In the Early Church there were fierce debates about exactly who Jesus was, how this fitted with existing understandings of 'God', and what Jesus' life, death and Resurrection meant.
Athanasius was a key figure in arguing that Jesus was God as well as being human.
It was definitely a fierce debate - Athanasius spent about 16 years in exile, over four separate periods, because of his views!
As well as arguing that Jesus was both human and divine, he also believed that our Salvation was not just because of the cross and Resurrection, but that God coming down to earth as a human was part of Christ's redeeming work too; our understanding of salvation is only properly understood when we consider all of them - Jesus' birth, life, death and Resurrection.
It's important to always be willing to learn new things, and to be open to new understandings, but Athanasius gives us a wonderful example of persistence in integrity. He stuck to what he knew was right, through thick and thin. His life really embodied the idea that we should do what is right, not just what is easy.
Following that theme... ♫ here's a musical suggestion about finding inner strength: Hero
And a quote from Athanasius, to act as possible inspiration for prayer today:
Let us remember the poor, and not forget kindness to strangers; above all, let us love God with all our soul, and might, and strength, and our neighbour as ourselves.
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