Deviation from the Orthodox

Abstract

Some events that occurred after the Christian movement became the state religion of the Roman Empire can be regarded as one sort of historical revisionism. Theodosius had sanctioned the state persecution of all those who did not uphold the Nicene version of Christianity. This resulted in the loss of many works by those who were deemed unorthodox Christians. For many, the Christian movement bifurcated, then permutated only after the Protestant Reformation. Had it not been for the discovery of some of these so-called unorthodox texts in the twentieth century, we would not have known that alternate views existed even in the distant past. This paper does not argue about Christian doctrines but rather focuses on the deliberate attempt to obliviate some early believers because they had a different interpretation of Christ and his teachings. Perhaps this is comparable to how powerful leaders today use mainstream media to promote their version of the truth and create a diversion from ground reality. Another issue is whether such censorship is justifiable. Had it not been for the unifying endeavours of the early church leaders, there might not have been a Christian community as we know of now. In the same way, if a leader of state does not present a grander-than-life narrative, perhaps there would be more chaos than order. When we weigh in such factors, do they make the effacement of some parts of reality necessary? After all, we are not talking about personal or even social morality, but institutional morality, if there is such a thing. Perhaps promoting a version of truth over another is not condemnable in the larger scheme of things but we need to admit our complicity when this happens.