholic doctrine? Were the bishops at the Council of Nicaea bound by a universal church or were they independent operations?

thanks

 

[e61iuser]

Wrong question.

The question is, are the people alleging such true Christianity before Constantine able to provide proof of it?

It’s a common principle of asserting something. One who is making the assertion is obliged to provide support for it, not the other way around.

If they can’t provide the proof, they’re just blowing smoke.

 

[ricko]

That’s correct. Anyone can make an accusation but can they prove it? Of course this one is very far fetched indeed. The history of the Catholic Church is an open book and disproves their accusation. Went underground? That’s the same claim that the Mormons make! Maybe these two groups should get together and get their fairy tale straight.

 

[Spirithound]

An anti-Catholic video I saw a while back claimed that the bishops who met at the Council of Nicaea were “independent bishops who sought their authority from their local church communties, not by a universal church” then the video says that the Catholic Church was a creation of Constantine who turned the godess Isis into Mary and the pantheon of Roman gods into the saints, while the true Christian bishops (who met at Nicaea) were hunted down and killed by the pagan Catholics. Thus apostolic sucession was destroyed and true Christanity had to go underground while the Catholics under Caesar worshiped idols.

Is there any proof of pre-Nicaean church leaders teaching modern Catholic doctrine? Were the bishops at the Council of Nicaea bound by a universal church or were they independent operations?

thanks

Read the Early Church Fathers. You’ll find all our teachings contained therein.

 

[Rolltide]

Ask yourself some questions:

1. Who were these bishops that were hunted down? What are their names? Where were they from? Do we have any evidence of this?
2. Why was the Council of Nicea called in the first place? It was to decide how to define someone as truly “Christian”. If real Christianity ended right there and then, then what form of Christianity was the correct one? You see, we have really good historical records for the other competing branches of Christianity. You might want to look at Arianism, Docetism, and Gnosticism, and see how they match up with modern Protestant practices. If any of those versions of Christianity are correct, then it’s not only Catholicism that’s wrong, but also the Orthodox and modern Protestants!
3. So, pagan gods were transformed into Catholic saints. Which ones? Can this be substantiated, other than the tired theory that Mary is Isis (which has been thoroughly disproved again and again)? Did those saints truly exist? If so, what does that say about the theory?
4. What were Christian practices like before the Council of Nicea? Read the Early Church Fathers. Were they more like Catholic practices, or Protestant practices. In almost all cases, you will find that Catholic practices date to the earliest days of Christianity.