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Help on a Question regarding Christianity and Constantine

March 1st, 2015

Does this question have something to do with the Da Vinci Code? I don’t know the history related to this question unless the questioner is saying the Constantine altered the Bible? The following is the question:
Was there a remnant that kept faithful to scripture when Christianity was “kidnapped” by Constantine? [and still subsist today…]

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  • Tim White When Constantine was supposedly converted, he married the state with the Church. Many consider this a kidnapping, and yes, there were splinter groups who were persecuted by the government Church.
    February 27 at 8:21pm · Like · 1
  • Stuart Mattfield Matt…it does not deal with the Da Vinci Code, it does deal with the history of Constantine. The questioner is giving you a loaded question by referring to what Constantine did as “kidnapping” Christianity (Tim: Just asking…where are you deriving that “many” consider it a kidnapping.) In short, Constantine is credited with forming the Edict of Milan in 313AD, which essentially agreed to no longer treat Christians in a hostile manner. However, because he still retained the title Pontifex Maximus is why the questioner refers to it as a “kidnapping.” But this negates the role that the Bishops of the early church played, as well as the writers of the time in developing Christianity. Constantine can be credited with policies that allowed Christianity to grow, but I would neither call him a Christian nor condemn him for “kidnapping” it.
    February 27 at 8:38pm · Like
  • Tim White Stuart, yes, I should have been more specific. Many independent and/or fundamental Baptists, Church of Christ, and Pentecostals, etc… who don’t consider themselves Protestant.
    February 27 at 9:16pm · Like
  • Steve Ray Webb “Who don’t consider themselves Protestant”??? Historically it is pretty hard for any of them to claim that they are not descendants of the Protestant movement.
    Yesterday at 1:08am · Like · 1
  • Stuart Mattfield Steve…I’m guessing (and Tim, please let me know if I’m incorrect) that he meant “Reformed” over Protestant. Those groups which he mentioned traditionally saw themselves as divided from Luther, Calvin, and Reformed theology in general.
    Yesterday at 6:34am · Like
  • Tim White No, I put a partial list of those churches who don’t see themselves as protestant. During WWII, many of these groups told their soldiers to refuse to accept the classification of Protestant on their dog tags, so the military gave in. They prefer to trace their denominations to the Montanists, Waldenses, Anabaptists and other groups that the state churches persecuted, destroyed books and tried to erase from history. They refer often to the Trail of Blood by Carroll and Foxes Book of Martyrs. Based upon the phrase, “kidnapped”, I am certain that this one came under the teaching of one of these denominations.
    Yesterday at 9:01am · Like
  • Stuart Mattfield Interesting discussion point, Tim…and that is what I was alluding to… There’s a book by Walt Klaassen titled “Anabaptists: Neither Catholic nor Protestant.” However, other than the obvious fact that the Anabaptists were persecuted by the leaders of the Reformation (Luther, Zwinglii, and Calvin), Klaassen doesn’t offer a great deal of reason to differentiate Anabaptists from other Protestants, IF your defintion of Protestant stands as opposed to the teaching of the Catholic church. I think there is reason to do that if we tie the beginnings of the Anabaptist movement with Conrad Grebel separating from Zwingli’s reformed movement w/in the Protestant reformation. In other words, Protestant (against Catholicism)…yes, Reformed (Lutheran, Calvinist, etc.)…no.
    Yesterday at 10:46am · Like
  • Tim White Actually, the definition these “perpetual churches” prefer for the term “protestant” is a denomination the was spawned from the protest against and reactions to the false teaching of the Catholic Church. Since they maintain that their origin predates Constantine and his hijacking of the church by government, they teach that their Church is the perpetual Church promised by Christ.
    23 hrs · Edited · Like
  • Matthew Tyler Dunn Thank you guys for the information, however, I unfortunately ran out of time with it so I had to have it reassigned and passed it to someone better equipped to answer that question. I think I need to study my church history some more. I know only broad information about Constantine and his relation with Christianity regarding how it impacted the empire and some information on the Edict of Milan. Thanks again though!

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