Seeds of Drift: From Living Gospel to Institutional Power
As we saw last time, Jesus unleashed a blueprint of love written on the heart—a radical spiritualization and universalization of the law. Yet every expansion brings not just flourishing, but the risk of drift, rigidity, and division. For Christianity, this process unfolded in dramatic—and at times devastating—ways.
After the initial centuries of persecution and missionary zeal, the spiritual spring and summer of the Gospel gave way to autumnal decline and winter dormancy. But how did this happen? What role did the Church, especially in its catholic form, play in sowing both unity and excess?
Christendom Ascendant—and Compromised
By the late fourth century, Christianity had migrated from underground movement to official religion of the Roman Empire. The Council of Nicaea (325 CE) marked the first step toward empire-church synergy—unity imposed from above by creed and anathema. By the time of Theodosius I (late 4th century), Christianity was not merely permitted; it was enforced.
The Catholic Church (from katholikos, “universal”) became the sole authorized interpreter of doctrine and law for the West. Its positives are real:
- Preservation of literacy and classical learning in monasteries,
- Sponsoring great works of art, architecture, and charity,
- Providing social cohesion and identity across a fractured continent.
But such consolidation brought grave risks and, in time, abuses:
- Suppression of dissent: Heresy became not only a spiritual crime but a capital offense; questioning dogma, scripture, or church leadership led to exile, torture, or execution (e.g., the Inquisition).
- Corruption and worldliness: Popes became princes; bishops wielded armies; simony, indulgence sales, and political manipulation blurred spiritual lines.
- Economic exploitation: The poor often bore the brunt of Church taxes and levies. The Crusades, often cloaked in religious garb, ravaged the East and were funded by peasant labor.
- Intellectual stagnation: For centuries, the Church resisted innovations that challenged its authority—the suppression of science, muzzling of thinkers like Galileo, and the Index of Forbidden Books being infamous examples.
These centuries—the so-called Dark Ages—saw Western European civilization contract, literacy rates plummet, and knowledge become the tightly guarded domain of monks and clerics (“The reading of scripture in the vernacular is a crime,” read one synod). Progress was not absent, but the patterns of genuine freedom and inquiry that once characterized Paul’s “liberty in Christ” (Gal. 5:1) often faded into maintenance of power.
Breaking Apart: The Fruits of Drift and Rigidity
The abuses and excesses of the institutional Church bore bitter fruit in later centuries:
The Great Schism (1054 CE):
The first major rift divided the Latin (Roman Catholic) West and Greek (Eastern Orthodox) East. Disputes were ostensibly about doctrine (the Filioque clause, papal primacy), but were fueled by centuries of political and cultural distrust.
The Reformation (16th century):
Luther, Calvin, Zwingli, and others called out the Church’s hypocrisy:
“When our Lord and Master Jesus Christ said, ‘Repent,’ he intended that the entire life of believers should be repentance…”
—Martin Luther, 95 Theses (1517)
Protest—first a trickle, then a river—led to fracturing, conflict, and violence. Over the next five centuries, reform and counter-reform spawned new churches, sects, and movements.
By the 21st century, “the body of Christ” is divided into over 40,000 denominations and uncountable sects (see Center for the Study of Global Christianity, 2023). Not just differences of ritual or polity, but of doctrine: from the most liturgical Catholicism and Orthodoxy to Baptist, Pentecostal, Gnostic, Anabaptist, and thousands more—each convinced of its own fidelity, yet all tracing roots to the same Nazarene rabbi’s teaching to “love one another.”
Bahá’í Insight: God’s Seasons—Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter
The Bahá’í Writings place even these apparent failings in the arc of God’s providence:
- Spring: The appearance of the Manifestation—renewal, unity, explosive growth.
- Summer: Fruitfulness, institutional consolidation, civilization-building.
- Autumn: The spirit wanes; forms multiply and ossify; rivalry and infighting proliferate.
- Winter: Dormancy, even death—but the divine seed, hidden in the “spiritual soil,” prepares for unexpected rebirth.
Bahá’u’lláh illustrates:
“The Faith of God is like unto a tree: it brings forth new leaves and fresh blossoms every spring, while in the autumn and winter, it appears barren and lifeless.”
—Adapted from Bahá’í Writings, see The Promulgation of Universal Peace, p. 8
Just as tree rings mark growth through seasons of plenty and scarcity, division and dormancy in spiritual communities may mark not disaster, but divine preparation for new revelation. What looks like darkness or decay is not the negation of faith, but the “necessary sleep” before dawn. Though the Church stumbled under the weight of worldly power and doctrinal infighting, the spiritual yearning—the true seed of Christ—remained, awaiting a more universal spring.
The Positive Thread—and Forward Momentum
Despite the excesses, Christianity in all its forms achieved much:
- The preservation of basic ethics and literacy through chaos.
- The creation of transcendent art and music.
- The shaping of legal codes and early universities.
- The concept of the dignity of each soul—a bridge to modern human rights.
It is precisely the recurring pattern of drift, crisis, reform, and renewal that testifies to the vitality of the original seed.
Preparing the Soil for the Next Manifestation
How did the world move from a fractured, quarreling Christendom to the age of Muhammad and, much later, to the expectation of one flock and one shepherd?
History—and the Bahá’í perspective—suggests:
- Seasons of collapse and division are not failure, but necessary phases in the “operating system” of spiritual growth.
- The longing, suffering, and exasperation of believers across 2,000 years was a preparation—soil broken, roots forced deeper—so that when the spring of new Revelation dawned, it would find the hunger, humility, and capacity needed for new growth.
Looking Ahead
Next week: the coming of Muhammad—an epochal consolidation, expansion, and blueprint for an intercontinental, multi-ethnic civilization. The Qur’an, Sharia, and the Prophet’s life will offer both a renewal and challenge—a new divine spring after a long winter.
Questions for reflection:
- Where do you see division and drift in today’s spiritual landscape?
- What “winter lessons” might we be learning that will feed the next cycle of renewal, unity, and fruitfulness?
With hope,
—Wade Fransson
References & Further Reading
- Galatians 5:1; John 13:34; Center for the Study of Global Christianity: “Status of Global Christianity, 2023” (source)
- Bahá’u’lláh, The Promulgation of Universal Peace, p. 8; Kitáb-i-Íqán, pars. 166–167
- Resources on the Dark Ages: “The Inquisition” (Britannica), “Catholic Church in the Middle Ages” (History.com), Martin Luther: 95 Theses
- “Progressive Revelation: God’s Sequential Blueprints…” (Series Articles 1–8)
- The People of the Sign (and sequels)
