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September 28, 2006
Christianity: Minus
On the list of those who contributed to the remarkable spread of Christianity, the Roman emperor, Constantine, may rank with Paul and, oh yes, Jesus. Constantine, through his support and (late) conversion, enabled the religion to conquer the empire. The danger, of course, is that the empire might conquer the religion.
Certainly, this pillar of Christianity was a little weak in the "do-unto-others" area. The example that sticks in my mind: Constantine traveled to Rome in the year 326 with his wife, his son by another marriage, his step-nephew and his mother. By the time he arrived he had put to death - in fear of plots? because of rumors of sexual misbehavior? - all but his mother.
Posted by Mitchell Stephens at September 28, 2006 12:46 PM
Comments
Actually, it sounds like he did _very well_ in the "do unto others" category, but as for the "as you would have them do unto you" -- well, not so much. ;-)
Posted by: Wayne Jones at September 28, 2006 1:20 PM
"On the list of those who contributed to the remarkable spread of Christianity, the Roman emperor, Constantine, may rank with Paul and, oh yes, Jesus"
Actually, some claim that Jesus doesn't exist:
http://www.stanforddaily.com/article/2006/5/31/jesusNeverLivedSpeakerSays
Also, in his lecture "Why I am not a Christian", Bernard Russell calls into doubt the legitimacy of "historical" Jesus and refers to "biblical" Jesus.
Posted by: Cihan Baran at September 30, 2006 10:19 PM
Constantine's "conversion" is about as real as George W. Bushes. Not to mention as useful. The political use of a monotheistic religion has been realized and capitalized on since Zoroaster. The great thing is, you don't need to believe in the relgion to harness its power.
Posted by: brad at September 30, 2006 11:28 PM
