A man who preached poverty, forgiveness, and non-violence has message altered; turned into political power at the Council of Nicaea
A heretical view of the church, both Protestant and Catholic (Read at your own risk!)
A review, a paraphrase, and my own comments about it all
Let’s suppose that Steve Berry, author of “The Malta Exchange: a Novel,” is on to something with his strong suggestion that Constantine had absolutely something more in mind by calling the Council of Nicaea than unifying factions of the Christian faith that were fighting within themselves. Yes, far more sinister reasons. His reason, total control of the lives of all those claiming allegiance to this emerging faith. Constantine at the head of it all. As much as people might want to believe that Constantine saw a vision in the sky then won a great battle, crediting Christ with his victory, not true. He likely only converted on his deathbed, though even that is open to debate.
We should be clear. He cared little for the teachings or of the example set by Christ. His was essentially political, not religious in motivation, though it was couched in religious terms.
Here are some of the tenets…many of which are only loosely connected to the teaching of Jesus or taken from Jewish scripture:
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God must always be an angry and vengeful God, preferable to a benign, loving entity.
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Obedience and compliance with God’s directives are the only ways to obtain eternal peace in heaven.
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Disobedience leads to everlasting suffering, the fear of which should be used to keep the faithful under control.
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The only salvation from this fear comes from the Christian faith, its doctrine and practices never open to question. Obedience must be absolute.
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Sin is the mechanism whereby control is enforced. A list of sins should be created, one that adapts to the times, each sin designed to instill fear.
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Failure to obtain forgiveness of sin places one’s immortal soul in the gravest of danger.
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Forgiveness can be obtained only through the Christian faith. This concept must begin at birth.
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All men are born into the world with sin.
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They can never dwell with God unless there is absolution for this original sin through the Christian faith.
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The Christian faith says only one physical life and only one opportunity at eternal salvation.
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When that life ends the soul moves to either heaven or hell.
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There is most certainly a spirit, a devil, one who constantly poses challenges along the path to salvation.
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All of man’s sins must be blamed on the devil, who is always present, always tempting, never relenting and the only way to resist comes from Christian doctrine.
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Those outside ordained clergy, who profess the ability to speak with God are a danger. This is treason and is punishable by death. Heretical thinking and acts must likewise know the wrath of God. Killing heretics in the name of God is not a sin. The spilling of blood is a duty we must never abandon.
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Sacred objects cannot be touched or created, whether they be churches, places, people, words, or things, unless permitted by the church. Rules and punishment is important here.
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Priests shall become a special class unto themselves. Constantine is the natural choice to lead all priests. The first duty of the state is to stay right with God and keep God on good terms with the people. The priests’ duty is to keep the people on good terms with Constantine.
Steve Berry went on to say that with this, Constantine and the bishops who gathered in Nicaea transformed the philosophy of a man who’d preached poverty, forgiveness, and non-violence into a government ideology of power.
Faith was the death of reason. Faith relied on blind allegiance, without thought, only an unquestioned belief. To institutionalize faith man created religion, which remained one of the oldest and strongest conspiracies ever formed.
Any hints at developing science, the scientific method, seeking truth through observation, repeatable experiments were to be squelched immediately. Control was paramount.
Religion had always been a tool. It offered spiritual reality, with benefits, to all who chose to follow. It didn’t matter whether that was Christianity, Islam, Judaism, Hinduism, or even paganism. They all created their own peculiar truths, then constantly misconstrued them to their advantage.
Constantine elevated the clergy. He gave them a fixed annual salary and exempted them from taxation. They were not required to serve in the army. They became a special class. They dressed differently and groomed differently. They became the guardians of orthodoxy, more powerful than local governors.
After Constantine died his heirs made a mess of the empire. It split, the eastern portion becoming Byzantine, the western remaining Roman. Finally, the Rome church began to assert, claimed a lineage back to St. Peter and took a pagan title. Pontifex maximus. Supreme pontiff.
This was about A. D. 800.
The Holy Roman Empire was born and Charlemagne was anointed and the imperial crown placed on his head. All but a tiny portion of Europe came under Rome’s thumb for the next 800 years.
It erased and replaced all competing spiritual beliefs, it deadened the search for knowledge, persecuting mystics, heretics, and scientific efforts. It forced mass conversion of anyone and everyone. It assumed control of everyday life by claiming a divine authority to rule. It was a virtual stranglehold.
The church relied on ignorance and fear. It still does. Despite 400 years of very gradual enlightenment, many still live in ignorance and fear…and actually choose to do so.
When ignorance and fear are dissipated, what happens to the church? It dies. It is dying today.
The sins of the church’s leadership are there to be seen. The Internet and media make that possible.
But this is not the story only of the Roman Catholic Church. Virtually every one of the sixteen items listed on the first page of this document apply to all facets of the Protestant Church. The Evangelical Church of today, and of the past century, is totally dictated to by these tenets. Item fourteen is not mere hyperbole. It could easily be reality in many facets of the evangelicals with only a bit more of a nudge.
Why is the only part of Christianity that is showing growth today in evangelical churches? Because some (many) people are still in ignorance and they still live in fear of death and are told that only the faithful go to heaven. They simply can’t give up on this hope. In short, they live in basically the same fear that was felt by those who lived in the middle ages under complete control of the church.
The so-called mainline Protestant churches of today no longer preach the angry and vengeful God. They’ve lost their trump card. They’ve lost the drama, the fear, and therefore the control. And they are dying or fading in significance. But maybe that’s good.
For the “mainline” Protestants, it is my view that there is only one hope for a turn-around. First, give up on the petty divisions of unprovable theology and join forces around the actual teachings of Jesus insofar as can possibly be ascertained. Forget most of the dogma, the liturgies, creeds, and about 90% of the hymns and sacred songs that contain the poetry and lyrics designed to comply with this dogma. Use the melodies as one wishes, but re-write the lyrics to reflect themes of honesty, integrity, promise-keeping, fidelity, loyalty, fairness, caring for others, respect for others, responsible citizenship, pursuit of excellence, and accountability. These are universal ethical values that seem aligned with the teaching of Jesus...if you want to maintain the name "Christian" on the signboard of your church.
The Roman Catholic Church, just as some evangelical churches, will continue to function, albeit in a diminished manner. Buildings and some parishes will be given up as merging takes place because of fewer people and fewer priests. The concepts of the “Christian faith” as described earlier will not die easily or quickly. I suspect there will always be people who prefer the defined paths, the promise of heaven, or the fear of hell.
The Methodists, progressive Presbyterians, Episcopalians, the United Church of Christ, liberal Lutherans, and others will merge (or should merge), again…setting aside ethnicities, unprovable and silly doctrinal differences. Communities can be well served by such a merger of congregations who find within their church caring individuals, the warmth of friends and the desire to serve mankind in large and small ways. I speak of serving the homeless, the hungry, and I speak of the power that like-minded people (those who share in the universal ethical values mentioned earlier) can have at the city, state, and national political level. The land and facilities of most of these churches rather stand waiting for this kind of merger and the prospects can be exciting.
It probably goes without saying that there will be some agonizing splits. Some people simply will not be able to give up their deeply ingrained allegiance to the tenets spelled out by Constantine and their long-held dogmas. These folks will, first, create dissent and make the movement difficult. Friendships will no doubt suffer. None of this will be easy. Much drama will occur if and when mergers are considered as the leadership, the heads of various denominations face the real possibility of losing their job or no longer holding a position of power. This will, indeed, present a serious dilemma.
Will any of this happen? Not quickly. While some of it is already happening, much of what I’ve outlined is merely wishful thinking…for the time being.
Contact Howard at: hkmeharg@comcast.net (but be nice!)