04-30-06 The DaVinci Deception-Part 2
Last week, we began this series on The DaVinci Deception. We saw how although the book written by Dan Brown called The DaVinci Code has been out since 2003, the fact that the movie being released in mid-May starring Tom Hanks and being produced by Ron Howard will bring The DaVinci Code into the forefront of our culture. We looked at a summary of the claims of The DaVinci Code and saw that they deal with the basic questions of our faith: Who Is Jesus? Is the New Testament reliable?
We stated that our primary purpose in this series is to fulfill the scripture in 1 Peter 3:15 (NIV) “But in your hearts set apart Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect.” The movie is being marketed with the phrase “Seek the Truth” and that is what we are going to do in this series. I believe that as we “Seek the Truth” we will find the truth and the truth will set us free.
This week we are going to look at the area of history concerning Constantine and the Council of Nicaea. Now, I know that church history may not be the most exciting area of study to some of us. This is the kind of information that we sleep through. However, this is why we do not have a solid foundation in our beliefs. If we ignore the history of the church we are ignoring the very roots of our faith. In order to understand and refute the claims of The DaVinci Code, we must examine some very important history.
“Church historians agree that next to the events in the New Testament, the most important event in the history of Christianity is the conversion of the Emperor Constantine to Christianity in 312 AD.”[1]
Why is this true? Prior to the conversion of Constantine, the Christians had gone through great persecution at the hand of Rome. Many had died cruel deaths—being thrown into a pit with lions, killed by gladiators, crucified, burned alive, etc. Why all this persecution? Because Rome believed that there were many gods, not just one—and one of those gods was Caesar himself. A word that could be used to describe their religious beliefs would be “diversity”, which is also a word that we hear much about today. All the Christians had to do was declare every year that “Caesar is lord.” But when the Christians were faced with the decision to worship Caesar and God, they chose God Almighty and this angered Caesar.
Why did the Christians simply not say the words and be good citizens so they could avoid the persecution, after all they knew it was not true? It is a matter of belief. If as they believed Jesus is the Christ, the Anointed One of God who had come in the flesh and died to bring them salvation, they could not bow their knee to a false God. Jesus himself was offered the same opportunity by the enemy and He said, “Away from me, Satan! “For it is written: ‘Worship the Lord your God, and serve him only’” (Matthew 4:8 NIV). Imagine if we were required today as Christians to say once a year that the president is lord. Would you do it? Even to save your life or family’s life?
When Constantine became a believer, the persecution of the Christians stopped. As a fellow believer and politician, he took leadership in the doctrinal disputes of the day so as to promote unity and peace in his empire. He called the Council of Nicaea in 325 AD to discuss major issues that threatened to disrupt the unity of his empire. Over 300 bishops met at this council to try to resolve the doctrinal disputes. The DaVinci Code says that Constantine called this council to “upgrade Jesus’ status” for political reasons and to determine what Bible would be used in his empire. Let’s see what really happened at the Council of Nicaea.
What were the doctrinal disputes? A priest of Alexandria (the highest place of learning in that day) named Arius taught that Jesus was not fully God, but a created god. He believed that Jesus was more than a man, but less than God. This teaching is called Arianism and is still prevalent today. It denies the deity of Jesus Christ, while it accepts the humanity of Jesus. Arius was declared a heretic, but his teaching caused great division in the empire.
So why is the deity of Christ so important? There are 2 basic reasons:
1) If Christ was not fully God, then God was not the Redeemer of mankind! This leaves us with no hope and no salvation.
2) If Christ created all things, according to Colossians 1:16 (NIV) “For by Him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things were created by Him and for Him.” then He could not have been created by anyone else. Therefore, He is the Creator and as the Creator He must be Divine.
Also, we must remember that Jesus declared Himself to be the Son of God and if He was not the Son of God, then He was a liar and He died believing a lie. The apostles and many early church fathers all believed that He was divine, even to the point of giving their lives to defend these truth centuries before the council at Nicaea took place.
Now back to the Council of Nicaea. After they affirmed the divinity of Jesus, they began to look at the question of His relationship to the Father. Is Jesus similar or the same as God the Father? Eusebius, a historian, stated that Jesus had a nature similar, but not the same as God. Athanasius and Marcellus stated that Jesus could only be God in the fullest sense if His nature was the same as the Father. Athanasius realized that “only if Christ is God, without qualification, has God entered humanity, and only then have fellowship with God, the forgiveness of sins, the truth of God, and immortality been certainly brought to men.”[2]
How important is this distinction between similar and same? Isn’t this splitting theological hairs? Well, it may seem that way, but in reality it is a major issue. According to the dictionary, similar means that something is “of the same kind in appearance, character, or quantity, without being identical.” Same means “identical; unchanged.” [3] Therefore, by definition, if something is similar it is not the same as something because it is not identical. For example, if I have a copy of a famous painting, it is similar to the original painting; however, it is not the same as the original because it cannot be exactly identical. Any copy will have some minute flaws that the original did not have. If I were to take my copy to an expert he would know immediately that it was not the original. Now as to the value of the copy, is it worth as much as the original? Of course not. So the issue of whether Christ was similar to the Father or the same nature as the Father is a huge one.
To declare the truths the council decided upon, they wrote what is called the Nicene Creed. We do not usually refer to creeds such as this today, yet they are the founding basis for all doctrine of the church next to the scriptures. I challenge you to read and study this creed because by doing so you will be learning the fundamental truths of our faith. In The DaVinci Code, Dan Brown says at the Council of Nicaea the doctrine of Christ’s deity passed by a “relatively close vote.” However, the truth is that only 5 out the 300 bishops protested and only 2 refused to sign the creed. That is hardly a “relatively close vote” and this shows that Mr. Brown’s statement is false.
Another area that The DaVinci Code claims was decided at the Council of Nicaea was the canonization of the New Testament. Dan Brown says “that Constantine and his delegates decided to eliminate books from the New Testament that were unfavorable to their theology of male rule and their commitment to sexual repression.”[4] We will look more at the issue of the canonization and the Gnostic gospels in later weeks, but for the sake of discussion about the truth of what happened at the Council of Nicaea, let’s briefly consider it.
The word canon is used to describe the books of the Bible that have been accepted as the sacred and genuine books. There are 66 books in our Bible, 39 Old Testament, 27 New Testament books. This is what we know as the canon of scripture. The canon was chose through careful study and consensus that the books were genuine and met certain criteria long before the Council of Nicaea. “Twenty rulings were issued at Nicaea, and the contents of all of them are still in existence; not one of them refers to issues regarding the canon.”[5] Mr. Brown’s assertion that Constantine used the Council of Nicaea to establish the gospels that he wanted is just not true.
The ideas and heresy that are presented in The DaVinci Code are not new and have been around for centuries (as we saw with Arianism—Jesus was human, but not fully God). They are still prevalent today, only using different terms. Today, we talk about “political correctness”, “diversity”, and “tolerance”. Yet, these are the same issues that have been around all the way back to Greece and Rome. “Political Correctness” is a polite way of saying that we do not offend anyone by telling them what we believe is the truth. There are many truths and therefore, we cannot impose our belief upon others. “Diversity” is another word for thinking that all paths lead to God (or a higher being or essence in today’s language)—a Pantheon of gods is acceptable—not just One God. “Religious tolerance” means: to extend religious freedom to people of all religions, even though you sincerely disagree with their beliefs and/or practices.[6] “Tolerance” is required because no one has all the truth and we must not declare that is only one way to God. The Romans hated the exclusivism of Christianity—that there is only one way to God, through Jesus Christ. They were “tolerant of everyone except those who were intolerant” and those they killed.
So The DaVinci Code is just another attempt to influence our world with the spirit of antichrist that has been against God since the beginning of this world. As we learn the truth about Jesus, as they did in Constantine’s day at the Council of Nicaea, we are filled with the wonder of His grace in that He could come to such a sinful people as we are and redeem us.
You have a copy of the Nicene Creed, let’s read it together as an affirmation of our faith. (By the way the word “catholic” is not talking about the Catholic Church as we know it today, the word means universal or whole).
The Nicene Creed
I believe in one God, the Father Almighty, Maker of heaven and earth, and of all things visible and invisible.
And in one Lord Jesus Christ, the only-begotten Son of God, begotten of the Father before all worlds; God of God, Light of Light, very God of very God; begotten, not made, being of one substance with the Father, by whom all things were made.
Who, for us men for our salvation, came down from heaven, and was incarnate by the Holy Spirit of the virgin Mary, and was made man; and was crucified also for us under Pontius Pilate; He suffered and was buried; and the third day He rose again, according to the Scriptures; and ascended into heaven, and sits on the right hand of the Father; and He shall come again, with glory, to judge the quick and the dead; whose kingdom shall have no end.
And I believe in the Holy Ghost, the Lord and Giver of Life; who proceeds from the Father and the Son; who with the Father and the Son together is worshipped and glorified; who spoke by the prophets.
And I believe one holy catholic and apostolic Church. I acknowledge one baptism for the remission of sins; and I look for the resurrection of the dead, and the life of the world to come. Amen.[7]
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[1] Erwin W Lutzer, The DaVinci Deception (Carol Stream, IL: Tyndale House Publishers, 2004), p. 3
[2] Ibid p.9
[3]Soanes, C., & Stevenson, A. (2004). Concise Oxford English dictionary (11th ed.). Oxford: Oxford University Press.
[4] Ibid p.18
[5] Ibid p.19
[6] www.religioustolerance.org
[7]Historic Creeds and Confessions. 1997 (electronic ed.) (Article 12). Oak Harbor: Logos Research Systems, Inc.