There’s the HOLY trinity (Father, Son, & Holy Spirit) and then there’s the UNHOLY trintiy. On this first ever Friday Night Service as we at LRC move further and further away from man-made traditions, I’d like to do a brief review of how we “got here“.
First comes Constantine (272-337)who told the church when to meet- Sunday. The comes St. Augustine of Hippo (354-430) who totally perverted the Word of God and caused us to believe in a God who planned to burn 95% of His creation in agony and torment for eternity. Talk about sadistic! Finally, we have Justinian 1 (483-565). Ready to find out some tough stuff?
Christianity was the first ever “temple-less” religion and it was turning the world upside down. So, if you can’t fight ‘em, infiltate ‘em. Constantine did exactly that. The sun-worshipper (Constantine) had an epiphany at Milvian Bridge and decided that he needed to enlist the help of the God of the Christians. He made Christianity the State Religion and it’s been downhill ever since!
Among other things he decreed that the church would worship on Sunday. The Jews didn’t buy it! 
He brought the priests into the temple, thr good life and conned them into buying into his sytem. Without even knowing it, Chritian leaders became increasingly dependent upon Rome and whoever the emperor was to grant them authenticity and legitimacy. Did I mention dependence as well? 
By the time St. Augustine came along 75-100 years after Chritianity had become “State sponsored” puppets, he was ready to CONTROL any an all reprobate Christians, which means any who did not agree with him. Thanks to St. Augustine we have people being killed when they disagreed with what the new clergy believed.
Oh yes, and it was St. Augustine who gave us the everlasting, eternal, and firey tormenting vision of Hell! Until he came along people believed in ultimate reconciliation- divine judgment without all the sadistic stuff- you know demons, a head deveil dressed in a kinky get-up, poking screaming Muslims with a pitch-fork. Yeah, sure!
Thanks a lot St. Augustine. We’re still trying to get over you!
Whatever had not been undone for the Christian community, Flavius Anicius Julianus Justinianus finished up! You see much of what many Christians believe today isn’t the product of spirit-filled men seeking God (some is), but emperors like Justinian who told us WHAT we would BELIEVE! You’d be shocked if you really knew the TRUTH!
But then if we really did know the truth, we’d be FREE (John 8:32)- and we’re not!
Justinian, needing to be in control of the emprie, like St. Augustine who needed to be in control of the Christians (that spirit is still alive and flourishing today!), put the hammer down. Origen who was one of the founding fathers of our religion, saw God as LOVE and he felt that one day God would redeem us all. Silly boy!
One of the best ways to control people is to “threaten them with hell” (that has done a lot of good hasn’t it- NOT!). It’s also one of the worst ways, depending upon what you’re trying to accomplish. I don’t have space to go into all the things that Justinian told Pope Vigilius that he should do and believe, but though the Pope initially was against Justinian’s ideas, he later gave in- After all, the State rules!
Historian Williston Walker put it this way, “Justinian succeeded more fully than any other emperor in making himself master of the church.” There’s so much that the church does and beleives today that has nothing to do with God because we’ve been duped into thinking we’re following the Holy Trinity when in fact, we’re bound to the traditions of an Unholy Trinity: Constantine, Augustine, and Justinian!
Wanna change that?
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