I like the juice from your mind grapes, magic man. Totally agree: political power simply draws evil men into church positions and corrupts the saving work of the church.
I'll stick up for Constantine: all he did was ask the church to convene and figure out where they stood on certain issues, so that Christians could be a united front. He didn't dictate what anyone should teach or believe. Honestly I think the worst thing he did was end our (on again off again) persecution.
I admire your kindness for Constantine; it reminds me to temper my thoughts and words. While I'll never know what kind of virtue of faith Constantine did or didn't find in his heart, he does (with the Church cronies) bring about a thorough changing of incentives for identifying as Christian in society. I think like an economist, so incentives getting flipped is a huge red flag.
Used to be, to identify as Christian meant you were an outcast in relation to imposed, hierarchical social institutions. This opposition is something Christians embraced and was even recorded in Acts 15. But from the time of Constantine onward, identifying as Christian got you *more* social status. I think that represents a huge turning away and descent back into pre-Christian and anti-Christian values.
That Constantine was comfortable using the trappings of the imperial regime to impose his preferences on Church matters -- with the blessing of those on the "winning" side, of course! -- shows how quickly the transformation happened. Within a few years of Constantine's co-opting of the popularity of Christianity, some Church officials were already blaspheming against the Trinity in attempts to divinely justify the Roman Empire: https://www.yumpu.com/en/document/read/12152397/early-christian-history-maxie-burch . Constantine couldn't have effected these changes if there weren't forces already in the Church that wanted to redefine the core ethics of power dynamics. Maybe it's a case of, whomever was Emperor that finally made some co-opting overtures to the Church, the Church was littered with turncoats ready to deal.
I like the juice from your mind grapes, magic man. Totally agree: political power simply draws evil men into church positions and corrupts the saving work of the church.
Since the time of Constantine and his cronies within the Magisterium, it's been an obstacle for people who genuinely seek Christ.
> I like the juice from your mind grapes, magic man.
🤣
I'll stick up for Constantine: all he did was ask the church to convene and figure out where they stood on certain issues, so that Christians could be a united front. He didn't dictate what anyone should teach or believe. Honestly I think the worst thing he did was end our (on again off again) persecution.
I admire your kindness for Constantine; it reminds me to temper my thoughts and words. While I'll never know what kind of virtue of faith Constantine did or didn't find in his heart, he does (with the Church cronies) bring about a thorough changing of incentives for identifying as Christian in society. I think like an economist, so incentives getting flipped is a huge red flag.
Used to be, to identify as Christian meant you were an outcast in relation to imposed, hierarchical social institutions. This opposition is something Christians embraced and was even recorded in Acts 15. But from the time of Constantine onward, identifying as Christian got you *more* social status. I think that represents a huge turning away and descent back into pre-Christian and anti-Christian values.
That Constantine was comfortable using the trappings of the imperial regime to impose his preferences on Church matters -- with the blessing of those on the "winning" side, of course! -- shows how quickly the transformation happened. Within a few years of Constantine's co-opting of the popularity of Christianity, some Church officials were already blaspheming against the Trinity in attempts to divinely justify the Roman Empire: https://www.yumpu.com/en/document/read/12152397/early-christian-history-maxie-burch . Constantine couldn't have effected these changes if there weren't forces already in the Church that wanted to redefine the core ethics of power dynamics. Maybe it's a case of, whomever was Emperor that finally made some co-opting overtures to the Church, the Church was littered with turncoats ready to deal.