Is the Nicene Creed Dead in Modern Iznik? The Surprising Truth Today

The fourth century purposely gathered the religious leaders of the day to clearly define what the Bible says about the most essential teachings. So what about today? We have explored all the remains of the 20 churches that once stood in ancient Nicaea, but how does the Nicene Creed challenge Iznik today? The city hosted the council; what would people say about the creed’s beliefs today?

Iznik Today

The creed is for today and to challenge all of us in what we think and believe about God and his great salvation. Iznik today has over 40,000 people living in this small town in the region of Bursa, and statistically, it is “predominantly Muslim.” Yet, their ancient town affirmed this creed that makes them famous. Let’s look at the creed from their standpoint. Would the average person in Iznik today believe any part of this creed? Most likely, people would have a mix of historical awareness, theological disagreement, and social respect for the creed, but what about the meaning?

Now, for clarity, the creed evidences what our forefathers struggled with in understanding the Bible, and it is a statement by gifted scholars and religious persons who desired clarity for all. Let’s take their words to heart today. Much like what Üftâde (Mehmed Muhyiddin 1490-1580s) of Bursa said, “The heart was made for God alone; whatever does not lead to Him is a burden.” I believe the words of the Nicene Creed will again lead us to connect our hearts to God’s.

Belief in God in Iznik Today

I have taken the 425 AD Nicene creed from thewestminsterstandard.org and will bold each section.

I believe in one God, the Father Almighty, Maker of heaven and earth, and of all things visible and invisible.

The statement begins with personal belief, “I believe,” to encourage expression of one’s personal faith. Now the people of Iznik believe in one God, but their ideas rely on absolute oneness, where their God can not be a Father or a Spirit. Their absolute oneness ignores that God, his Spirit, and his Word (Jesus Christ) are a unity in oneness. They see this as a division and rivalry, but the Bible does not explain God’s oneness as a division or rivalry, since God is unified with himself. Yet, they would believe in God as the maker of heaven and earth – the visible world and the spiritual world.

Belief about Jesus in Iznik Today

And in one Lord Jesus Christ, the only-begotten Son of God, begotten of the Father before all worlds; God of God, Light of Light, very God of very God; begotten, not made, being of one substance with the Father, by whom all things were made.

Now, this section is why Islam has formed. The people of Iznik today would deny all these key words about Jesus. The prevailing view in other religions is that the word “begotten” refers to a physical event. So most people would not believe that God begets a person, or in this case, the Son of God. Unfortunately, we read “begotten”, “son of God”, and “begotten of the Father”, and the only thing that most people are thinking is the Quranic verse that says that Allah does not beget nor is he begotten (Surah 112:3).

However the ancient council in Nicaea had a different meaning: “begotten” means Jesus is eternally and uniquely of the same divine essence (substance) as God the Father, not a created being, but rather “God from God, Light from Light, True God from true God,” sharing the Father’s nature, power, and glory, emphasizing his co-eternity and divinity. He shares the same essence without rivalry or any tension. God’s unity exists in harmony and in a shared oneness. So, as Christians, we say God is one and complete. The key phrase is “begotten, not made,” so that the meaning is not physical at all but spiritual.

Who came down?

Who, for us men and for our salvation, came down from heaven, and was incarnate by the Holy Spirit of the virgin Mary, and was made man; and was crucified also for us under Pontius Pilate; He suffered and was buried; and the third day He rose again, according to the Scriptures; and ascended into heaven, and sits on the right hand of the Father; and He shall come again, with glory, to judge the quick and the dead; whose kingdom shall have no end.

I love these words that God’s salvation came down from heaven. Now, another religion says its book came down from above. Yet, the incarnation of Jesus Christ shows us what came down. He is the Word of God (John 1:1-3), and came down from heaven, but other religions take this idea and apply it to their own books.

Now, the people of Iznik today would not accept that Jesus came down, but they would believe in the idea of the Virgin birth of Christ. The Turkish scholar Yaşar Nuri Öztürk said, “’According to the Quran, the fatherless birth of Jesus is a manifestation of Allah’s command ‘Be!’ (Kun). This birth is not a biological impossibility, but rather a miracle—similar to the creation of Adam, the first example of creation—that shows Allah’s creative power is not condemned to the laws of nature.” This is one part that the people of Iznik today would affirm that Jesus was born miraculously.

Is Jesus alive?

Now the gospel parts of the statement: Jesus died, was buried, and rose again – are all elements that Islam denies. The heart of the gospel, which has been torn out. Taking away these actual events in the life of Jesus denies the Injil – the New Testament, leaving us without a hope for life.

25–35% of the New Testament directly focuses on, or clearly alludes to, Jesus’ death, burial, and resurrection, so that without this idea, we have a meaningless book and also no hope of salvation. In light of this, about one-third of the New Testament is explicitly devoted to Jesus’ death, burial, and resurrection, and nearly all of it theologically depends on those events. So, to deny these things in the life of Jesus is to reject God’s word.

Ascending from Heaven

Interestingly, the latter part about Jesus that he ascended to heaven and will come again are things that the people of Iznik today would believe in. Mistakenly, their religion takes these less threatening aspects and gives them new meaning. According to their religion, God saved Jesus from the cross and brought him up to heaven. This meaning differs from what is presented here.

Also, they believe in Jesus coming again, of which the Bursa Süleyman Çelebi (d. 1422), said “Īsâ gökten inüp gele ol zaman Ümmetinden ola ol hemân. Which means Jesus will descend from heaven at that time, and he too will be from his (Muhammad’s) community. In this, why would this religion give Jesus such a perspective? They believe that Jesus will come again!

Yet, let’s look at the source where Jesus said, “20 For the Father loves the Son and shows him all that he himself is doing. And greater works than these will he show him, so that you may marvel. 21 For as the Father raises the dead and gives them life, so also the Son gives life to whom he will. 22 For the Father judges no one, but has given all judgment to the Son, 23 that all may honor the Son, just as they honor the Father. Whoever does not honor the Son does not honor the Father who sent him. 24 Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life. He does not come into judgment, but has passed from death to life.

25 “Truly, truly, I say to you, an hour is coming, and is now here, when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God, and those who hear will live. 26 For as the Father has life in himself, so he has granted the Son also to have life in himself.” (John 5:20-26, ESV). Let’s hear the words of Christ and have life.

The Spirit of Allah

And I believe in the Holy Ghost, the Lord and Giver of Life; who proceeds from the Father and the Son; who with the Father and the Son together is worshipped and glorified; who spoke by the prophets.

The Turkish website says, “The expression ‘I breathed from My spirit’ does not mean that Allah has a part of Himself that is a spirit. It is metaphorical for giving life or functioning. Here there is no literal ‘breathing’ of a part of Allah into Adam or Mary, but the indication of God’s act of giving life.” — Explanation of Qur’an on verses of ruh (spirit). Unfortunately, the religious authorities in today’s Iznik would deny this part of the creed. They do not believe that Allah is a Spirit, which, like the creed says, “spoke by the prophets” – these modern ideas deny the whole Bible that declares in the second verse of Genesis 1:2, “And the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters.”

Resurrection and Forgiveness of Sins

And I believe in one holy catholic and apostolic Church. I acknowledge one baptism for the remission of sins; and I look for the resurrection of the dead, and the life of the world to come. Amen.

Now, these Christian ideas of a universal (catholic) church founded on the apostles give credence to the whole New Testament. Yet, the people in the Bursa region could believe in the resurrection and a life after death. The key statement is How does one find forgiveness of sins? Do we need to work, submit and continually obey to find forgiveness? Christ is the savior, and we cannot save ourselves.

I believe that many people in İznik see the Creed as an important part of their city’s history, not as something that threatens their beliefs. Yet, people still respect Jesus as a great prophet born to the Virgin Mary. However, the creed was not just some made-up ideas, but sourced in the eternal Word of God. Would some people in this land, respectively, consider what the Bible has to say to the people of Iznik today? People generally respect the Creed as part of its past, even if they do not agree with its religious meaning.

Yet, my hope is that many will reconsider the creed in their life today. Remember what the Bursa poet Üftâde said, “If you taste the love of God, the world will fall from your hands.” May you taste the love of God found in Christ. If you are living in or near Iznik today, please check out more information on this Turkish site.