Striking at Error

The assault on Christmas is widespread. Christians need to accept the fundamental fact that until the end of time there will always be those who oppose the message of the Lord Jesus Christ. If we are surprised by such attacks, we are missing the point. Many of the people who should have embraced Jesus while He lived on earth rejected Him. “He came unto His own creation and His own received Him not.” It’s not a difficult logical, or philosophical, or religious matter to understand that there are those who embrace Jesus and those who reject Him.

In the early 4th century, the priest Arius (why are the most dangerous heresies started or maintained by priests?) denied the divinity of Jesus. Arius’ position was that Jesus was a great creature, a noble creature, the best of creatures, but still, a creature, a “post-God” fashioning by the eternal God. His ideas spread like wildfire. Across the Eastern Church, his theology took off and dragged a multitude of believing Christians into his error. Whole sections of the Church became Arian, with persecutions abounding depending on which group was in charge in any given area.

At the Council of Nicaea, called by Emperor Constantine, the matter was debated and eventually “solved” by the issuance of the Nicaean Creed, proclaiming Jesus to be “God from God, Light from Light, True God from True God, Begotten, not made; consubstantial to the Father.” No ambiguity there. My favorite story from that council has to do with Saint Nicholas of Myra, in modern day Turkey. He is credited with maintaining the full Christian faith in the divinity of Christ in his diocese. Known eventually as Santa Claus, St. Nicholas was a model Bishop, in true teaching and in pastoral charity. While at the council, as Arius was expostulating on his heresy, Bishop Nicholas could take it no longer, hearing his Lord defamed. He rose from his seat, crossed the council floor, and slapped Arius across the face. “Ho-ho-ho! Arius, you’ve been a naughty boy!” Whack!

While Nicholas was subsequently imprisoned for his action, and stripped of his episcopal insignia, it was a slap heard round the world. Arius was condemned, and his teaching rejected. Saint Nicholas, by the way, saw a vision of the Blessed Mother with the Child Jesus while in his cell. They returned to him his insignia because of his love for them.

Unfortunately, Arius’ heresy had taken root in the minds of many and can be credited with being one of the contributing factors to the rise and growth of Islam. Where the divinity of Jesus is left in doubt, any upstart can start claiming a more “direct” line to God.

I would hope that the Spirit that enlivened Saint Nicholas to keep the faith, and to strike out at error, will be within all who believe in Jesus Christ. Why be timid when such a great matter as the central doctrine of the faith is under attack? While violence may not be the best approach, a determined defense and a devoted offense must be part of the game.