I have class tonight but today spent some time interacting with some of our assigned readings. I thought this story was of particular interest. As I've been learning the greek alphabet I always laugh at the letter "i - (iota)." Not because it's pronounced like the name of that cute little green source of wisdom from the Stars Wars movies but because the phrase that always pops in my head is "This doesn't make one iota of a difference." And today, my reading reminded me where that phrase originates and how my thinking on that little letter has changed...I'll try and summarize the reading up to save time and space while hopefully maintain its accuracy:
In the early church (around 325 AD) the hottest debate was whether Jesus was merely man or God/man. The key terms in both camps were the greek words homoousios and homoiousios. The first means basically 'the same' and the second one means 'similar'. One letter (the iota) in the Greek makes the world of difference between Jesus as merely man and Jesus as the Son of God. The argument in the article I was reading was about some people's assertion that doctrine has the potential to divide people. And one man's assertion (Athanasius of Alexandria) that one iota DID indeed matter was absolutely divisive (He was seen as a "hairsplitting fundamentalist") but ultimately essential.
So the next time that phrase comes into my brain, I will certainly remember that it DOES make one iota of a difference.
