HKB
because the majority of the members of this council said so*. Hereafter--so it was decreed--*all must believe it; if not, they must not oppose it, but forever hold their peace.
The Emperor Theodosius declared his resolution of expelling from all the churches of his dominions, the bishops and their clergy who should obstinately refuse to believe, or at least to profess, the doctrine of the Council of Nice. His lieutenant, Sapor, was armed with the ample powers of a general law, a special commission, and a military force; and this ecclesiastical resolution was conducted with so much discretion and vigor, that the religion of the Emperor was established.[382:2]
Here we have the historical fact, that bishops of the Christian church, and their clergy, were forced to profess their belief in the doctrine of the Trinity.
We also find that:
"This orthodox Emperor (Theodosius) considered every heretic (as he called those who did not believe as he and his ecclesiastics professed) as a rebel against the supreme powers of heaven and of earth (he being one of the supreme powers of earth) and each of the powers might exercise their peculiar jurisdiction over the soul and body of the guilty.
"The decrees of the Council of Constantinople had ascertained the true standard of the faith, and the ecclesiastics, who governed the conscience of Theodosius, suggested the most effectual methods of persecution. In the space of fifteen years he promulgated at least fifteen severe edicts against the heretics, more especially against those who rejected the doctrine of the Trinity."[382:3]
Thus we see one of the many reasons why the "most holy Christian religion" spread so rapidly.
Arius--who declared that in the nature of things a father must be older than his son--was excommunicated for his so-called heretical notions concerning the Trinity. His followers, who were very numerous, were called Arians. Their writings, if they had been permitted to exist,[383:1] would undoubtedly contain the lamentable story of the persecution which affected the church under the reign of the impious Emperor Theodosius.
FOOTNOTES:
[368:1] The celebrated passage (I. John, v. 7) "For there are three that bear record in heaven, the Father, the Word, and the Holy Ghost, and these three are one," is now admitted on all hands to be an interpolation into the epistle many centuries after the time of Christ Jesus. (See Giles' Hebrew and Christian Records, vol. ii. p. 12. Gibbon's Rome, vol. iii. p. 556. Inman's Ancient Faiths, vol. ii. p. 886. Taylor's Diegesis and Reber's Christ of Paul.)
[368:2] That is, the true faith.
[368:3] Dogma Deity Jesus Christ, p. 95.
[369:1] "The notion of a Triad of Supreme Powers is indeed common to most ancient religions." (Prichard's Egyptian Mytho., p. 285.)
"Nearly all the Pagan nations of antiquity, in their various theological systems, acknowledged a trinity in the divine nature." (Maurice: Indian Antiquities, vol. vi. p. 35.)
"The ancients imagined that their triad of gods or persons, only constituted one god." (Celtic Druids, p. 197.)
[369:2] The three attributes called Brahma, Vishnu and Siva, are indicated by letters corresponding to our A. U. M., generally pronounced OM. This mystic word is never uttered except in prayer, and the sign which represents it in their temples is an object of profound adoration.
[369:3] Monier Williams' Indian Wisdom, p. 324.
[369:4] That is, the Lord and Saviour Crishna. The Supreme Spirit, in order to preserve the world, produced Vishnu. Vishnu came upon earth for this purpose, in the form of Crishna. He was believed to be an incarnation of the Supreme Being, one of the persons of their holy and mysterious trinity, to use their language, "The Lord and Savior--three persons and one god." In the Geita, Crishna is made to say: "I am the Lord of all created beings." "I am the mystic figure O. M." "I am Brahma Vishnu, and Siva, three gods in one."
[369:5] See The Heathen Religion, p. 124.
[370:1] Allen's India, pp. 382, 383.