Christians Reading Classics The Nicene Creed with Shawn Wilhite and Coleman Ford
Aug 28, 2025
Shawn Wilhite, New Testament professor who blends exegetical and devotional reading, and Coleman Ford, humanities scholar with expertise in early church theology, discuss the Nicene Creed at its 1700th anniversary. They trace Nicaea's historical context, unpack key Christological terms like begotten and consubstantial, and explore how creedal language shapes worship, liturgy, and spiritual formation.
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Contemplation Is Core To Theology
- True theologizing is contemplative prayer as much as speech; the theologian prays and the one who prays is a theologian.
- Shawn Wilhite links theological study to the beatific, slow contemplation of God as a highest good beyond pragmatic metrics.
Why The Council Of Nicaea Convened
- Nicaea (325) convened with roughly 250–300 bishops to resolve longstanding Trinitarian disputes, not to invent doctrine from scratch.
- Shawn Wilhite emphasizes multiple causes—dates of Easter, ecclesiastical canons, schisms—and Arius as the tipping point.
Why Christology At Nicaea Mattered For Salvation
- The debate over the Son's relation to the Father mattered because distorted Christology undermines salvation's coherence.
- Coleman Ford warns that if the Son's eternal status is wrong, Jesus cannot accomplish redemption as presented in Scripture.
