This is the text of a talk I've given on many occasions, sometimes (despite their awareness of my atheism) even in front of church groups. The full title is...
The 13th Apostle: Constantine the Great & the Marriage of Church & State
Part 3:
The Christians not only refused to worship any other gods, they denied them their divinity and called them demons. This, of course, did not endear them to their pagan neighbors. Also, because they believed in the imminent resurrection of Jesus and their own consequent transportation to Heaven, adherents tended to participate less in the civic life of the towns they resided in. Since civilization in antiquity was based on the life of the town (in fact the word “civilization” itself is derived from the Latin word for city), this was even more alarming. To give you an idea of just how seriously this was regarded; when, in the course of the trial of the Christians for setting the Great Fire at Rome and Nero’s judges finally began to understand the tenets of the Christian belief system, the charge of arson was dropped in favor of “odium generis humani” which means “hatred of mankind”.Then there was also the insufferable arrogance of a people who not only claimed they were right and everyone else was wrong, but that anyone who didn’t believe as they did would be damned in the afterlife regardless of whether they had been good or bad while alive. Hatred of mankind, indeed. Even the notoriously intolerant Jews had never made a claim as all encompassing as that! The question is not why such a sect was persecuted, but why the persecution was so relatively restrained.
And it was. Up until almost the time Constantine the Great endorsed Christianity, persecutions were sporadic and never enforced universally throughout the empire. The vast majority of martyrdoms occurred in the 50 years just before Christianity became the state religion. At this time the empire was struggling to maintain unity in the face of frequent invasions and civil wars. A good scapegoat was needed to keep the peoples’ minds off the governments failures and the Christians fit the bill. Refusing to sacrifice to the imperial cult brought a charge of treason. Denial of the gods, interestingly enough, brought a charge of atheism. Sentences ranged from fines to imprisonment to execution in some very gruesome ways. By and large though the government failed to promote unity with these measures. More sympathy was felt for the victims than for a government that had responded to internal crises by becoming more and more oppressive to all its citizens. The stage was now set for some big changes.In 312 AD civil war again rent the Roman Empire. On either side of the Tiber River, the combatants glared at each other and prepared for the coming battle. Inside Rome, the Caesar Maxentius was confident. Not only did his forces outnumber those of his opponent 3 or 4 times, but the augurs had consulted the Sibylline books, that compilation of prophecies that had originated in the misty dawn of the city’s beginnings, and found a verse that read “the enemy of Rome shall perish.” Like many ancient prophecies, this one was slightly ambiguous. Since this was a civil war, both of the participants were Roman. However, since Caesar Maxentius was inside the city of Rome, he was confident the enemy of Rome mentioned was the other guy.
On the other side of the river, the Caesar Flavius Valerius Constantinus, son of Constantius I and leader of the invading army was also looking for divine inspiration. It is said that as he was praying, a cross of light appeared in the sky and that later that night, he saw it again in a dream and heard the words “IN HOC SIGNO VINCES” (In this sign, conquer). The following morning, Constantine had his legions paint the sign of the cross on their standards and destroyed the forces of the enemy in battle at the Milvian Bridge. His opponent Maxentius was drowned as the crush of his fleeing army overflowed the bridge. Constantine believed the God of the Christians had favored him over his opponent and moved to make Christianity the official religion of the Roman Empire.So here they were, the revolutionaries who preached humility, brotherhood (in Christ at least), and a turning away from worldly things, victorious at last. But what happens when the war is over? What happens when The Revolution becomes The Establishment? The effects of this event are felt even to this day.
Next: Part 4, Heresy! Christian versus Christian
Photo Credits:
1) Thrown to the lions! Execution in the arena by animals was a punishment for criminals (detail from a 4th century mosaic floor)
2) Constantine the Great sees a vision of a cross in the sky (painting by Raphael)
3) Coin of Constantine with the reverse showing a labarum (Roman military standard with the Christian "Chi-Rho" monogram on it) impaling a large serpent. It's meant to depict the triumph of good over evil. The legend, Spes Publica, means "the hope of the people."
If you enjoy my writings, you can click on "Subscribe by email" to receive notice when new ones are posted.
You might also enjoy these:
Comments