On the Stupidity of Scholars

I remember when I was first getting to know the throne of St. Mark I used to call up a number of scholars whom I respected. I would ask them to help me develop an understanding of the basic 'facts' relating to the Alexandrian Church in the third and fourth centuries.

One of the scholars I called was Christopher Haas who I respected greatly owing to his knowledge of Alexandria in the period. I remember going into great detail about the martyrium of St. Mark and made the point that I SUSPECTED at the time that Arius wasn't a heretic but represented a preservation of 'native' Alexandrian thought and that Alexander and Athanasius likely represented innovation carried out on behalf of Constantine's interest in uniting Christianity.

Well, Haas became noticeably uncomfortable. Yet now when I have studied the Arian idea of a subordinate 'Son of God' who was a creature I can't help but notice that these 'Origenist' ideas actually go back much further - i.e. to the time of Clement. Just read Photius' summaries of Clement, Origen, Theognostos, Pierius etc. THEY ARE ALL ARIANISTS and this - not surprisingly is what the Arians themselves claimed (specifically in the case of Demetrius but it is understandable to see why they would avoided connection with Origen!).

What's the matter with scholars? Why are they so afraid of pulling the plug on the lies on which our entire understanding of Christianity developed? Indeed, where on earth do they see 'Orthodox' Alexandrians before Alexander? I even suspect that Peter was an Origenist and that Athanasius just misrepresented his beliefs as Brakke has already intimated with regards to his Life of Antony with respect to Antony's beliefs.

Again I ask - what is the matter with this scholars? Is the need to 'hold on to a job' and 'receive a paycheck' worth the cost of obscuring the truth to future generations? Who is going to clean up the mess that has been left by a century of clumsy and deceptive efforts by British and American scholarship? It would be me, that's for sure but I hope to at least inspire the next generation ...