Toto

Since Pete likes to make Constantine the evil villain in his fantasy reconstruction of history, the opposite view should be noted.

Defending Constantine: The Twilight of an Empire and the Dawn of Christendom (or via: amazon.co.uk)

From the reviews:

avi

In ZG (ZhongGuo) = China for those not yet speaking the world's number one language, Stalin's portrait stood above my head, as I lectured at the university.

In ShangHai, at the local "foreign" bookstore, one could purchase the COMPLETE works of comrade Stalin, in English.

Woe to anyone who dared to speak or write anything contrary to the great leader and hero of the working class...

A field trip to ZG ought to be mandatory for all who imagine that Lord Constantine was a benevolent chap. It wouldn't surprise me to learn that Stalin also abolished serfdom, just like our beloved hero Constantine.

avi

stephan huller

Yes but unfortunately that's the way dictatorships are. Unlike democracies they are capable of profound and sweeping change in the blink of an eye. I don't doubt that Constantine had some influence over the shape of Christianity. Many of these changes were logical from the standpoint of the Roman government (i.e. centralizing the religion away from either Rome, Antioch or Alexandria). There is undoubtedly a cynicism that pervades some of the reforms. The Alexandrian Church certainly suffered. But Constantine was nowhere near the villianous status of let's say Commodus for instance. Decius and Diocletian were far worse to Christianity. There is a certain rationality to Constantine's approach. Better subversion than mass murder. Again I may stand alone in this regard but that's my opinion.

Russellonius

You seem to be ignoring the content of the quote. Rulers can have varying degrees of benevolence. Stalin's record does not prove anything about Constantine.

"In the first place, the bishops refused to be reduced to mere chaplains of the Empire. Second, it was at the instigation of Constantine that the gladiatorial shows and other immoral public entertainments were reduced and eventually abolished. Constantine's legislation looks very much like the kind of legislation Christians should desire the civil magistrates to enact. Constantine removed previous Roman penalties against the celibate and the childless. He extended the rights of women, removing deprivations such as loss of property and double standards for divorce. He discouraged sex with slaves and was the first in Roman history to legislate against rape...

"Constantine also provided for many laws that elevated true justice and protection for the poor, including children who were exposed, orphans, outcasts, and slaves. He issued laws that enabled slaves to be liberated, as well as those to ameliorate slave conditions." -the OP

I imagine Constantine less of a "believer" than the author quoted in the OP seems to imply. But these are moral laws in line with ethics of Judaism. Scholars estimate that non-Abrahamic polytheists made up only about 40% of the population of the Roman Empire by the 4th century. The bishops had lots of power in the parallel subversive government that was Christianity.

Constantine caved to pressure. He did what was practical to be able to rule effectively. And it was good. At least it was good if one deems the interests of the poor, of women and children and treatment of slaves to be of ethical concern and would be prone to acting in the best interests of these people.

Joan of Bark

And why did he wait until he was on his deathbed to receive baptism? Because of course he knew he was going to commit some heinous sins before dying. I have no doubt he was 'sincere' in his beliefs ... so were the asshole inquisitors of the Middle Ages. That's what's so scary about theistic beliefs.

The worst thing Constantine did was give the new Catholic church secular power and wealth. Any hope for a Christianity built on love, charity and compassion was forever doomed once earthly treasures were bestowed upon it.

spin

So, when exactly did he stop worshiping Sol Invictus?


spin

andrewcriddle

Probably because of doubts whether a Christian could, without sin, wage war, execute criminals and do other things that were part of his job description as Emperor.

Andrew Criddle

Russellonius

That's why the 'love, charity and compassion' faction removed itself to the desert in N Africa at that time. It has never gone away.

It's not really reasonable to expect that all members of any large group will always act in concert with one another. Or that rulers will not do what they find necessary to maintain and wield power.

Feelings of peace and love cannot be legislated, but Constantinian laws, cited above, were an imperial nudge in that direction. Not enough for the desert monastics, but more than before.

Joan of Bark

And he had to give the Church material wealth to do that?

Joan of Bark

I think that's what I said, Andrew.