Nestorian Theological Standpoint: Critique and Weakness

Introduction

The researcher presented critique and weakness of Nestorian concept on Christology. The emphasis of Nestorius suggested the independence of the two separate persons of Jesus Christ, which are his humanity and divinity. Nestorius emphasizes on distinction between the two natures as person in act, one nature one at a time. This creates a complication because Jesus Christ is one person.

Human has limitations, what God intends us to understand, should be the focus. Man cannot understand all things; man’s thought is lower than God’s. God cannot be assigned by man. Nestorius emphasized that, “in his defense of Anastasius and his repeated rejection of the word theotokos, made it appear that he held Christ to be constituted of two persons.” Sufferings of the man Jesus attributed to the man Jesus and the victory of Jesus Christ over the power of death, in his divine nature. Nestorius’ view mirrors two divisions of one person instead of a union. Although he never divided Christ into ‘two sons’, Son of God, and son of Mary, he refuse to attribute the divine nature the human acts and sufferings of the man Jesus. This concept indicates that Jesus has two divided natures; one nature works one at a time after the other nature.

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Propagation of Nestorius’ Theology and Its Relation to Religion

This idea of Nestorius, he propagated in Persia, presently Iran and it has great effects on the understanding of Islamic leaders and their people towards Jesus Christ. With the influence of this idea Muslim believed Jesus Christ as a Prophet rather than Son of God or Lord. Although in contrast, there are also some Muslims who believed Jesus as Lord.

The differences elaborated speaks of the means of man to know God by forming theological understanding through the revealed things. This results to having a religion influence by the thoughts of known leaders in the past centuries. To understand further, the meaning of religion as a means to know God is “ultimate expression of all creatures to their belongingness to the ultimate being.” Man seeks God in various ways and means but God is first to seek us. In the famous quotation of preachers “man without God is nothing but God without man is still God.” As human beings created by God, men are very dependent on God’s sustaining mercy. Creation involves God’s desire for deepening and broadening the community of relationships that already exists in the divine realm. By the creation, the things around us, God has demonstrated his sovereign power by creating and ruling over the cosmos and by extending his Lordship over all people and nations.

The Origin of Nestorianism

Nestorius is a fifth-century bishop of Constantinople. He provided a name for a heresy which he did not originate, possibly he himself did not even hold. His name has become associated with a certain Christological theory and with the churches which have held that theory. Nestorianism must be understood to mean the Christology supposedly held by Nestorius, though not originated from him, and the Nestorian churches, the churches holding to the Nestorian Christology. According to Walker, “Whether or not Nestorius was a personal pupil of Theodore of Mopsuestia, he revered and essentially reproduced Theodore’s teaching.” Their own designation is “Church of the East.” Nestorian churches emphasis is laid on the fact that their characteristic is theological rather than merely geographical. This constitutes their idea on Christology in which they stand as foundational beliefs on their side. The theological doctrine that Jesus has two independent natures, they made this a stand against opposition which challenges the reliability of their teachings.

The formation of the Nestorian Churches is a gradual process, which may be deemed to have reached-completion when Babai, Patriarch of Seleucia-Ctesipon (487-502), declared that the churches of Persia and other churches which acknowledged him as their spiritual head were henceforward to be completely independent of the churches in the Roman Empire. The Nestorian theology is the basis of their doctrine

Brief Survey of the course of Christology

During the latter part of the fourth century and the earlier part of the fifth century. Council of Nicaea (325) established orthodox doctrine as to the full deity of Christ. There are many discussion and argument of church fathers and leaders but they finally have a consensus on the doctrine of the full deity of Christ. The council made the consensus final and they recorded. This council is a good foundation to counter the questions of many about the deity of Christ. This encourages church leaders to have this doctrine always emphasized.

Council of Constantinople (381) reaffirmed the creed of Nicaea; from that time Nicene Creed was accepted without question by orthodoxy within the Roman Empire. Nicene emphasis on the deity of Christ brought into fresh prominence the problem of his humanity: “if Christ were fully deity, to what extent and in what way could he also be human?”

Views to answer the Problem

Question: “If Christ were fully deity, to what extent and in what way could he also be human?”

Apollinarius, bishop of Laodicea (ob. 390) put forward a Christology based on the Greek idea of man as tripartite: body, animal soul, and intellect. In Christ, intellect was replaced by the Logos, the eternally generated Word of God, which Apollinarius held to be fully deity. This view had been condemned at the Council of Constantinople on the ground that without a human intellect Christ could not be regarded as really man.

This view on the problem stated by Bishop Apollinarius, is shallow and cannot be applied to people. It is very difficult to picture out our intellect to be replaced by the Logos. In Apollinarius view, this is possible. To some extent, he has a point but a manner must be understood and cleared; tested by circumstances. The result expresses to vague idea and observed to be poor in bases. Not all people will agree in this view of the problem.

Two Modes of Approaches to the Problem

Two modes of approaches to the problem now became clearly differentiated, which were adopted by the school of Alexandria and the school of Antioch respectively.

The Alexandrian school, at one time noted for its comprehensive scholarship, had gradually adopted a more conservative attitude, and had become the stronghold of orthodox doctrine. Its influence was paramount in Egypt, and of great consequence throughout the West. During the earlier part of the fifth century the Alexandrian school had a remarkably capable representative in Cyril (376-444), who had been bishop of Alexandria since 412. His teaching may be summarized thus: the Logos, pre-existing as a hypostatic distinction in the Godhead, united with Himself complete manhood. But the union was not in the nature of a mere contact or bond: the Logos had not only assumed flesh, but had become flesh. So Christ was the Logos united with a complete human being; but so perfect was the union that the two natures, divine and human, constituted only one person. (This union of the two natures into one person is referred to as the hypostatic union).

The Antiochene school, which dominated Syria and Asia Minor, approached the problem from quite a different standpoint. Their approach was based not so much on theological reasoning as on the interpretation of objective historical data, and to them the primary reality was the historic Jesus.

Life and Theological Standpoint of Nestorius

Nestorius condemn for heresy at Ephesus, was a native of Germanicia in Euphratesian Syria. Born after 381, he was taught the theology of Antioch by Theodore of Mopsuestia whose views he faithfully echoed. He was instituted bishop of Constantinople in 428, and immediately began an offensive against Arian heretics and the Novatians. Nestorius, in his defence of Anastasius and his repeated rejection of the word theotokos, made it appear that he held Christ to be constituted of two persons.

He did not deny the deity of Christ; but in emphasizing the reality and integrity of his humanity he pictured the relation between the two natures in terms of a moral ‘conjunction’ or a merging of wills rather than that of an essential ‘union’. Although he never divided Christ into ‘two sons’, Son of God, and son of Mary, he refuse to attribute the divine nature the human acts and sufferings of the man Jesus. He objected that to assert that Mary was mother of God was tantamount to declaring that the divine nature could be born of a woman, or that God could be three days old. Nestorius distinguished the two natures in Christ with admirable realism, but he was unable to reduce the two to the unique and clearly undifferentiated one Jesus Christ of the Gospels. Nestorius died in Upper Egypt after 451.

The Nestorian Churches

Constitute the oldest surviving schism from the Catholic Church of the early centuries. Almost completely isolated from the rest of Christendom for over a millennium. Usually little attention is usually given to them. Constituted a despised minority in the midst of populations owning allegiance to other faiths. The oldest schism held by Nestorius disturbed the Catholic Church in the early centuries. Though Nestorius loss in debate, but still he stand on his theology about the distinction of separation of human and divine nature of Jesus. Their movement is addressed by church fathers such as Anastasius.

Emphasis of the Nestorian Theology

Nestorian emphasized the independence of the divine and human natures of Christ and, in effect, suggested that they were two persons loosely united. In modern times they are represented by the Church of the East, or Persian Church, usually referred to in the West as the Assyrian, or Nestorian, Church. Most of its members – numbering about 170,000 – live in Iraq, Syria, and Iran. Persian leaders and Muslim Caliphate that is Muslim rulers were greatly influenced by the emphasis of the Nestorian theology about Jesus nature. They cannot easily convinced about the union of the natures of Christ. The researcher expressed this argument on the basis of his doctrinal teaching background. But to the conclusion of the matter of both sides, it is the result of fruit that Jesus said, “By their fruit you will recognize them. Do people pick grapes from thornbushes, or figs from thistles?”

Critique and Weakness of Nestorian Christology

Nestorian Christology can be observed as deviating from the principle of the Doctrine of Trinity. Jesus as the Son of God is a person. Insisting two natures not working at the same time, is somewhat speaks of modality concept. In this theology, it expresses the mode based on the contexts involved in each natures. People during the time of Nestorius has very little attention to his theology though some agreed to him. This theology as observed by the researcher is detached from the majority of agreement of church fathers who held Christ as union of divine and human natures. This theology affects the spread of the gospel.Nestorian Christology is very weak in terms of dividing Christ. It goes with the thought that when human nature is present and at work, the divine nature is not. The same manner speaks as well about the opposite, that is, when the divine nature is at work, the human nature is not. This point of concept is very loose. Faith is imbalance. It asserts that human understanding with this idea is, limited.

Conclusion

The researcher found out that Nestorius’ concept on Christology based on people who critique, emphasized “putting God in the box.” This quotation is an expression of limiting God on what he can do and is doing, and is widely expressed among seminarians. God cannot be put in the box of thinking of man; man is limited, God is not. Nestorius idea creates a schism on Christian teaching, he himself is even loss in debate to church fathers during his defense. The concept expresses weak argument; it describes God conforming to human understanding. The concept is not promising and cannot stand in the test of time.

Bibliography

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