mountainman

Eusebius in "Vita Constantini" quotes the prayer that the Lord God Caesar Constantine authorized for his soldiers.

Curiously, it asks for the "blessings of God for the purpose of war", and for the academics, scholars, textual critics, apologists, HJ'ers, MJers, infidels and other riff-raff, the prayer seeks God's visible actions by means of the agency of Constantine's troops, and does not mention (the historical?) Jesus. Was it just a quick brief prayer between marches?

"Dear lord wont you buy me ..... a victory or three."

Was the name of the Jesus God UNKNOWN to Constantine's Christian soldiers?
Didn't the entire army see a convincing message in a cumulus bank from the man upstairs?
Does anyone know the true story?

andrewcriddle

The soldiers would have been a mixture of religions. The prayer is deliberately 'ecumenical' so that Christians and non-Christians could happily say it together.

Andrew Criddle

mountainman

The soldiers swore their lifeblood and alliegance to the Lord God Caesar, and their involvment in the world according to the ancient historian commentators was mercanery --- they were paid by Constantine in gold.


I do not buy that explanation. Constantine forcefully legislated on behalf of the exclusive rights of Christians in the following years and laws. He was utterly unconcerned with 'ecumenical happiness'. In fact the evidence in our possession indicates the absolute and total opposite.

Extracts from the Codex Theodosianus (313 to 326 CE)

313 16.2.1 Christians shall be exempted from serving as tax collectors and other public duties; replacements shall be found for them.

315 16.8.1 "Any Jew who stones a Jewish convert to Christianity shall be burned, and no one is allowed to join Judaism.

319 16.2.2 "Priests shall be exempted from public service.

320 16.2.10 "Exemptions from tax payments and menial public services are granted to clergy, as well as their wives, children, and acolytes.

321 16.10.1 "If the palace should be struck by lightning, customary consultation of soothsayers may follow."

321 16.2.4 "At death, people shall have the right to leave property to the Church."

321 16.8.3 Jews are allowed to serve on municipal councils.

323 16.2.5 "Clergy shall not be forced into participating in pagan practices; anyone who forces a clergyman into such an act may be fined or publicly beaten, depending on his legal status."

326 16.2.6 There shall be limits on the number of people entering the clergy; people shall not become clerics in order to avoid public service.

326 16.5.1 Religious privileges are reserved for Christians.

Constantine already "owned" each and every soldier in the army. He was addressed as the Lord God Caesar (as centuries old custom would have it). Moreover he had revolutionised the Roman army by the novel move of dismissing the Praetorian Guard, and it is likely he did this well before he moved on Rome. Instead, Constantine surrounded himself at all times with personally appointed barbarian Chieftans.

The absence of any reference to the (historical?) Jesus in the prayer Eusebius reports Constantine to have authorized for his army can thus have no basis in the 'ecumenical happiness' of his troops.

Barnes writes:

At least part of Constantine's Christian reformation or revolution was aimed at reducing the power of the Graeco-Roman religions which ancient history tells us were still very much alive under Diocletian, who as Pontifex Maximus and the head of the "Sacred Assembly of the Pontifices" [ie: the Graeco-Roman priesthood], still sponsored the traditional gods of the empire.


Thus Constantine was the last person at that time to care anything at all about the 'ecumenical happiness' of his troops, or the 'ecumenical happiness' of his civilians, or - more importantly - the 'ecumenical happiness' of the pagan priesthood. So therefore the reason that Constantine did not mention the (historical?) Jesus in his prayer, imo could not possibly have been a desire for the 'ecumenical happiness' of his troops. Constantine was unconcerned with 'ecumenical happiness' when he ordered his army to utterly destroy to their foundations the major ancient and highly revered temples to non Christian divinities (such as Asclepius, Apollo, Diana, etc).

There must be another reason that Constantine did not feel the need to mention the (historical?) Jesus in his prayer.

Chili

Catholics do not pray to Jesus, do they?

Toto

Good point, Chile. Here are some early Christian prayers. There is one "through Jesus Christ our Lord," and two other references to Christ.

There are some early prayers here: one from the Didache thanks god for "knowledge and faith and immortality which you have made known to us through Jesus your servant; to you be the glory forever" but otherwise might be a Jewish prayer as it contains "Hosanna to the God of David."

Then there are two attributed to Clement of Rome. One does not mention Jesus; one includes the phrase "we praise through the high priest and guardian of our souls, Jesus Christ."

So even Christians at the time did not pray to Jesus, and did not always mention Jesus or Christ.

Chili

There is nothing wrong with Jesus but in reality if he is 'the way' he is just like a dirty rag to be left behind, and don't forget, when he died he pointed at John to be Mary's son, as what we would call Christ today who was set free under the name of bar-abbas to make sure that only the Jewish identity was crucified, that was based on the Jewish notion that "we have our own law and by that law he must be crucified."

Let me take you again to Rev.13 where those who worship Jesus are identified as reborn from the old earth instead of 'the water' to categorize them as 'final imposters' on the anathema side of the Church,

mountainman

Constantine as the first Christian Emperor probably set an example to the Christians at that time. He certainly made an example of the high priests of the Pagan religions. The one thing that appears clear from his prayer is that he wanted to lay hold of the One True God. His apparent outward success in this enterprise, with the publication of the "Bible" and the formation of the Nicaean "Church" is today still legendary.

mountainman

It appears to be true that many people may not have had the time to hear the whole "Jesus Story" before they fled in advance of the "Christianisation Process" that Constantine's army was instrumental in achieving. This conclusion is supported by the 4th century evidence at Nag Hammadi.

This seems to indicate that the people's belief was influenced by fabrications. Signs and wonders were followed by reproaches and humiliations ---- at that time mid 4th century, at the hands of the imperial Christian army. They - the people - fled in advance of the revolution.

They fled and did not have time to read the new testament.
The very next line from this text states ....

So maybe that's why Constantine's prayer does not mention the HJ.