1.3.9

The Council of Nicaea

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The Council of Nicaea

The Council of Nicaea was a meeting of Christian leaders to debate questions about Jesus.

Illustrative background for Early Christian communitiesIllustrative background for Early Christian communities ?? "content

Early Christian communities

  • For a long time after Jesus' life, Christians tried very hard to understand him better.
  • Early Christian leaders, including St Paul, wrote letters to the early Christians. These letters tried to answer their questions about God and Jesus.
    • The ideas in the letters were sometimes hard to understand. The teaching in the letters was sometimes unclear.
Illustrative background for Questions about JesusIllustrative background for Questions about Jesus ?? "content

Questions about Jesus

  • Most Christians were sure that Jesus was God. But this raised some big questions for the early Christians:
    • Could Jesus be God and human at the same time?
    • If Jesus was God, and there was also God the Father in heaven, do Christians believe in more than one God?
Illustrative background for The Council of NicaeaIllustrative background for The Council of Nicaea ?? "content

The Council of Nicaea

  • In the 4th Century AD, the Roman Emperor Constantine became a Christian. This brought a period of peace.
    • Constantine said it was important for the Christian leaders to have a meeting.
    • At this meeting, the Christian leaders could make a statement about what Christians believe about God and Jesus.
  • In 325 AD, Constantine called the leaders to a council (a meeting) in Nicaea.
Illustrative background for AriusIllustrative background for Arius ?? "content

Arius

  • In the 4th Century AD, there was a lot of discussion about the ideas of a Christian priest called Arius.
    • Arius said that if Jesus was fully God, then Christians believed in more than one God.
    • This went against the Christian belief that there is only one true God.
  • This debate was even more complicated because of the belief that God had shown himself in a third form - the Holy Spirit.

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1Year 7

1.1Origins of Abrahamic Faith

1.1.1Genesis

1.1.2Noah & the Flood

1.1.3The Importance of Noah

1.1.4Abraham

1.1.5The Covenant

1.1.6Abraham's Sacrifice

1.1.7Ibrahim's Sacrifice

1.1.8Ibrahim & Hajar

1.1.9Ibrahim & the Ka'aba

1.1.10Isaac & Jacob

1.1.11Moses & the Exodus

1.1.12The Tabernacle

1.1.13Leviticus & Sacrifice

1.1.14Teachings in Leviticus

1.1.15Jesus' Teachings

1.1.16Jesus the Rebel

1.1.17Jesus' Death & Resurrection

1.1.18The Meaning of Jesus' Sacrifice

1.1.19The Relationship Between Judaism & Christianity

1.1.20The Ka'aba

1.1.21The Prophet Muhammad

1.2Judaism

1.2.1What Do Jews Believe?

1.2.2Moses

1.2.3The Jewish Scriptures - The Written Law

1.2.4The Jewish Scriptures - The Oral Law

1.2.5The Tradition of Discussion & Debate

1.2.6Orthodox Judaism

1.2.7Reform Judaism

1.2.8The Daily Practices of Orthodox & Reform Jews

1.2.9The First Temple

1.2.10The Tabernacle's Journey & End

1.2.11Orthodox & Reform Synagogues

1.2.12What is Shabbat?

1.2.13Traditional Rituals for Shabbat

1.2.14What is Pesach?

1.2.15What is Yom Kippur?

1.2.16How Have Jews Been Persecuted?

1.2.17The Persecution of the Jews Throughout History

1.2.18The Black Death

1.2.19Antisemitism in Nazi Germany

1.2.20The Holocaust

1.2.21Genocide

1.2.22How the Holocaust has Impacted the Jewish Identity

1.2.23Holocaust Memorial

1.3Christianity

1.3.1The Nativity

1.3.2Christian Beliefs about the Baby Jesus

1.3.3Jesus' Ministry

1.3.4The Sermon on the Mount

1.3.5The Crucifixion

1.3.6The Last Supper

1.3.7The Resurrection

1.3.8Christian Beliefs about the Resurrection

1.3.9The Council of Nicaea

1.3.10The Nicene Creed

1.3.11Saint Augustine

1.3.12Protestantism

1.3.13The Reformation

1.3.14Christianity Today

1.3.15Evangelical Churches

1.3.16The Future of Christianity

1.4Buddhism

1.4.1Religion in India

1.4.2The Caste System

1.4.3Meditation

1.4.4Caste & Religion

1.4.5Puja

1.4.6Karma & the Cycle of Rebirth

1.4.7The Four Noble Truths

1.4.8The Three Marks of Existence

1.4.9The Buddha’s Noble Eightfold Path to Enlightenment

1.4.10How do Buddhists Live?

1.4.11The Four Sights

1.4.12The Buddha

1.4.13The Middle Way & Enlightenment

2Year 8

2.1Islam

2.1.1Pre-Islamic Arabia

2.1.2The Prophet Muhammad & The Qur'an

2.1.3The Hijrah & The Conquest of Mecca

2.1.4The Prophet Muhammad: The Final Sermon

2.1.5The Sunni/Shia Split

2.1.6Islamic Caliphates

2.1.7The Five Pillars of Islam

2.1.8Origins of Hajj

2.1.9Hajj Rituals

2.1.10Jihad

2.1.11Islam Today

2.2Hinduism

2.2.1The Prehistoric Roots of Hinduism

2.2.2Key Ideas in Hinduism

2.2.3The Caste System

2.2.4The Vedic Period

2.2.5The Upanishads

2.2.6Alexander the Great & The Mauryan Empire

2.2.7Revelation & The Sharing of Knowledge

2.2.8Understanding the Self

2.2.9Karma, Yoga & the Self

2.2.10The Divine Presence

2.2.11Hindu Statues and Icons

2.2.12British Colonialism & Gandhi

2.3Atheism

2.3.1Where Did Atheism Come From?

2.3.2The Impact of Scientific Developments

2.3.3Plato's Cave

2.3.4Challenging the Bible

2.3.5The Enlightenment

2.3.6Evolution

2.3.7Evolution & Religion

2.3.8Morality & God

2.3.9Morality Without God

2.3.10Frederick Nietzsche - How to Live Without Religion

2.3.11Militant Atheism

2.3.12Humanism

2.3.13The Future of Atheism

2.4Philosophy of Religion

2.4.1Who is God?

2.4.2Theists, Atheists & Agnostics

2.4.3Faith & Empiricism

2.4.4The Design Argument

2.4.5Is The Design Argument Convincing?

2.4.6The Cosmological Argument

2.4.7Criticisms of The Cosmological Argument

2.4.8The Problem of Evil

2.4.9Free Will Theodicy

2.4.10Soul-Making Theodicy

2.4.11Religious Experience

2.4.12Types of Religious Experience

2.4.13Criticisms of Religious Experience

3Year 9

3.1Life & Death

3.1.1What is the Right Thing To Do?

3.1.2Thomas Aquinas - Natural Law

3.1.3Building a Moral Code

3.1.4Criticisms of Natural Law

3.1.5Joseph Fletcher - Situation Ethics

3.1.6Understanding Situation Ethics

3.1.7Criticisms of Situation Ethics

3.1.8Sanctity of Life

3.1.9Quality of Life

3.1.10Abortion

3.1.11Moral Questions About Abortion

3.1.12Euthanasia

3.1.13Moral Questions About Euthanasia

3.1.14Capital Punishment

3.1.15Arguments Against Captial Punishment

3.1.16Animal Rights

3.1.17Alternative Views on Animal Rights

3.2Extremism

3.2.1What Does Extremism Mean?

3.2.2Extremism Explained

3.2.3Why do People Become Extremists?

3.2.4What are Conspiracy Theories?

3.2.5Why do People Believe Conspiracy Theories?

3.2.6What is Anti-Semitism?

3.2.7Anti-Semitic Stereotyping

3.2.8The Holocaust

3.2.9After the Holocaust

3.2.10Religious Fundamentalism

3.2.11The Problem of Fundamentalism

3.2.12Nationalism

3.2.13Nationalism & Extremism

3.2.14What is a Terrorist?

3.2.15Political & Religious Terrorism

3.2.16Free Speech

3.2.17Hate Speech

3.2.18How do we Fight Extremism?

3.3Equality

3.3.1Introduction to Equality

3.3.2Is the UK an Equal Society?

3.3.3Religion and Equality

3.3.4Interpreting the Scripture

3.3.5Racism and Scripture

3.3.6Scripture Against Racism

3.3.7The Fight for Racial Equality

3.3.8Gender Equality and Scripture

3.3.9Gender Equality; Women in Worship

3.3.10LGBTQ+ Matters

3.3.11The Fight for LGBTQ+ Equality

3.3.12Disability Matters

3.3.13The Fight for Disability Equality

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Christian Beliefs about the Resurrection

The Nicene Creed