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June 14, 2006
Dan Brown's facts?
Last Sunday was Trinity Sunday, always a difficult day to be a preacher. Basically you find yourself facing two choices - preach on the Trinity and get it even more confused, or avoid the subject and preach on some obscure saint! We at the Abbey were fortunate enough to hear two superb sermons on the subject, one at least actually managed to include Dan Brown and his so-called "facts" on which his book is based. Much has been said about how his "facts" prove that Christianity is a fabrication based on a "lie" about the divinity of Jesus - according to Brown imposed by Constantine by a narrow vote in the Council of Nicea. Much is also made of the absence of the "Trinitarian Concept" in the Bible, yet that too is misleading.
The fact is that Constantine was opposed to the idea of the Divinity of Christ. In fact his henchmen actually engaged in attempts to suppress the idea by murdering or imprisoning those who preached it. Hardly the actions of a group enforcing their overlord's wishes to the contrary! And the "narrowly won" decision in the Council of Nicea was 316 for the doctrine of Christ's divinity and 2 against. I suppose that is a "narrow" victory - very nearly "narrowly" unanimous! As you examine Brown's "facts" more closely you do find that he has been selective or inventive in the manner of his presentation of them. Yes there were those who argued that Christ didn't die on the cross - they were part of a group which later came to develop Arians' doctrines which essentially underpin the Muslim understanding of God and His relationship with Christ and mankind. Arianism as it was called denied Christ's Godhead and denied the saving grace of the cross, instead arguing for a personal redemption by good works, prayer and spiritual purification through rituals and secret knowledge. Several such cults arose, mostly Gnostic in their interpretation of scripture and theology, and all considered seriously in error by the mainstream of Christianity.
If you really want to see what was going on - and what Dan Brown and the rest of his anti-Christian following don't want you to know - read up on Saint Athanasius. The man's life story makes Dan Brown's thriller look like a Sunday School outing.
And the charge that the Trinity is not biblical? Nonsense, the concept begins to arise in the Old Testament Prophets, is developed by Christ Himself and further examined and explored by Paul and the Apostles. In fact almost all of the scriptural references to the manner of God's interaction with mankind is trinitarian - Creator, Redemptor and Guide. This is the theme that runs right through the Old and New Testaments. Of course it isn't called Trinity or Trinitarian, those are purely and simply theological terms to explain how God can act "Outside of Time", "In time" and "through time". And my thanks to the Lord Abbot for explaining it to me!
Dan Brown may be a good read, but his facts are fiction - and the real facts make far better reading. As the Lord Abbot said - Don't be misled by the fiction; look to the facts and be led by them, after all, the facts are far more interesting than any fiction can ever be!
Posted by The Gray Monk at June 14, 2006 12:24 PM
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