Where did the Bible come from? You might have heard the convenient answer "from God", but the practical truth is that a man named Constantine - supreme ruler of the Roman Empire around 307 A.D. - led a group of about 100 scholars, politicians and military leaders to destroy most books about Jesus and keep a small number of 74 books that supported the government and still gave the Christians a solid Bible that could be used to give hope to the masses. In this way Constantine cemented his authority as a "friend of God" and yet was able to burn hundreds, possibly thousands, of books about religion and even Jesus Christ that were a threat to the government of that time. Constantine created a clever and powerful justification for power that has been called "divine right rule", a claim that has since been used by earth rulers for thousands of years, and which is still used by many leaders on earth today as justification for their actions and authority over the masses.
To be fair, churches today seldom or never mention the true origins of the Bible. It is much better sounding to say "the Bible is from God" and just leave it at that. No need to get the truth involved that a Roman Emperor compiled the 74 books and started the Catholic church (called the Byzantine church in its early beginnings).
Emperor Constantine, also called Constantine the Great, ruled the most powerful empire on the Earth from 307 to 336, and is most well known because during that time, Constantine distinguished himself by creating the organized Christian church and the Bible, with the help of about 100 theologians, scholars and politicians.
The average Christian these days goes to church and assumes the "Holy Bible" was dropped out of heaven by Angels, perhaps delivered by hand to the various headquarters of the official Christian denominations, usually located in the United States of America, or in Rome, Italy for Catholics.
After starting the church and putting together the Bible, Emperor Constantine allowed slavery to continue in his empire, he executed his own son and conducted many wars to defend and extend the Roman Empire. Anyone who is familiar with the teachings of Jesus to be able to teach a "new life" and "reborn spirit" will understand why Constantine's born-again life seem inconsistent with his new Christian faith. In fact, Emperor Constantine claimed for his entire life to be the incarnation of the God Apollo and the hand of the pagan Gods to rule the earth. His creation of the Bible and the Christian church did not deter Constantine from worshiping at pagan alters and building pagan monuments to pagan Gods. So it also seems inconsistent that the 74 books of the Bible that Constantine had compiled are still used today by the dogmatic and often war-hawkish modern Evangelical Christians, who never mention Constantine in their sermons.
Emperor Constantine had the same problem that leaders and rulers, Kings and Emperors had at that time, that the masses of people would question their "right to rule". Even in the modern times we see governments claiming to have the right to control everyone and make laws, but what gives them this right? In Constantine's day, the two claims to power came from:
1) Military families and military success gives us the natural right to rule - this means that the family of Constantine and other rulers were generals and great in battle to defend the empire (or country)
2) We are just better than you and should rule - this was a common attitude of the "elite" in the Roman Empire, and it did not always convince the masses. The logical question "why are you better than us?" would often be heard.
So Emperor Constantine got together with 100 people who were powerful either in politics (the Roman political system) or who were theologians and scholars, and together they assisted Constantine to create a religion that would help control the people and also could give the people some hope.
Today, churches around the world do not teach the origins of the Bible. They teach only that "God gave the Bible to us and you should follow it." The problem with teaching the origins of the Bible is that it undermines the power of the local church, once you hear that the 66 books in the modern Protestant bible came from this ruler Constantine, a few years after his government burned most books about Jesus or any religious view that could challenge the government. The Catholics use the same Bible from Constantine, with the only difference being that the "anti-Catholic" movement of Protestants got rid of about eight of the chapters (called the "Apocrypha") in the 1800's, so out of 74 original Bible chapters the modern Catholic Bible still has all 74, while the modern Protestant (i.e. Baptist, charismatic, pentecostal, militant neocon, etc.) now still has 66, all from Emperor Constantine's project 1700 years ago.
The great thing for Emperor Constantine was that when he created the church, he had a new reason for claiming the right to rule: "God wants me to be in charge". This claim has been used ever since by kings and rulers all the way up to the controversial modern U.S. president George W. Bush who ruled the USA with his regime from 2000 to 2008. Mr. Bush said several times "I believe that God has chosen me for this position." All of the famous Kings and Queens that are figureheads in human history have Constantine to thank for their ability to hold on to power using this "divine right rule" claim. Even modern rulers in Islamic countries, as well as Western leaders in the modern world, still use the "divine right rule" claim to power, even to the extent of killing opposition in the "name of God" as if the opposition is always wrong because "God said so".
It is a common theme among earth rulers to claim endorsement from higher deities (Gods) who are always unavailable for verification or comment. The key to Divine Right Rule is that it is very difficult to argue, because the "God" who has made you the King or Queen is never around to be questioned or asked about the validity of this claim.
We do not know Emperor Constantine's heart or true motivations, but it is wrong to assume that the Bible is reliable just because a local pastor claims it is. The fact is, many books were burned by Constantine's executive "bible-creating" council, they only wanted certain books that flowed together well and which supported the right of the government to exist and control the people. Verses in the Bible like "Render unto Caesar the things which are Caesar's, and unto God the things that are God's" (Matthew 22:21) really helped support the Roman government's control over people's money and finances, and how can you question that, if GOD HIMSELF says you have to pay Caeser some regular money, that is impossible to argue against since the God of the Bible has never been around to actually prove these claims that started with Emperor Constantine. Add to that the tendency of the governments of the world to kill or silence you if you oppose them or question things, and also the modern church's refusal to listen to questions, and really this "Divine Right Rule" that Emperor Constantine cemented into history has been great for rulers of governments, and terrible for the citizens of the earth's countries since the Bible was created over 1700 years ago.
Modern Christians blindly accept the Bible without knowing much about its origin. They accept Jesus without having any proof of his teachings other than the "Bible" that came from the Roman Emperor Constantine.
Occasionally you will get splinter cult groups who claim the Bible was delivered by extra-terrestrials from another planet far from earth (such as the Urantia cults), but don't be fooled, the Bible was Constantine's creation and any basic academic study of the subject can easily prove the facts of the matter.
Next time you open your Bible, remember it is the exact same Bible that Emperor Constantine put together with the politicians and hand-picked scholars in his executive council. What power does it have over your mind today if you read it? Perhaps the same power that it has had over the "rest of us" peasants for the last 1700 years.
This article is original and compiled by the author David Lieder from a chapter of one of his books.
David Lieder is a writer and teacher about many topics including spirituality. He tells his personal story of leaving and rejecting his life in the Evangelical ministry and finding truth and happiness in the path of witchcraft and sorcery in his book The Joy of Leaving Jesus.
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