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Historically, there have been four sources of theology: Scripture Tradition Reason Experience. This formulation goes back quite a ways. Scripture is always first, Tradition is always second, and reason and experience are a distant third and fourth. The fun comes in when one realizes that it is not possible to read Scripture without a tradition. As a ...

The Nestorians are a good example for the latter two councils. There were a few attendees from the non-Greek east, groups that would later be called Nestorians. There was at least two, Jacob of Nisibis and another bishop named John. The eastern church "officially" accepted Nicea in 410 at the council of Isaac though the Nestorian schism happened soon after. ...

The simple answer is know your Bible. God has given us His Word to guide us. The church, being filled with sinful men, is going to err and has erred. But God's word is 'settled in the heavens', is perfect, is truth (John 17:17). So the primary source for truth must be God's words and not men's words. It is however difficult sometimes to go against the ...

Quite early in Christian history the cross (without a human form on it) became a symbol of Christianity and appears to have become a superstitious symbol as well. Heathens recognized this seeming superstitious behavior, so that by the time of Tertullian heathen called Christians cross-worshippers. You are correct though, from what I can tell. It was not ...

A council’s authority has authority so long as they do not cross the authority of God’s word, at which point all authority is demolished. We believe they have authority only because we trust they have made decisions that are complaint with God’s word. When they generally do not cross God’s word then they still maintain their authority generally, but not ...

The 2012 world-wide General Conference of the United Methodist Church is going on right now in Tampa, Florida, USA. This conference is held every 4 years to determine the guidelines and direction of the United Methodist Church. The only thing you can do as a common member is to pray that the delegates are guided by God and God's will, rather than the ...

This may not exactly answer your question, but perhaps the most significant presence at the first few councils which was eventually thrown out was the Nestorian church. We have lots of evidence that they existed, and in fact they were a major influence in the "Church of the East" until about 622 AD. Syria, Persia, and much of the East was Nestorian, prior ...