Author: Mufti Obaidullah Noorzahi
The Crises of Liberalism in the Contemporary World (Part 22)
Internal Disputes Within Liberal Christianity
Pope Alexander, the bishop of Alexandria, was the first to speak of the equality of the Son with the Father in essence. He was one of the prominent theologians of the Alexandrian church, and many priests sided with him. They argued against Arius but failed to convince him, as Arius presented his evidence from the Bible. Eventually, the church convened a council for this matter, declared his teachings heretical, and removed him from his clerical position.
Arius migrated from Alexandria to Nicomedia, where he continued to spread his beliefs. Later, he returned to Egypt but was expelled by order of the Pope of Alexandria. The issue reached Emperor Constantine, who instructed Pope Alexander II to organize a council of bishops to address the matter. This universal council was held in Nicaea in 325 CE. According to Saint Athanasius, who himself participated, 318 bishops attended, although some historians question his claims due to his opposition to Arius.
Despite the excommunication, Arius’s message gained followers. Sixteen bishops endorsed his belief, leading to a division within the Church. Arius found followers in Constantinople, Egypt, and elsewhere. However, Emperor Constantine opposed his teachings and reportedly forced people to abandon them. [1]
Constantine was a Christian with pagan tendencies and still believed in sun worship. Thus, he intervened seriously in the issue, fearing turmoil and the destabilization of his kingdom. After prolonged opposition and suppression, only two bishops remained with Arius, and his movement gradually faded.
By the fifth century CE, Christian beliefs regarding Jesus, the son of Mary, settled into two creeds—both entrenched in polytheism and misguidance:
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The Catholic belief held that Jesus had two natures. He was both the Son of God and a human being. Thus, when he walked the earth, ate, drank, and moved about in markets, he was human. Before and after that, he was from God. Most of the world’s Christians—followers of the Roman Pope (Vatican)—adhere to this creed.
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The Orthodox belief claimed that Jesus had a single divine nature, making him God in both the heavens and the earth. This is the belief of the Eastern Church, including Christians in Egypt, Russia, Greece, the Balkans, and other regions. [2]
The belief system that opposed both these views—Arianism—eventually disappeared.
The darkness persisted until the Seal of the Prophets was sent to all humanity. He called people to monotheism, fought against idolatry, and challenged the deception of Jewish and Christian clerics who had distorted the concept of divine oneness. He struggled for monotheism, and many embraced the faith. Under him and his caliphs, lands were conquered. Egypt, once the center of the Eastern Church, accepted Islam. Even the region where the Council of Nicaea was held—now part of Turkey—embraced Islam.
Despite this, the opposing clergy continued to deceive the masses through lies and ambiguity. As the lands under their control shrank, the territory of monotheism expanded. Corrupted Christianity was gradually driven out of the Levant, Egypt, Africa, Turkey, and Europe’s borders. Similarly, polytheism and idolatry in the East were pushed back by Islam in places like Persia, Iraq, Transoxiana, and India.
Islam deeply influenced many Christians. However, the awe of their religious authorities prevented their full acceptance of Islam, despite the fact that both their religious and worldly lives were plagued by the tyranny of kings, priests, and monks who enslaved them in the name of the church and the Bible.
Muslim caliphs and warriors communicated with them, delivering the truth and presenting the Islamic concept of complete freedom—of thought, wealth, and body. For example, the words of Rabi ibn Amr to Rustam, the Persian commander, when asked why he came, were: “Allah has sent us to deliver His servants from the worship of other servants to the worship of the Lord of the servants, from the constriction of this world to the vastness of the Hereafter.”
John Stuart Mill, in The Foundations of Political Liberalism, wrote: “Christianity has made no real progress in expanding its influence, and after eighteen centuries it remains largely confined to the territories of Europeans and their descendants. Even among those who are devout and deeply loyal to their creed, one finds that their dynamic impulse usually comes from Calvin, Knox, or another reformer with similar moral rigor.” [3]
Therefore, Westerners familiar with Islam understand that the conflict between reason and Islam differs significantly from that with the Church. Many even admit that Islam is the most formidable challenge to Western liberalism—due to its vastness, clarity, reach, and protection from distortion and deception. However, prejudice and arrogance have led many to reject the values of truth, light, monotheism, and freedom brought by Islam—though the Qur’an’s appeals to non-Muslims are mainly directed at the People of the Book. Consequently, some believed while others remained on their path.
In the late 15th century CE, Martin Luther (d. 1546) emerged in Germany, followed by John Calvin (d. 1564), who was influenced by Luther’s ideas, and then John Knox (d. 1572). These reformers rebelled against the Catholic Church and were called Protestants—meaning “those who protest.” Sometimes they are referred to as Evangelicals, indicating their direct reliance on the Gospel rather than the interpretations of those who had corrupted it. As a result, they rejected the role of the high priest and the pope, even though their belief in Jesus remained the same as that of other Christians.
This natural disposition, though tainted by religious impurities, led them to reject the corruption they witnessed. They objected to the church’s misguidance, papal corruption, and the baseless subjugation of Christians to the Church, including the sale of indulgences—certificates promising paradise in exchange for money.
The corruption reached such a level that it was claimed God would forgive even someone who had (hypothetically) committed fornication with the Virgin Mary—if they had purchased such a certificate. This was the height of depravity and compounded disbelief. Yet, people flocked individually and in groups to buy them.
Moreover, the Church monopolized wealth collection, declared what was lawful and unlawful, and prevented individuals from seeking evidence from the Bible, dismissing their inquiries as matters of sacred mystery that could not be questioned.
Luther had once been a zealous monk living in a monastery. To counter pride, he displayed extreme humility in public. Over time, he changed. He rejected the lie of indulgences and publicly posted a declaration on the church door, stating that only God forgives sins. In this declaration, he also highlighted several other theological corruptions. He and his followers even advocated for some Islamic teachings—without naming Islam—such as opposing monasticism, which prevented monks from marrying or mixing with the public.
Continues…
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[1] – Adolf von Harnack, History of Doctrine, Vol. 4, p. 55.
[2] – Some of the beliefs of Arianism remain in the “Jehovah’s Witnesses” sect and a few other remaining churches.
[3] – John Stuart Mill, The Principles of Political Liberty, Al-Madbouly Publishing, Arabic translation by Imam Abdul Fattah and Michel Matias.
