John Piper gave an outstanding presentation on the life of Athanasius that you can listen to or read here. In his presentation he states:
We may thank God that Athanasius did not think that way. He did not regard the amount of time that has elapsed or the number of Christians who disagreed to determine what doctrines are important and which we should strive to teach and spread and make normative in the church.
And so today we should not conclude that the absence of consensus in the church means doctrinal stalemate. God may yet be pleased to give the blessing of unity on some crucial areas of doctrine that are not yet resolved in the Christian church.
Be sure to check out the entire lecture.
- by Stephen J. Nichols. A great “pop history” of the first 5 centuries of Christianity and their defense of the person and work of Christ.
– by Mark Noll. A great summary of Church history and the decisive moments in Christianity.