Early church history tells stories of debates long and hard over “correct belief,” some spanning centuries and some marred by conflict. Sometimes the discussions focused on a single word, or, in the case of understanding the Trinity, a single letter, what historian Edward Gibbon called a “furious contest” over a dipthong.
The question turned on whether the Son was of “like [similar] substance” –homoiousion – or of the “same substance” – homoousion – with the Father — similar Greek words differentiated by an iota. While the discussions may have resembled a game of Trivial Pursuit, the consequences were anything by trivial.
As Wilken points out, the iota “signified a genuine, not contrived, difference of over a matter of great moment, and the adoption of ‘the same substance with the Father’ instead of ‘like substance with the Father’ [made] a lasting difference in the church’s life and faith. By enshrining this formula in the creed of the council of Nicaea the church definitely confirmed its belief that Christ was fully God, and not an exceptional human being.” This was to lead to further questions, as we will see, but absence of a single character made a huge difference in the orthodoxy we take for granted today.
“As early as the second century, Celsus, the critic of Christianity, had belittled Christians because they were divided into competing sects with divergent views. He was speaking of the division of orthodox Christians and Gnostics. In response, Origen made the eminently reasonable point that it was hardly a charge against Christianity that Christians disagreed with other Christians. Differences, he pointed out, not just on “small and trivial things” but about “the most important matters” were, as any philosopher would recognize, a mark of intellectual seriousness.” [Wilken, Robert Louis. The Spirit of Early Christian Thought: Seeking the Face of God. New Haven: Yale University Press, 2003. pp 110-111.]
“Let your steadfast love come to me, O Lord, your salvation according to your promise; then I shall have an answer for him who taunts me, for I trust in your word.” (Ps 119:41-42)