Many people argue that they don't need the burdens of doctrine or dogma to express their 'simple faith'. They say that they believe in God and try to live a good life. Those are noble aspirations but they are not enough to make one a Christian. For that one has to believe that Jesus is who he and the Church claim him to be: the 'only begotten Son of the Father'. The saint we celebrate on Thursday was so convinced of the essential nature of this truth that he risked his life in opposition to those who denied it.

Athanasius was Bishop of Alexandria in northern Egypt during the turbulent opening decades of the fourth century. Most of his time was spent in exile under constant threat from those who sought to destroy him. He insisted that Jesus was not part of God's creation, however exalted, as his opponents believed, but rather the Word through whom all things were made. He insisted on this not just because he believed it to be the teaching of Scripture but also because he realised that if Christ were a creature his death and resurrection could not save us. Athanasius was convinced that 'he became what we are so that we could become what he is'. In the wonderful exchange of the incarnation God became man so that man could become like God.

Although we do not run the risk of persecution like Athanasius we must also insist on the fullness of the truth about Jesus Christ. We can agree with people that he was a good and holy man, that he was a prophet, and a great religious teacher but we must also insist that he is the Son of God who through his cross and resurrection has set us free.

P.D.