Politically Imposed "Orthodox" Dogma vs. Monotheistic Biblical Faith

Politically Imposed "Orthodox" Dogma vs. Monotheistic Biblical Faith

Author: Evangelos Dim. Kepenes (July 22, 2020, 17:60)

Definition of Dogmatism

"Dogmatism is the name given to the authoritative formulation of various ideas without justification or proof. It refers to a lack of critical thinking and adherence to a theory that is not supported by evidence or is considered scientifically outdated. Essentially, dogmatism not only fails to promote dialogue but rejects it. It is the attachment and uncritical obsession with the principles and rigidity of a system, prioritizing the unconditional acceptance of certain codified and mechanically formed positions. It believes in the principle: 'You shall not convince me, even if you do convince me.' Authoritarianism, intolerance, and fanaticism are the primary characteristics associated with the dogmatic person." (Wikipedia)

The Dogma of Nicene Christianity

The unorthodox—in relation to the Bible—dogmatics of the Roman Catholic religion known as "Helleno-Christianity," which was institutionally imposed as "Orthodox" and served as a protective shield against ancient and modern Religious-Philosophical trends deviating from its own absolute "truth," was crystallized against biblical monotheistic faith.

By its own honest admission, it is grounded in Greek thought, which it preserved [1], imposing a new multi-personal Triadic God and a dual-natured redeemer (God-man) in the manner of polytheism. It demoted the "God Word" to a "God-creature" [2], thereby adopting part of Arian theology—which argued that the Son of God is a "creature" superior to humans—and part of the theology of the Spirit-fighting (Pneumatomachian) and Arian-minded Bishop Macedonius, who considered the holy Spirit a "creature." A characteristic view regarding the Church Father Gregory of Nyssa (the Cappadocian) is that "he, better than anyone else, was able to transplant the spiritual heritage of ancient Greece into the interior of the Christian world." (Werner Jaeger "Early Christianity and Greek Paideia")

The Faith of Monotheism

The faith of biblical monotheism is the existence of a timeless, eternal, invisible, non-physical but spiritual being, who is called God and is the Creator, Father, and Redeemer, of whom it is said: "For from him and through him and to him are all things" (Rom. 11:36). His only-begotten Son, the heavenly man Jesus, His heavenly Temple (John 2:20), was His image, His visible manifestation—"whoever has seen me has seen the Father"—the radiance of His glory, the exact representation of His being (Heb. 1:3), the Life and the Resurrection, the Father of regeneration—that is, of the new spiritual creation (1 Cor. 15:45, 1 Pet. 1:23), "who is over all, God blessed forever, amen" (Rom. 9:5). The "I Am" (ego eimi) invoked by Jesus, the visible manifestation of the invisible God (Ex. 3:14, John 8:58), forbids any notion of an impersonal or multi-personal God. Proofs of this Monotheism have always been physical creation and, later, the Hebrew Bible: "Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one" (Deut. 6:4).

The Faith of Polytheism

The faith of mythological polytheism, in almost all its manifestations, is matriarchal, featuring primarily female deities. In contrast to monotheism, it equates the divine with nature and subjects it to it, since the natural "stands above all other elements as the most comprehensive of all beings, including both earthly-human and heavenly-divine elements" [3].

In the theogony and cosmology of polytheism, Gaia, symbolizing the material side of the world, is considered the beginning of life, the Great Mother, the Mother of All. She pre-existed alongside Chaos and Phanes, the personification of Creator Eros, who harmoniously connects the elements of nature (the primordial triad "Chaos - Gaia - Phanes"). Gaia, as the mother of gods, gives birth without male assistance to Uranus, who according to ancient Greek mythology was the personification of the Celestial dome and the ruler of the first generation on Earth [4].

In a second phase, Gaia is fertilized by her son Uranus and gives birth to the Titans and Titanesses. The children of the Titans became known as the Olympian gods. Subsequently, the coupling, union, and exchange of reproductive products between heavenly divine beings and earthly beings prevails, leading to the birth of demigods—gods with two natures: one divine and immortal, and one human and mortal (see the dogma of the two natures of Christ). In these traditions, after these god-men died, they were resurrected with the help of other gods. Through participation in divine mysteries, which culminated in orgiastic ceremonies, the participants were redeemed.

Professor Marios P. Begzos states: "In polytheistic traditions, the female element prevails—the mother-goddess, the 'Great Mother' (Magna Mater), which becomes synonymous with the 'Womb' (Matrix) and the first 'matter' (materia), which gives life to the universe by birthing and rebirthing everything (matter - matrix - materia). The circle and the sphere, as a depiction of the womb and the bosom (of the female body), symbolize perfection and dominate polytheism. Eternal recurrence and perpetual recycling give meaning to human life. Nature is the deity and the soul corresponds to nature [...] just as the one and only humanity consists of many and varied people, completely different in terms of gender (male and female), race, individual, etc., exactly so the one and only deity is composed of many and varied deities, with a plurality of gender (gods and goddesses) and specific attributes (deities according to the elements of nature and the arts or skills of man), which in some cases are numbered—for example, the ancient Greek pantheon traces back to the twelve gods of Olympus, etc." [5]

In general, in polytheistic religions, multi-personal, composite deities prevail—whether male or female—with a triadic ontological hierarchical order. This was the system developed by the "Christian" apologists, philosophers, writers, and pioneers of the unorthodox dogmatics of the new Roman religion [6].

Examples of "Orthodoxy's" Embrace of Polytheism and the Ancient Religion, and its Institutional Imposition

a) The mystery of the "Triadic Christian God," incomprehensible to humans, is a heritage of the "sacred Trinity of Pythagoras." The Pythagoreans believed that everything is defined by the sacred number three (3) and taught the mystical "Dissolution of the Monad into a triad or triads," thus introducing the theory of triadic Monads. Consequently, "Orthodoxy" self-identifies as a mystical, multi-personal, polytheistic religion with a multitude of symbols, types, carnal ordinances, pagan ceremonies, cults, and deterrents (anathemas, eternal torment of the immortal soul, Antichrist, end of the world). This obscures its derivatives, which are the various Protestant Denominations that accept its authoritarian mystical "dogma."

b) The Nicene "Creed" is a heritage/loan from the heresy of "Gnosticism," a blend of Platonism, Zoroastrianism, Jewish Mysticism, Hermeticism, and other ancient beliefs. According to this, the heavenly man Jesus (1 Cor. 15:47)—whose birth was as described ("now the birth of Jesus Christ was as follows...") at the appointed time "under the law, to redeem those under the law," and whose flesh was "heavenly," a likeness of sinful flesh (John 6:47-51, Rom. 8:3)—is not the Son of God, meaning the offspring of the Father who is the eternal Spirit ("for that which is conceived in her is of the holy Spirit"). Instead, he is the incarnation of a pre-existing "other God the Son" [7] who descended from the heavens, through the holy Spirit and the earthly Mary. The First Person of the mystical Nicene sacred trinity, the Father, is absent from the process of the birth and incarnation of the Second Person of the trinity.

Thus, with the help of the holy Spirit (the Third Person of the Nicene triadic god) and the earthly Mary, the "other god the Son" took a material body born of Nature—the "earthly mother-of-god Mary"—and was "incarnated" [8]. The uncreated became created, copying the Gnostic Valentinus, who taught that a part of the fullness (Pleroma) of God, the "Aeon Jesus," was incarnated. In a variation, Patriarch Nestorius taught that it was impossible for Mary to give birth to "an uncreated being such as the Word was (and thus be called Theotokos), but only a man, an instrument of the deity (and should be called Christotokos)," he too adopting the mythology of the two natures of the god-men of mythology.

c) The two natures of Jesus. Inevitably, the Gnostic-leaning view of the incarnation of the pre-existing Second god the Son into the earthly man Jesus (offspring of the earthly Mary, "Gaia the mother-of-god") led to the not-so-novel idea of the two natures of Jesus. This is a spiritual heritage of Mythology, which is naively embraced by both charismatic and non-charismatic Protestant movements.

In mystical Hermeticism ("a metaphysical system and a body of systematized magical, astrological, and alchemical practices"), we already encounter the idea of the two natures of the archetypal man who fell into the physical world. The "Orthodox faith" of the incarnation and the dual nature of Jesus is a reproduction of the ancient religion regarding the coupling of Uranus and Gaia and the birth of demigods.

d) The theological and eschatological theory of the World and of time (the end of history) awaits a "rematch" of the struggle between Christ and the Devil. It introduces the following chronological inconsistency: it regards the Church as an eschatological sign and the period from the Resurrection of Christ until His indefinitely expected Second Coming [which was imminent ("I am coming quickly") and was fulfilled in the generation of the Apostles][9] as a period of "last days" that could last for thousands of years.

This theological view is contrary to the biblical eschatology of the early Church, which awaited and experienced the end of the age of the Law and the last days of the kingdom of fleshly Israel [10], as well as the burning of the earthly Temple—which was the type of the true heavenly one ("Christ is the end of the Law").

The late professor Savvas Agouridis states: "With the development of pneumatology in the Old and New Testaments over the last thirty years, we have understood some things we did not suspect before. The only thing we can say with some certainty is that Jesus' preaching about the kingdom of God—a new interpretation by Jesus of the Hebrew olam haze ('this age') and olam haba ('the coming age')—provides the basis, especially after Jesus' death, for the further development of the eschatological teaching of Hebrew prophecy regarding the Spirit: the present age (note: in real reading time, this was the age of the Law) is related to the spirit of the evil one, while the new age that came through faith in the resurrection of Jesus and the formation of the church is certainly connected with the Holy Spirit." [11]

This theological eschatological view regarding the "end of time" is a heritage of the theory of dualistic Zoroastrianism, which awaited a universal war between good and evil and the judgment and classification of people into a place of eternal punishment or bliss. It is also a variation of the doctrine of "Palingenesis" (Regeneration) through "conflagration" (ekpyrosis) held by the Stoics and Heraclitus. The theological belief in the "End of the history of the World" nullifies the "Eternity of the Gospel of Salvation" (Rev. 14:6) and the perpetual (unto infinity) atoning work of the High Priest Jesus (Heb. 7:1, 10:1, 12, 14).

e) "Orthodox" dogmatics adopted the Platonic dualistic anthropology, which divides man into two elements: the sensible mortal body (the tomb or prison of the soul) and the intelligent immortal soul (pre-existing according to the Chaldeans, Plato, Philo, the Gnostics, etc.). It states:

"Our God, the creator and benefactor of all creation, who fashioned man from a sensible and earthly body and an intelligent and immortal soul..." [12]

This idea shaped among Stoic and Cynic philosophers the theory that "it is characteristic of the wise man to be indifferent toward life; death, being a mere separation, is the means toward the salvation of the soul's independence" [13]. This ideology led many of their contemporaries, who were under the pressure of Roman despotism, to suicide and influenced subsequent philosophical trends.

The Platonic idea of the ontological immortality of the soul stands in opposition to the biblical narrative, where "living soul" does not refer to an immortal part of human existence, but to the earthly (choic) man as a single, living entity.

"For indeed, from the beginning Adam, having been fashioned from the earth on the sixth day and having received the breath, was brought to life." [14] (Epiphanius, Panarion ch. 4)

In time, the quickened, biological earthly man was subjugated by the enemy of man, death—"death reigned" (Gen. 2:7, Rom. 5:14-17). Thus, he was cut off from the right to eat from the tree of life and live eternally (Gen. 3:22).

In biblical anthropology, the biological death of the "seeded" earthly man is a given. Through his seeds, the perpetuation of the human species is achieved, a process that also applies to other seeded species. The phrase "the wages of sin is death" does not refer to biological death but to being cut off from immortality. Death in the Bible is therefore an enemy and not a friend of man—"the last enemy to be destroyed is death" (1 Cor. 15:26)—because it deprives him of eternity.

Furthermore, the heavenly man Jesus was not biological, from the earth, but heavenly. Nor did he taste biological death to grant us biological eternity; rather, being "the life and the Resurrection," he tasted the death of His life voluntarily to defeat the "enemy," death, and grant us immortality.

"For this reason the Father loves me, because I lay down my life that I may take it up again. No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord. I have authority to lay it down, and I have authority to take it up again. This charge I have received from my Father." (John 10:17-18)

Conversely, in Platonic anthropology, where the immortality of the soul is a given, biological death is a friend to man because it releases the immortal soul from the prison of the earthly body. Once purified through the cycle of reincarnations, it returns to its heavenly state.

Characteristic is a funerary epigram of the Hierophant [15] which states: "A truly beautiful secret teaching (was transmitted to us) by the Gods. That death is not only not harmful to men, but on the contrary, is a beneficial thing" [16].

Platonism influenced other ancient philosophical syncretic systems as well as Gnosticism, according to which man participates in two principles: a "Good" principle and a "Bad" principle. If he escapes the body—which participates in the "Bad" principle—he is saved. The influence of Gnosticism on the ranks of the forming "Orthodoxy" during the first centuries was so strong that it made it difficult to distinguish between "Nicene Christianity" and "Christian Gnosticism."

Regarding the phenomenon of Gnosticism, the patrologist Stylianos Papadopoulos notes:

"This great phenomenon was born in the climate of syncretism. The Near East, as well as the Greco-Roman space, constituted a vast crucible in the first Christian century, within which four great civilizations embraced: the Greek, the Egyptian, the Babylonian-Persian (and even the Indian), and the Judaic. These spiritual magnitudes expressed not only philosophical and cosmological perceptions but also metaphysical experiences, deep religious experiences, and beliefs. In this multifaceted meeting, the East offers primarily its religious passion and Greece its philosophical reason. The East offers the boundless and formless nostalgia for the divine, and Greece the formative power of philosophy. More precise definitions are very difficult. What matters is that from this meeting, Gnosticism was created."

The Formative Power of Philosophy and Theology

The term "Theology" or "Theological view/theory" does not define "Truth," but rather the result of the convergence between Myth and divine revelation.

"The term was originally used in the works of Plato and other Greek philosophers in reference to the teaching of myth. There were many forms and views of theology in the pre-Christian world, from Orphic theology to the Eleatic school, Democritus, the Sophists, and Aristotle. However, theology always evolved in parallel with and within philosophy in the ancient Greek world, rather than systematically.

In Christianity and other monotheistic religions, theology consists of the use of the philosophical method in order for the content of divine revelation to be formulated in terms acceptable to the human intellect. The specific difference between theology and philosophy is that in theology, the use of the philosophical method aims beforehand at achieving a convergence of theoretical truth with divine revelation, whereas in philosophy, no revelation is binding for the outcome of theoretical inquiry." (Theology - Wikipedia)

The Imposition of Anti-Biblical Orthodox Dogmatics

The "Orthodox dogmatics," deviating from biblical faith, triumphed through the Roman sword, violating the benevolent character of God—"God is love"—and the free will of man: "And he said to him, 'Why do you ask me about what is good? There is only one who is good. If you would enter life, keep the commandments'" (1 John 4:16, Matt. 19:17).

Indicative Roman Edicts

A) Emperors Gratian, Valentinian, and Theodosius Augusti. Edict to the People of Constantinople.

"It is our desire that all the various nations which are subject to our clemency and moderation should continue to profess that religion which was delivered to the Romans by the divine Apostle Peter, as it has been preserved by divine tradition, and which is now professed by the Pontiff Damasus and by Peter, Bishop of Alexandria, a man of apostolic holiness.

According to the apostolic teaching and the doctrine of the Gospel, let us believe in the one deity of the Father, the Son, and the holy Spirit, in equal majesty and in a holy trinity. We authorize the followers of this law to assume the title of Catholic Christians; but as for the others, since, in our judgment they are foolish madmen, we decree that they shall be branded with the ignominious name of heretics, and shall not presume to give to their conventicles the name of churches. They will suffer in the first place the chastisement of the divine condemnation and in the second the punishment of our authority which, in accordance with the will of Heaven, we shall decide to inflict."

Issued in Thessalonica on the third day from the calends of March, during the fifth consulship of Gratian Augustus and the first of Theodosius Augustus. (Codex Theodosianus, xvi.1.2)

B) (Codex Justinianus 1.11.10)

"We enact a law according to which all young children must receive saving baptism immediately and without any delay, so that, like their elders, they may attend church and be instructed in the divine scriptures and the divine canons (meaning the divine imperial ratifications of ecumenical decisions). In this way, they will be able to safeguard the true faith of Orthodox Christians and will not return again to the old error.

As for those who hold some military or other office and possess great property, and who, to maintain appearances, have been baptized themselves or are about to be baptized, but leave their wives and children or other members of their household in the Greek error, we command that their property be confiscated, that they be deprived of all their civil rights, and that they be punished as they deserve, since it is evident that they received holy baptism without having faith. The same shall apply to the miserable Greeks and the Manichaeans, of whom the Borborites are a part.

We announce to all those who have become Christians and have already been granted holy and saving baptism, that whenever they are found persisting in the error of the Greeks, they shall be condemned to the ultimate penalty. Those, however, who have not yet been granted venerable baptism, must appear voluntarily in the Imperial City or in their provincial cities and go to the most holy churches with their wives, their children, and all other members of their household to be instructed in the true faith of Christians. Thus, after being instructed and having cast off once and for all the error that possessed them, they must receive saving baptism; otherwise, they shall have absolutely no civil rights, nor shall they be permitted to be owners of movable or immovable property.

Everything will be taken from them, and their families will be left in destitution; furthermore, they themselves will be subjected to various punishments. We forbid any teaching by those suffering from the disease of the unholy Greeks, so that they may not corrupt the souls of their students with alleged truths. The properties of these people shall be confiscated, and they themselves shall be punished with exile. If anyone in our territory hides but is caught sacrificing or committing the offense of idolatry, they shall be punished with the ultimate penalty, with which, moreover, the Manichaeans and Borborites are justly punished, for we judge all these to be equally criminal."

Conclusion

The numerical size of established Nicene Christianity is the result of violent proselytism and intimidation through the political imposition of syncretic "Patristic thought." The rejection or acceptance of the gift of Eternal Life through faith and obedience to the Son of God, the heavenly man Jesus, depends entirely on the unforced will of man. It is not achieved through political or religious means of imposition and intimidation, nor through philosophical-theological dogmas.

"But these are written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name." (John 20:31)

Notes

[1] "The Greek Fathers, in particular, are the great contributors to the preservation of the classical Greek spirit and, to an extent, the continuators of this classical treasure. The Greek Fathers are also the spiritual pillars of the over-millennial life of Byzantium." (Patrology, Stylianos G. Papadopoulos, Vol. A, p. 69)

[2] "'The Word became flesh' also means this: the Word became a creature, a God-creature; 'He who is becomes, the uncreated is created, the uncontainable is contained.'" (St. Gregory the Theologian, Oration 45, 9. PG 36, 633-6) Source

[3] Marios P. Begzos, Israelitika, p. 83.

[4] "Apollodorus (1,1,1): Uranus was the first to rule over the whole world."

[5] Marios P. Begzos, Israelitika, pp. 81-82.

[6] "We are not atheists, then, since we worship the Creator of this universe... needing neither blood, nor libations, nor incense, as we have been taught [...] Jesus Christ, who was crucified under Pontius Pilate [...] we hold in the second place, and the prophetic Spirit in the third rank; we shall prove that we honor them with reason." (Justin Martyr, First Apology 13:1-3)

[7] "...that the Word is and is called God and Lord, another [God], under the Maker of all things." (Justin Martyr, Dialogue with Trypho 56, 4)

[8] "And the first power after the Father of all and Lord God, and [His] Son, is the Word, who, in what manner He was made flesh and became man." (Justin Martyr, First Apology 32, 10)

"Who for us men and for our salvation came down from heaven and was incarnate by the holy Spirit and the Virgin Mary and became man." (The Nicene-Constantinopolitan Creed)

[9] See: https://www.thefulfillmentofpromise.com/home/comprehend-the-apostle-and-high-priest-of-our-confession-jesus

[10] Deut. 32:20: "And he said, I will hide my face from them (fleshly Israel), and I will show what shall happen to them in the last days: for it is a perverse generation, sons in whom is no faith." Gen. 49:1: "And Jacob called his sons and said, Gather yourselves together, that I may tell you what shall befall you in the last days."

[11] Savvas Agouridis: Fiery Torrent. Prophecy, Ecstasy, Glossolalia. Stages of their course in the Israelite and Christian religion, pp. 45-46, Artos Zoes Publishing.

[12] DMITRIEVSKIJ, Opisanie 2, 547.

[13] Great Greek Encyclopedia, Vol. VI, p. 274.

[14] Epiphanius, Panarion, Ch. 4.

[15] The Hierophant was a supreme religious official in ancient Greece; in the worship of the Eleusinian Mysteries, he was the priestly leader who always belonged to the Eumolpidae clan.

[16] greekhistoryandprehistory.blogspot.com

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