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by thousands of followers across the land。〃 Teabing paused to sip his tea and then placed the cup back on the mantel。 〃More than eighty gospels were considered for the New Testament； and yet only a relative few were chosen for inclusion—Matthew； Mark； Luke； and John among them。
〃Who chose which gospels to include？〃 Sophie asked。
〃Aha！〃 Teabing burst in with enthusiasm。 〃The fundamental irony of Christianity！ The Bible； as we know it today； was collated by the pagan Roman emperor Constantine the Great。〃
〃I thought Constantine was a Christian；〃 Sophie said。
〃Hardly；〃 Teabing scoffed。 〃He was a lifelong pagan who was baptized on his deathbed； too weak to protest。 In Constantine's day； Rome's official religion was sun worship—the cult of Sol Invictus； or the Invincible Sun—and Constantine was its head priest。 Unfortunately for him； a growing religious turmoil was gripping Rome。 Three centuries after the crucifixion of Jesus Christ； Christ's followers had multiplied exponentially。 Christians and pagans began warring； and the conflict grew to such proportions that it threatened to rend Rome in two。 Constantine decided something had to be done。 In 325 A。D。； he decided to unify Rome under a single religion。 Christianity。〃
Sophie was surprised。 〃Why would a pagan emperor choose Christianity as the official religion？〃
Teabing chuckled。 〃Constantine was a very good businessman。 He could see that Christianity was on the rise； and he simply backed the winning horse。 Historians still marvel at the brilliance with which Constantine converted the sun…worshipping pagans to Christianity。 By fusing pagan symbols； dates； and rituals into the growing Christian tradition； he created a kind of hybrid religion that was acceptable to both parties。〃
〃Transmogrification；〃 Langdon said。 〃The vestiges of pagan religion in Christian symbology are undeniable。 Egyptian sun disks became the halos of Catholic saints。 Pictograms of Isis nursing her miraculously conceived son Horus became the blueprint for our modern images of the Virgin Mary nursing Baby Jesus。 And virtually all the elements of the Catholic ritual—the miter； the altar； the doxology； and munion； the act of 〃God…eating〃—were taken directly from earlier pagan mystery religions。〃
Teabing groaned。 〃Don't get a symbologist started on Christian icons。 Nothing in Christianity is original。 The pre…Christian God Mithras—called the Son of God and the Light of the World—was born on December 25； died； was buried in a rock tomb； and then resurrected in three days。 By the way； December 25 is also the birthday of Osiris； Adonis； and Dionysus。 The newborn Krishna was presented with gold； frankincense； and myrrh。 Even Christianity's weekly holy day was stolen from the pagans。〃
〃What do you mean？〃
〃Originally；〃 Langdon said； 〃Christianity honored the Jewish Sabbath of Saturday； but Constantine shifted it to coincide with the pagan's veneration day of the sun。〃 He paused； grinning。 〃To this day； most churchgoers attend services on Sunday morning with no idea that they are there on account of the pagan sun god's weekly tribute—Sunday。〃
Sophie's head was spinning。 〃And all of this relates to the Grail？〃
〃Indeed；〃 Teabing said。 〃Stay with me。 During this fusion of religions； Constantine needed to strengthen the new Christian tradition； and held a famous ecumenical gathering known as the Council of Nicaea。〃
Sophie had heard of it only insofar as its being the birthplace of the Nicene Creed。
〃At this gathering；〃 Teabing said； 〃many aspects of Christianity were debated and voted upon—the date of Easter； the role of the bishops； the administration of sacraments； and； of course； the divinity of Jesus。〃
〃I don't follow。 His divinity？〃
〃My dear；〃 Teabing declared； 〃until that moment in history； Jesus was viewed by His followers as a mortal prophet。。。 a great and powerful man； but a man nonetheless。 A mortal。〃
〃Not the Son of God？〃
〃Right；〃 Teabing said。 〃Jesus' establishment as 'the Son of God' was officially proposed and voted on by the Council of Nicaea。〃
〃Hold on。 You're saying Jesus' divinity was the result of a vote？〃
〃A relatively close vote at that；〃 Teabing added。 〃Nonetheless； establishing Christ's divinity was critical to the further unification of the Roman empire and to the new Vatican power base。 By officially endorsing Jesus as the Son of God； Constantine turned Jesus into a deity who existed beyond the scope of the human world； an entity whose power was unchallengeable。 This not only precluded further pagan challenges to Christianity； but now the followers of Christ were able to redeem themselves only via the established sacred channel—the Roman Catholic Church。〃
Sophie glanced at Langdon； and he gave her a soft nod of concurrence。
〃It was all about power；〃 Teabing continued。 〃Christ as Messiah was critical to the functioning of Church and state。 Many scholars claim that the early Church literally stole Jesus from His original followers； hijacking His human message； shrouding it in an impenetrable cloak of divinity； and using it to expand their own power。 I've written several books on the topic。〃
〃And I assume devout Christians send you hate mail on a daily basis？〃
〃Why would they？〃 Teabing countered。 〃The vast majority of educated Christians know the history of their faith。 Jesus was indeed a great and powerful man。 Constantine's underhanded political maneuvers don't diminish the majesty of Christ's life。 Nobody is saying Christ was a fraud； or denying that He walked the earth and inspired millions to better lives。 All we are saying is that Constantine took advantage of Christ's substantial influence and importance。 And in doing so； he shaped the face of Christianity as we know it today。〃
Sophie glanced at the art book before her； eager to move on and see the Da Vinci painting of the Holy Grail。
〃The twist is this；〃 Teabing said； talking faster now。 〃Because Constantine upgraded Jesus' status almost four centuries after Jesus' death； thousands of documents already existed chronicling His life as a mortal man。 To rewrite the history books； Constantine knew he would need a bold stroke。 From this sprang the most profound moment in Christian history。〃 Teabing paused； eyeing Sophie。 〃Constantine missioned and financed a new Bible； which omitted those gospels that spoke of Christ's human traits and embellished those gospels that made Him godlike。 The earlier gospels were outlawed； gathered up； and burned。〃
〃An interesting note；〃 Langdon added。 〃Anyone who chose the forbidden gospels over Constantine's version was deemed a heretic。 The word heretic derives from that moment in history。 The Latin word haereticus means 'choice。' Those who 'chose' the original history of Christ were the world's first heretics。〃
〃Fortunately for historians；〃 Teabing said； 〃some of the gospels that Constantine attempted to eradicate managed to survive。 The Dead Sea Scrolls were found in the 1950s hidden in a cave near Qumran in the Judean desert。 And； of course； the Coptic Scrolls in 1945 at Nag Hammadi。 In addition to telling the true Grail story； these documents speak of Christ's ministry in very human terms。 Of course； the Vatican； in keeping with their tradition of misinformation； tried very hard to suppress the release of these scrolls。 And why wouldn't they？ The scrolls highlight glaring historical discrepancies and fabrications； clearly confirming that the modern Bible was piled and edited by men who possessed a political agenda—to promote the divinity of the man Jesus Christ and use His influence to solidify their own power base。〃
〃And yet；〃 Langdon countered； 〃it's important to remember that the modern Church's desire to suppress these documents es from a sincere belief in their established view of Christ。 The Vatican is made up of deeply pious men who truly believe these contrary documents could only be false testimony。〃
Teabing chuckled as he eased himself into a chair opposite Sophie。 〃As you can see； our professor has a far softer heart for Rome than I do。 Nonetheless； he is correct about the modern clergy believing these opposing documents are false testimony。 That's understandable。 Constantine's Bible has been their truth for ages。 Nobody is more indoctrinated than the indoctrinator。〃
〃Wh