Conformity (The End of the Empire 6)

There is one body and one Spirit, just as you also were called in one hope of your calling; one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all who is over all and through all and in all.  Ephesians 4:4-6  NASB

One faith – Theological orthodoxy contributed to the collapse of Roman civilization.  In this respect, the Church brought about the end.  This might seem contradictory, especially since we are often told that the Roman Empire was a pagan culture rescued by the Christian Church.  But Richard Lim makes an important observation.  With the rise of religious controversy:

“The ensuing crystallization of a Christian Adversus Manichaeos literature rigidified group boundaries, fixed normative orthodox and heretical identities, and consequently precluded spontaneous disputation between ordinary orthodox Christian and Manichaean challengers.”[1]

Daniel Boyarin makes a similar point when he suggests that the invention of heresy as false  belief rather than difference of opinion was the result of both Jewish and Christian authorities seeking to secure borderlines between orthodox and unorthodox believers.  In other words, to consolidate their power and their authority over the population, these men created codified belief structures which precluded further examination and discussion.  Those who did not agree were ipso facto heretics and subsequently removed from the group.  What was the free flow of ideas in the Roman Empire became the demand for conformity on pain of death.  Rational discourse was replaced by dogma.

Consequently, it’s not surprising to find that Christian orthodoxy has continued in this vein for the last eighteen hundred years, defining relevant terms according to rigid orthodox perspective.  For example, David L. Allen in the Southwestern Journal of Theology writes this concerning “faith”:

First, what is “the faith” to which Jude refers? Faith is a reference to the body of basic Christian doctrine and Christian truth. This body of basic Christian doctrine is that for which we are earnestly to contend. No­tice that it is, “the faith which was once for all delivered to the saints.” The substance of apostolic faith, this body of doctrine, is complete (Greek adverb απαζ, “once for all delivered”) and must govern the meaning of the terms in which doctrine is defined and discussed. This is similar to what John said in Revelation 22:19, wherein he instructed the reader not to add to or take away from the Word.

Christians are to take the basic doctrines-“the faith”-and live by them, extracting from them further implications and principles for Christian living. They are not to be denied nor distorted. Paul used similar terminology in 2 Timothy 4:7, wherein he stated that he had remained faithful to this deposit of truth, this doctrinal core, to which all believers should adhere.

Second, doctrine must be translated into contemporary Christian experience. God himself must be known, not merely the speculations of others about God. For one to be keen in understanding God’s Word and defending it, one must know God. This occurs through a personal relationship with God in Christ. It does not occur in ivory-tower scholarship where Greek, Hebrew, theology, historical theology, or systematic theology are practiced devoid of a relationship with God.

Third, the faith of the church is one even though disagreements in theology exist. Consider Ephesians 4:4-6, “There is one body, and one Spirit, even as you were called in one hope of your calling; one Lord, one faith, one baptism; one God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all.” Though theologies are in conflict, the faith of the Lord is one.[2]

You will notice that Allen treats Paul’s statement as if it were given within a Christian orthodox context.  It never crosses his mind that Paul isn’t Christian, that the faith Paul speaks about is Jewish, that Paul’s audience is made up of JewishMessianic believers, or that Paul retains absolute monotheism without a hint of Trinitarian theology.  All of this “Jewishness” can be disregarded, in fact, suppressed as heresy, because Christian orthodoxy has determined the boundaries of truth by theological fiat.  Dialogue is done.  Dogma wins.

But dogma requires enforcement and enforcement requires authority—and the Church was quick to step into the role of enforcer when the Roman culture quaked.  For the next fifteen hundred years, the demand for theological conformity brought rational investigation to a close.

Topical Index: conformity, orthodoxy, faith, Ephesians 4:4-6

[1] Richard Lim, Public Disputation, Power, and Social Order in Late Antiquity (University of California Press, 1995), p. xi.

[2] https://preachingsource.com/journal/contending-for-the-faith-jude-3-4/