No they're not! C'mon, Robby, do you take us for complete FOOLS? We can read, and we can understand what is said in these doctrines, and they are extra-biblical and just plain wrong! I have no problem believing in the complete divinity and humanity of Jesus, and I have never for one second needed those goofy doctrines to "help" me believe. My strength of belief in Jesus' divinity and humanity comes from the Word of God, and does not rely on the idea of a sinless Mary who was a perpetual virgin, but had a child, and was bodily taken to Heaven. It is heresy, pure and simple! Your own Church History shows it to be heresy, as was pointed out earlier on this thread, and has been pointed out many other times as well.
James White was rather selective in his argument. If his use of Kelly is any guide, the his references need to be checked. But White talks about two doctrines that I did not touch upon, so what's the relevance to what I said and which he quotes?
His discussion of transubstantiation does not accurately represent Kelly's position, which is that Eucharist doctrine was realist from the beginning. Furthermore his use of precedents forgets that until a doctrine is finally settled by competent authority, many different shades of opinion are allowed, and that no one can be held to account until his case come to court. What the Nicene Council came to decide was a narrow but critical point--was Arius a hereic--, which as it turned out was not settled for purely political reasons. The Emperor had jumped into this dispute, and the Council was his idea or that of his adviser (A Latin, by the way, because that is where the Emperor grew up)But because Arius was a rather slippery--and very able--churchman, he managed to slip out of the noose that the Council had prepared for him.
What was the pope's role in all this? Who knows, exactly. I gather he jumped on the bandwagon started by men more able than he. Was he regarded as primate of the Church? Perhaps less than some of his predecessors, for the role of the pope depends on the strength and character of the men who hold the office, and he is a follower rarther than a leader. As the metropolitan of the Imperial Capital the pope had wide influence just on natural grounds. But don't forget that the Church had just been though a long and savage persecution which sharply divided the Church. Now we have an entirely NEW situation: a Christian emperor. White tries to turn into a tidy little theological discussion what was essentially a huge mess. A whole new kind of institution is being invented: the Eucumenical council, of which the Nicene Council was really just a prototype. really. He is surprised that a later Council --the 6th--might look back and see its reflection in this first Council. But that's "history": untidy.
Meeee toooooo. Amen!