1. What would cause someone (who is supposed to be a "Bible - Believing Christian" - not that there is any other kind of Christian - understand) to believe that Jesus was (is) a "created being"?
One of two things. Either they have read the texts mentioned above, and viewed them with carnal undertanding, or they have heard someone teach this heresy.
2. Would believing Jesus is a "created being" be a violation - or denial of John 1:1-4?
In my judgment, that is exactly what it is. Jesus declared Himself the "I AM," a term limited to Deity, or the eternal God (John 8:58; Exodus 3:14).
3. Would believing Jesus is a "created being" be a denial of His Divinity - or that He is God?
Yes! Anything created cannot be Divine. Eternality is integral to Deity.
4. Do the passages that teach that Christ is Creator - automatically exclude the idea that He is a "created being"?
Yes. The creator and the created are contrasted in Scripture--they cannot be the same (Rom 9:20).
a. Does "He is before all things" mean - or teach that He is The Creator - rather than the created? (Colossians 1:15-18).
That is precisely the point of this passage. Scripture affirms nothing was made without Jesus, which makes Him unquestionably eternal (John 1:3). If men imagine this means Christ Jesus is less than God, the Spirit refutes such reasoning in Colossians 1:19 and 2:9, where the fulness of God is said to dwell in the Son.
b. Does "He is before all things" automatically affirm that He is the Creator - rather than the created?
Yes--emphatically so!
5. What is the meaning of "He is the firstborn of all creation"? (Colossians 1:15) N I V says "over all creation"? Is that Greekly correct?
Answer provided above. It means He is the One that is the Source of all creation. It had no genesis (beginning) without Him. The specific point being made is that Jesus has the preeminence. Besides this, the purveyors of this dogma conveniently overlook the first part of this verse, "Who is the Image of the invisible God." That is an assertion of His Deity (eternality).
6. Was the doctrine that Jesus is a "created being" ever considered (called) a heresy by the Roman Catholic Church?
I do not know the answer to this. I would imagine, however, that
7. Can someone believe that Jesus is a "created being" & still be a Christian - or to use the modern religious parlance - still "be saved"?
Understanding the final determination will be made by God, I do not think this is possible. The confession upon which the church is built, and which is the ground of Divine acceptance, is that "Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the Living God" (Matt 16:16). There is no salvation apart from the hearty embrace of this truth (1 John 4:15; 5:5,10-11). Jesus cannot be "the Son of God" and a "created being" at the same time. Even the hard-hearted Pharisees knew that "Son of God" was a term denoting equality with God (John 5:18).
8. YOU - don't believe that Jesus is a "created being" - DO YOU???
Most emphatically, I do not! More importantly, He is not!!
