The Eternal-Begetting of the Son?

Have you ever researched or read about the Doctrine of the Eternal Begetting of the Son?

To me, this is the most illogical, confusing doctrine I've ever seen.

Here is a quote from Church Father Novatian:

"since [the Son] has been generated from the father, he is always in the father. However, I say “always” in this way; not that he is uncaused, but so that I might demonstrate that His existence is caused. But he who is before all time is said to have always been in the Father. For time cannot be attributed to the one who is before time. Truly he is always in the Father, otherwise the Father would not always be a Father.

And yet the Father also precedes him, since it is necessary that he would be first in order to be the Father, because it is necessary that the one who knows no source should come before the one who has a source, so that the Son would be lower, while at the same time he knows himself to be in the Father, since he has a source, because he is generated. And although he has a source because he is generated, in a particular way he is like the Father in his generation through him, since he is generated from the Father, who alone has no source."

This whole doctrine arose based on the Church Fathers' understanding that the Greek word "monogenes" meant "Only-Begotten." However, a majority of Bible scholars now say that this Greek word actually meant "Only, Unique, One-and-Only, One-of-a-Kind" and doesn't mean "begotten."

So, according to a majority of modern Bible scholars, this whole doctrine arose based on a misunderstanding of a Greek word, yet, this doctrine is the foundation of the Trinity Doctrine and was the foundation of the Nicene Creed.

Something is very wrong either way:

a) Either all the Church Fathers were wrong about "Only-Begotten," 

OR 

b) The majority of Bible experts now are wrong

The Church Fathers Couldn't Agree

The Church Fathers couldn't precisely agree. Some appeared to say that the Son is begotten by an eternal act of the Father's will (Colossians 1:19) while others said it was an eternal act of the Father but NOT an act of His will (so something God could not control??)

The Church Fathers also argued for this doctrine because they believed that God the Father always had to eternally be a "father" even before creation. But where does the Bible say this?

Some Church Fathers seemed to have the idea that the Son did come into existence (Proverbs 8:22), but He came into existence outside of time, therefore, in some sense, He is eternal.

However, others said that the act of the Father begetting the Son has always been happening (Hebrews 1:3), for all eternity, because before time began with the universe, there was no time, so any action that takes place without time is ALWAYS happening.

But that seems incredibly illogical. The entire notion that events or actions can even take place without time is nonsensical. It goes against science and it goes against logic.

Plus, a major factor being ignored by this doctrine, is that the Bible teaches that God does experience time progressing, just much more slowly than we do:

But do not forget this one thing, dear friends: With the Lord a day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years are like a day. (2 Peter 3:8 NIV)

If we apply the very same reasoning that the Church Fathers applied to the eternal begetting of the Son, to the creation of the universe, that means the universe had no beginning either, there was no beginning, in contradiction to Genesis 1:1, because God would always be eternally creating the universe.

In addition, this doctrine says that the Father begets the Son in some kind of "eternal prior" way, but not in a "temporal prior" way.

What??

One more thing, would this mean angels are eternal as well because they were made before the physical universe, and applauded when the world was made? (Job 38:4-7)

And would the act of creating the universe also be eternal, since that act took place before time began at the Big Bang?

The Church Fathers and the early Church Councils seemed to take this extremely, excessively serious, to the point of declaring people heretics for failing to believe this doctrine. The Greek Orthodox Church even broke away from the Catholic Church over an issue related to this doctrine.

If I'm not mistaken, some of the creeds even place curses on Christians for failing to believe this doctrine.

Yet, where is it found in the Bible?