[.ca] D028507 Arius: Heresy & (ISBN 0334028507)

nice source for history, but the majority is theoligy:
This book is divided into two sections. The first section deals primarily with history. The second(which is by far the majority of the books contents) deals with various views of theology pertaining mostly to The Son and Logos' relation to the Father. This book is not one to point empty accusations at Arius, but on the contrary, it provides detailed views on his theological beliefs and also those of clement and origen(in a comparitive way). It does not present itself as a very biased work, but states different views (that dont always agree with one another) and compares them to arius'. It states some views of Arius' accusers and some points of contraversy that they had with His beliefs. It kinda seems to lay out views and explore them. It seems much more like a theological read for the most part rather than a biography of Arius'. But that is a plus. It is one to be read slowly, why? to catch the different views. It seems a lil deep at times, and very wordy(too much big vocab, especially in the history part)but I would say,Lord willing, well worth the time needed to comprehend the points that are presented. It presents greek sentence fragments and words for a clearer understanding of the views presented. I would recomend it. May God have mercy on us in Christ Jesus His Son.

Informative, If Excruciating Reading:
I got Rowan Williams book on Arius after reading countless references to the Arian church, bishops and missionaries in late anitiquity/early middle ages. I had hoped to find out more about these things here. As it turns out, Williams is not interested in any of that, but only in what can be reconstructed of the Arian crisis of the 4th century. In this particular realm, the book is very informative, if excruciatingly detailed, in its discussion of Arius' place within the continuum of the ancient collision between revelation and Greek philosophy. In some ways, this is a refresher course on Plato, Aristotle, Philo, Origen, Plotinus, and a number of other polytheist and monotheist speculators as to how god relates to the world and how this can accord with Judeo-Christian writings. Williams ultimate concern seems to be to get us to orthodoxy, and to relate this controversy to more modern theological concerns. So while it was of some interest historically, the final impact of this book on me was twofold: 1)it made me very glad I had gotten out of the seminary before spending years learning the intellectual gymnastics required of theologians to conceptualize and define the inconceivable and undefinable, and to reconcile the unreconcilable; 2) and it pushed me to finally read the Koran: I now understand where Mohammed was coming from!

An issue that continues to divide the church:
The author was recently named the 104th Archbishop of Canterbury--and therefore leader of the world's 70 million Anglicans. His book is one of the definitive treatments of a fourth-century struggle in the church that still echoes into our century. Here's the review on the publisher's website: "Arius is widely considered to be Rowan Williams's magnum opus. Long out of print and never before available in paperback, it has been newly revised. This expanded and updated edition marks a major publishing event. "Arianism has been called the 'archetypal Christian heresy' because it denies the divinity of Christ. In his masterly examination of Arianism, Rowan Williams argues that Arius himself was actually a dedicated theological conservative whose concern was to defend the free and personal character of the Christian God. His 'heresy' grew out of an attempt to unite traditional biblical language with radical philosophical ideas and techniques and was, from the start, involved with issues of authority in the church. Thus, the crisis of the early fourth century was not only about the doctrine of God but also about the relations between emperors, bishops, and 'charismatic' teachers in the church's decision-making. In the course of his discussion, Williams raises the vital wider questions of how heresy is defined and how certain kinds of traditionalism transform themselves into heresy."

A scholarly but highly accessible study of Arius himself:
Now in a newly revised edition with an updated appendix, Arius: Heresy & Tradition by Rowan Williams (Archbishop of Wales) is a thoughtful, scholarly discussion of Arianism, which has been labeled "archetypal Christian heresy" because it denies the traditional views of Christ's divinity. This is a scholarly but highly accessible study of Arius himself, presenting him as a theological conservative who sought to unite the Bible's teachings with philosophical ideals outside the norm. A welcome and highly recommended contribution to religious studies shelves, Arius: Heresy & Tradition is also a fascinating review of the very definition of heresy.

Heresies Ancient and Modern:
The first edition of 'Arius: Heresy & Tradition' was written by Rowan Williams, currently Archbishop of Canterbury, while he was Lady Margaret Professor of Divinity at Oxford University. Written in the 1980s, it was revised and reissued in 2001 because it had fallen out of print, but remained (and remains) a standard work in the field. Arianism is, historically speaking, one of the major heresies of the ancient church. It has remained an attractive tendency in theologians ever since the time of Arius in the third and fourth centuries. In brief, the heresy of Arius was that Jesus as the Son of God was not co-eternal of God the Father, that the Father and the Son were not of the same substance (ousia), and that Jesus was a created being. These issues are all addressed contra Arius in the Nicene Creed, which has as part of its construction 'of one being with the Father', 'begotten, not made', and other constructions intentionally directed against Arianism. Williams' thesis, however, presents a different pictrue from that of the typical 'heretic'. Arius, according to Williams, was in fact a theological conservative wrongly portrayed as a rebel. Williams' first chapter traces images of Arianism in scholarship, from the early John Henry Newman in the 1830s through Harnack, Gwatkin, Elliger, and later scholars too numerous to mention - 'The post-war period has been astonishingly fertile in Arius scholarship,' Williams writes. This has ceased to be as polemical and has become more analytical in nature, 'though the shadow of Arianism-as-Other still haunts modern discussion.' This is both an historical and a theological text. Theology is not divorced from history or the context in which it is formed. 'Orthodoxy continues to be made,' Williams states. 'What the articulation of doctrinal truth concretely is can be traced only through the detailed reworking and re-imagining of its formative conflicts. That, surely, is the strictly theological point of studying the history of doctrine.' Williams looks at the history of Arius and Arianism in three ways - Arius and the Nicene Crisis, Arius and Theology, and Arius and Philosophy. With regard to the Nicene Crisis, Williams explores the ambiguities inherent in the Christian world in the time prior to becoming the official religion of the empire. Bishops and other Christian leaders had varying authority, not always well defined and not always in agreement with each other; there was a strong sense of pluralism about the Christian world, and competing ideas for interpretation and expression. Williams argues that to think that Arianism was a monolithic construct, systematised and derivative of one great leader is a very mistaken notion. There were definite political motivations behind the impulse to declare Arianism a heresy. However, politics were not the only considerations. Theologically, the Christian world was rich with development, including figures such as Origen, Clement, and Philo in Alexandria (one of the leading cities of the empire, and one of the early centres of Christian community). Outside Egypt, the city of Antioch was also a major centre of Christian development and Christian evangelism (being one of the major trade junctions between East and West, North and South, the influence of Antioch on world-wide Christianity was felt for centuries). 'Arius was a committed theological conservative; more specifically, a conservative Alexandrian.' However, the Alexandrian school, both in terms of theology and political power, did not become the ascendant one in Christendom. In the third section, Williams explores Arius and his connection with philosophical schools of the time. Platonic and neo-Platonic ideas were the principal ones influencing the world, and Williams argues that Arius is close to Plotinus, a major neo-Platonic figure. Williams looks at three key issues - creation and beginning, intellect, and analogy and participation. By this last is meant primarily the Platonic participation that is the relation between the particular thing and its ideal form. Williams concludes this revised text with an essay, 'Arius since 1987', showing both new scholarship and new interpretations. The field continues to be rich with development. Williams includes an appendix of documents related to the creeds, extensive endnotes, a broad and useful bibliography, and a good index. Many heresies of old might get tolerated today (or dismissed) as differences of opinion that each has every right to hold. In fact, many differences today, internal to churches and between churches, often relate back to ancient controversies. Arianism is one such that recurs on a fairly regular basis. Williams' scholarship is sound; his theological ideas are interesting (and one can learn something about Williams' ideas on theology, both method and substance, from the way he treats Arius). This is destined to be a standard text in the field for some time to come.