Nadene Goldfoot
Archaeology seen on YouTube's TV News today showed a mosaic floor uncovered where a prison was going to be built in Israel. The Megiddo Mosaic was created around 230 CE/AD.
Before such projects can take place, the ground must be checked for historic sites. This floor had the words in Greek, I believe, saying: TO THE GOD JESUS CHRIST, telling viewers that at this early date, people believed that Jesus was a god. It took the Council of Nicaea later to dispute this first belief.
This turned out to be: The sprawling Megiddo Mosaic was discovered in 2005 during a prison expansion in northern Israel. Some experts believe the mosaic tile floor with Greek inscriptions — including "To God Jesus Christ" — was located in the world's first Christian prayer hall (Church). It's on display at the Museum of the Bible in Washington DC.
“You couldn't just lift the whole floor up,” Museum of the Bible interim Chief Curatorial Officer Bobby Duke said. “So, it was brought to us in about 11 different crates, and they very intricately cut different pieces of the mosaic so that they didn't destroy any of the artwork. So, not all the pieces were the same size. So, even one of the crates that came into this gallery was about a thousand pounds.”
Though Jesus's followers of the New Testament were said to be Jews, they certainly must have been Hellenized Jews, for Jews believe Jesus did not fulfill messianic prophecies that establish the criteria for the coming of the Messiah. Judaism does not accept Jesus as a divine being, an intermediary between humans and God, a messiah, or holy, then or now
Constantine the Great's formal decriminalization of Christianity into the Roman Empire entailed the convention of ecumenical councils to remove theological divisions between opposing sects within the Church. Arius's theology was a prominent topic at the First Council of Nicaea, where Arianism was condemned in favor of Homoousian conceptions of God and Jesus. Opposition to Arianism remains embodied in the Nicene Creed, described as "a deliberately anti-Arian document."
Nevertheless, despite concerted opposition, Arian churches persisted for centuries throughout Europe (especially in various Germanic kingdoms), the Middle East, and North Africa. They were suppressed by military conquest or by voluntary royal conversion between the fifth and seventh centuries.
Why is this information important to Jews today? The First Council of Nicaea, convened in 325 CE by Roman Emperor Constantine the Great, is considered a pivotal moment in the history of Christian-Jewish relations, marking a significant step towards the separation of Christianity from Judaism, with the Council solidifying Christian doctrine and establishing a distinct identity separate from Jewish practices and beliefs; essentially signifying the "parting of the ways" between the two religions.
Is it important to Christians? Most believed that this belief of Jesus being G-d tookplace much later. Being laid in 230 was much earlier than they thought people had this idea about Jesus being G-d.
- The Council formulated the Nicene Creed, which defined Jesus Christ as "true God from true God, begotten, not made," clearly differentiating him from the Jewish concept of God and establishing a separate theological framework for Christianity.
- By solidifying Christian beliefs, the Council furthered the separation between Christianity and Judaism, which had been gradually developing in the early centuries of Christianity.
- While the Council did not explicitly target Jews, the growing distinction between the two faiths could have contributed to an increase in societal tensions and potential discrimination against Jewish communities in the Roman Empire. You could say it was the beginning of anti-Semitism.
- Notably, Jews were not represented at the Council of Nicaea, as it was primarily focused on internal Christian debates and establishing a unified Christian doctrine.
Resource:
YouTube
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