DaVinci Code: The Truth Behind the Fiction - Part 12

DaVinci Code Part 12 - Constantine

From my last blog… “Next time we'll look at Constantine who is mentioned often as a major contributor to the overall conspiracy posited in the DaVinci Code.” So, what’s up with this guy Constantine anyway? Well, first of all he gets a bad rap in The DaVinci Code. He’s blamed for all sorts of treachery against our present-day church. He is accused by the characters in the book of creating the idea of Jesus’ divinity and collating the books of the Bible as they exist today – all for political rather than religious reasons. The novel also claims that Constantine was not a Christian.

In one quote the character Teabing says, “The Bible as we know it today was collated by the pagan Roman emperor Constantine the Great.” (DVC p. 231) Here the novel claims that Constantine was not a Christian and that he is responsible for collating our current form of the Bible.

Let’s look first at Constantine’s connection to Christianity. We know for certain that he was the first Roman emperor to freely allow Christianity throughout the land. He was converted to Christianity, according to sources of the time, after a vision of the Christian cross in the sky before his victory in the Battle of Milvian Bridge in 312. He gave credit to Jesus for his success on the battle field. One year later, in 313, he issued the Edict of Milan de-criminalizing the profession of Christianity. As Christianity grew in popularity because of this newfound freedom within Rome, Constantine saw a need to convene leaders of the Christian church to address certain doctrinal disagreements among different sects of Christianity, namely Arianism and Docetism.

The Arian argument centered on the issue of “whether there was a time when Christ was not.” In other words, the church leaders were given charge to determine whether Jesus was “of the same essence” as God or “of a different essence” from God. Was Jesus God in the flesh OR was he in all way equal to God the father but in one way – he was not eternal as God the Father is. THE CHURCH NEVER THOUGHT JESUS WAS A MORTAL MAN OR JUST A PROPHET. THEY ALWAYS SAW HIM AS DEITY. The only issue was whether or not he was eternal as the Father is! The idea that they debated his divinity is ludicrous and the minutes of the council prove this beyond any doubt. Brown goes on to say that a “very close” vote determined then that he was a god. Again, no one was voting on his deity – his deity was never in question. They were merely voting on the extent of His deity and the outcome of the vote was 300 to 2. That’s right – 300 to 2. Yes, that means that Brown blatantly misrepresented the historical facts which he shouldn’t be faulted for – it’s a fiction novel!

Lastly, the current form of our Bible was already in use 150 years before the Council of Nicea. Further, the Council didn’t discuss the canon at all! There was no discussion and therefore no determination of which books would be included in the Bible at the Council of Nicea. Again, this all comes from the vivid imagination of a fiction writer. This can also be verified by the reading of the minutes from the Nicea meetings.

If I had to guess, based on the amazing number of churches built under his reign, his mother’s trips to the Holy Land during her life, and other notable circumstances, it is likely that Constantine was a Christian. We can never know for sure just as we cannot know for certain if the person next to us in church is a believer, Constantine’s fruits bear witness to a man who was devoted to Christ.

Remember, this Sunday May 21st at 5:30PM and 7:30PM marks the kick off of the DaVinci Code: The Truth Behind the Fiction. The series will last for three weeks and is a perfect opportunity for you to invite and un-churched friend.

See you Sunday!

Until then…
Carpe Deum! (Seize God!)

Todd Phillips
www.toddphillips.net