The Golden Chain - Robert J. Wieland

truly spoken through Leo," Vol. 13, p. 955). Cyril
may have been clear in his understanding himself,
but if so, he was misunderstood. While his
influence was dominant at Chalcedon, his position
was regarded by many as "a denial of the human
nature of Christ, which, they said, was reduced by
Cyril to a mere appearance of human nature"
(idem). Such is, in fact, the germ of the Immaculate
Conception idea.
While it is true that the formula of Chalcedon
clearly affirms the human as well as the divine
nature of Christ, the Roman Catholic Church built
its theology in the centuries after Chalcedon on the
idea that Christ is "afar off" and not "nigh at hand."
It denies that 1 John 4:1-3 applies to them ("every
spirit that does not confess that Jesus Christ has
come in the flesh ... is the spirit of the Antichrist").
They profess to believe in the "real humanity" of
Christ; yet their dogma of the Immaculate
Conception neatly denies it in fact. Surely it is time
to recover the full New Testament truth as clearly
as the apostles saw it. It will be a distinctive part of
the message that will go to the world in the loud
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