Athanasius: Defending the Doctrine of God
             Athanasius was born in Alexandria around the year 295. In his youth, he attended the Catechetical School located in Alexandria. Later, in his early twenties, he became a deacon. Athanasius was ordained a deacon by Alexander, who was currently bishop of Alexandria at the time. Alexander was very fond of Athanasius and kept him on his staff as secretary. In 312, Constantine became emperor of the Roman Empire. As the first Christian emperor of the Roman Empire, Constantine thought it was his duty to settle the current dispute about the divinity of Christ. "Where do these disputes spawn from?" you might ask. Much of this dispute had spawned from a man who was dedicated to the spread of Arianism. He was an Alexandrian priest; his name was Arius. Arius' belief was that Jesus was a supernatural being, not quite human, not quite divine, and was created by God. In 325, Constantine called all the bishops to the Council of Nicea, where a total of 318 bishops attended. As Bishop of Alex!
             andria, Alexander attended the Council of Nicea and took Athanasius along with him. At the Council, Athanasius was able to hear the bishop argue over the divinity of Christ: the theological idea that Athanasius would contribute so much to later in his life.
             In 328, Alexander of Alexandria died and Athanasius succeeded him as bishop of Alexandria. While he was still a young man, Athanasius became one of the most important supporters of the Nicene Creed and the teachings defined at the Council of Nicea. There were so many people who were opposed to the Creed and they were determined to undermine the efforts of its supporters. As bishop of Alexandria, Athanasius was a prime target for the opponents of the Nicenes to try and undermine. Between the years of 328 to 335, Athanasius finds himself on trial several times for a variety of charges including murder and tampering with a grain shipment. Finally,...