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Introduction
:In my last lecture, I covered nearly 300 years of church history, from its founding in the ministry of Jesus Christ to the year 311 when its bloody persecutions came to an end. Today, I had planned to cover another three centuries from 311 to the opening of the middle-ages in 590. But my plans were changed. Today, therefore, we will restrict our timeline to only about twenty-five years, around the eventful reign of Constantine the Great. I do so, not because I am especially enamoured with the man (as the lecture will indicate), but because his work instituted a fundamental change in the nature of the church which is felt even to this late date.
THE CONVERSION OF CONSTANTINE
Constantine was born in 274 A.D., of a heathen nobleman, Chlorus, and his peasant concubine, Helena. From his youth, he showed unusual valor in battle; and at the death of his father in England, he was declared Caesar in the year 306. The young, "Sun-worshipping" general then marched his troops toward Rome, where he hoped to dislodge his rival, Maxentius, and take possession of the Imperial throne.
As he drew near the critical encounter at Milvian Bridge, Constantine saw a vision which he never forgot. He saw a cross standing over the sun, and heard a heavenly voice instructing him to "In this sign, conquer". Obeying the heavenly voice, he gave order that the name "Christ" was to be painted on the shields of his men. Having done so, he marched toward the battle confident that the God of the Christians would bless him with victory. Which He did. From that day on, Constantine would venerate Christ, though not formally convert to His religion till near his death, some twenty-five years later.
Having consolidated his civil power, Constantine was quick to legalize Christianity and began endowing the church with many royal favors, only a few of which I can presently mention:
1.Sunday was declared the "Christian Sabbath", as a result of which work was forbidden and church attendance encouraged.
2.Pagans were generally removed from their government posts and replaced with Christians.
3.Pastors were relieved of military obligation and given a tax-exempt status.
4.Pastors became the salaried employees of the state, paid by the taxes levied on Christian and Pagan alike.
5.Church buildings were erected, enlarged, and richly furnished throughout the Empire.
As might be expected, the Church was deeply grateful to the Emperor. Indeed, too grateful. For in accepting his favors, they were inadvertantly submitting to his sovereignty. After all, "whoever pays the piper calls the tune". The evils produced by this illicit union cannot be exaggerrated, no matter how well-intentioned Constantine or the church leaders of the time may have been. The latter in particular acted with inexcusable stupidity and pride. The immediate effects were disastrous:
1.It became fashionable to be a Christian, and therefore, worldly men, motivated by pure self-interest, joined the church. Augustine complained that "the church fills itself daily with those who sought Jesus, not for Jesus, but for worldly gain". Worldliness was, alas, not confined to any sect in the church, but the church in general. The rich lived in the most decadent luxury, without a thought of their poorer brethren. Gregory of Nazianzen described their behavior thusly, "We repose in splendor on high and sumptuous cushions, upon the most exquisite covers, which one is almost afraid to touch, and are vexed if we but hear the voice or a moaning pauper". The poor, however, were no better. Their leisure time was often spent in rioting and murder.
2.The state began exercising its control of the church. Constantine, the supposed friend of Christ, soon showed himself to be a Judas, by declaring himself "Head of the Church". What's worse, however, is this: the bishops of the established church agreed, thereby denying the crown rights of Jesus Christ. As the "Head of the Church", the Emperor could:
a.Decree orthodoxy.
1.Sometimes this worked for the cause of Christ. At Constantine's behest, a council met at Nicea in 325, to decide the controversy between Arius and Athanasius. Arius denied the deity of Christ, Athanasius affirmed it. Constantine decided that the latter was right, the former wrong, and therefore branded Arius a heretic and deposed him from his bishopric.
2.For this Providence we can all be glad. But it does not validate the principle behind it. For later, through political intrigue, Arius found favor with the Emperor who was about to pardon him and recognize his views. But God intervened mightilly, and killed the arch-heretic on the very day of his pardon.
b.Punish "heretics".
1.The Donatists were an African sect which keenly felt the Emperor's wrath. And for what "heinous" errors were they punished?
a.For denying the exercise of civil power in the church. Their motto was "What has the emperor to do with the church?"
b.For demanding holiness of life as a qualification of church membership.
2.This idea, called "The Constantinian Principle" has been the bane of God's people down through the ages.
a.For centuries, the Catholic princes slew their peaceful subjects for no other crime than following the dictates of conscience. Three words establish their unpardonable guilt, "The Spanish Inquisition".
b.The Protestants, however, are just as guilty. For in accepting this evil principle, they committed the cruelest barbarities in the name of Christ.
1.The Anabaptists were drowned in Zurich with the consent of Ulrich Zwingli.
2.Michael Servetus, the anti-Trinitarian heretic went to the stake in Calvin's Geneva.
3.The Episcopalians hunted down and murdered the Scottish Covenanters.
4.Even the American Puritans whipped the Baptist Obadiah Holmes for the glory of God.
3.At this point, the blood of the martyrs is crying to me to vindicate them in your hearing. So let me do it. Any church which accepts the Constantian Principle, is
MYSTERY,
BABYLON THE GREAT,
THE MOTHER OF HARLOTS
AND THE ABOMINATIONS
OF THE EARTH.
...the woman drunk with the blood of the saints and with the blood of the martys of Jesus.
c. Make hypocrites.
1.A coerced faith is no faith at all. Constantine's favors, therefore, rather than enriching the church with members only corroded it with hypocrites. It was, therefore, a total failure. "It is not want of numbers, but want of holiness which hinders the church" mused the old puritan.
CONCLUDING REMARKS.
We must resist all state intrusion into matters spiritual. For it was Constantine, not Christ, who brought the state into the church. At the present time, the chief areas of intrusion are related to children (especially their discipline and schooling). We do this, not by revolutionary tactics by by the use of spiritual weapons, especially prayer and the willingness to suffer as a Christian. To do any less is to agree with the pagans of old and admit, after all, "Caesar is Lord".
Beware of felt prosperity (temporal or spiritual). It is the forerunner of disaster. The church must have leaped at the thought of official toleration and enrichment. But what 300 years of persecution could not accomplish, a few years of prosperity could, i.e., put the light of the world under a bushel. This should not have surprised the early Christians, for long before it was written, "But Jeshurun waxed fat and kicked".
We must resist the temptation of introducing worldly methods into the church.
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