Christianity As An Imperial Religion

The positive influence of Christianity is far reaching especially in the rich history and culture of Western Civilization despite a long standing ignorance or adamant denial of its contributions. The Bible itself is responsible for much of the language, literature, and fine arts we enjoy today as its artists and composers were heavily influenced by its writings. Paul Maier, in writing the forward to the book How Christianity Changed the World by Alvin J. Schmidt, says this about the profound impact Christianity has had on the development of Western Civilization:

When Constantine was battling for control of Rome, he prayed for divine interference and saw a cross, the sign of Christianity. He put a cross on all of his soldiers, and they were victorious, with Constantine crediting his triumph to the Christian God. After Constantine took power in 313 AD, he announced the end of Christians persecutions. Later, in AD YEAR, Constantine converted, and Christianity grew faster than ever. Of all factors that influenced Christianity development, Constantine’s conversion was one of the most important, because he made it acceptable.

The new faith that brought a message and established the resurrection of Jesus Christ was the faith that Constantine adopted as a child from his mother. Christianity during Constantine’s reign established much dominance over other religions and was the main reason for influence of the Christian. Christianity in the Roman world had many perils from gladiatorial battles, to forms of charity which affected the Roman world for good (McGiffert, 34). Charity became with

When thinking about the history of the world, one must always consider that merchants as well as trade have played an immerse role in shaping the world as it is today. They are responsible for many of the cross-cultural interactions that we have had in the past. Christianity and Islam, the two predominant religions of the world today, have both grown and spread through merchants and trade also. These two chief religions both have attitudes towards merchants and trade that have either developed or decreased overtime. According to these documents, from up to the year 1500, Christianity went from a negative view of merchants and trade to a positive view while Islam went from a positive view to a negative view, but both sides

Christianity and the Roman Empire shared an important bond. Christianity offered the Roman Empire joy, hope, a shift in their world view, and a monotheistic God. Rome offered Christianity a more efficient way of spreading the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

Indeed, Constantine called upon the aid of Christ to help him defeat his adversaries and end the wars of imperial succession that had been plaguing Rome since the crisis of the third century, “…he [Constantine] needed some more powerful aid than his military forces could afford him…”(Eusebius, The Conversion of Constantine, Ch. XXVII).

Factors Which Led to the Spread of Christianity in the Roman Empire Christianity was not born in a vacumn. There were many social, geographical, historical and religious issues prevailing at the time of Christ and all of which were favorable to the spread of Christianity. Geograpicly, Christianity came into being in the Meditation world, the largest of the various centers of civilization at that time. Israel stands almost central to the five continents, dividing the east and west.

In the sixth century B.C.E., the civilization of Aksum, which was located in what in now Ethiopia, was flourishing. One traveler wrote his thoughts about the trading processes that the Aksumites did. This piece of writing that he wrote can show a lot about how the Aksumites lived.

The author's main purpose for writing A Myth of a Christian Nation is to explain how the world has claimed to be founded on christian principles but has neglected to see that this is a lie that we as christians and people in society have told ourselves to make it seem like we are “ one nation under God”. Boyd also focuses in on and introducing our role in the kingdom of God vs the kingdom of the world and our role in politics and society.

The relationship between Christians and the Roman Empire is complicated to say the least. Before the summation of the primary sources begin there must be a little background information provided. Rome was in power over a big portion of the Mediterranean region. A good portion of Christians lived under Rome’s rule. Rome was a very tolerant state when it came to religious flexibility. As long as you recognized the Roman God’s then they were tolerant with any other practices you decided to have. The Christians would not recognize the Roman God’s and that caused great friction. There are many primary sources historians have found on the relationship between the Christians and the Romans. The majority of the sources being used in this summation are from the Documents of the Christian Church the fourth edition. Also three primary sources from the times of Constantine, the emperor of Rome in the fourth century. The Romans start as thinking of the Christians as criminals, to being tolerant with them, to eventually they embrace the Christian faith.

Constantine the Great, first Christian Emperor, originator of Constantinople, creator of the Byzantine Empire, military conqueror, and honored saint, has been labeled by many the most instrumental emperor of the Roman Empire. Constantine played a crucial role in the development of Europe during the Middle Ages, and founded Christianity as the formal religion of the Roman Empire. His dynamic yet effective predominance laid the infrastructure of European development. From his humble beginnings, to his command of the Roman Empire, to his final days, Constantine’s impact on world history and Christianity has left behind an unforgettable legacy. He was described by Eusebius as “such an emperor as all history records

In addition, there were prominent figure during this time that also aided in the growth of Christianity. One person who aided to the growth of Christianity was Constantine. Constantine was a Emperor of the Western Roman Empire and was the first emperor to publicly convert to Christianity in 312 AD. Constantine conversion was prompted before going into war he was Alerted by a vision that the Christian God is on his side, Constantine

“Although some disagree as to the real influence of some of his actions, it cannot be denied that the name of Constantine in whom “… the dream of the triumph of Christ in the world became associated…” will forever be inseparable from the formation of the early church.” The conversion of Constantine occurred as he was marching on Rome to unite the country under his rule. There are two events that transpired that lead to his conversion. The first event was the “Vision of the Cross” where Constantine saw a trophy of a cross in the sky with the inscription “CONQUER BY THIS”. The second event was a vision that Constantine had of the Son of God telling him to use the sign of the cross in battle as a sign of protection. These two occurrences led

Although the rise of Christianity to dominate western religions may have been undeniable, there were key moments that helped secure this position for Christianity. The rise of the constantinian Dynasty was one of those key moments. During the 4th century, Constantine rose to emperor in the west after the death of his father. Never the less, constantinian and his brother in law Maxentius who was also his co-emperor in the west were rivals. There was a lot of hostility between them and a war broke out after years of political backstabbing. Before they met in the battle of Milvian Bridge in 312 AD, Constantine apparently had saw the sign of Christ in his dream. Several years later, Eusebius gives an account in which Christ appeared to Constantine and told him to place the heavenly sign on the battle standards of his army. Armed with this holy power, Constantine destroyed Maxentius and there for becoming the only western Emperor.

the region became a thriving trading center in which merchants exchange gold and ivory for materials. The Axumite had a highly develop culture (Gish, Thay, Latif, & Nevins, Pg. 24-26). It's more famous biblical figure that’s been proclaimed by the six scribes, that the country monarchy was descended from the queen of Sheba and King Solomon in order to unite their country. The queen of Sheba visited king Solomon who in turn became her mentor in the arts of royal statecraft. Legend has it that their son Menelik I, was declared king by his father and that his descendants ruled the kingdom of Axum for centuries (Gish, Thay, Latif, & Nevins, Pg. 25-26). These details add a rich spiritual texture to Ethiopia history. Ethiopia power in the monarchy lasted many years until it enters military rule, of 1974-1991(Gish, Thay, Latif, & Nevins, Pg. 31). The last emperor Haile Selassie modernizes the country, introduces a constitution, a two-house parliament, and a court system. He also abolishes slavery and eliminated brutal punishment for crime (Heinrichs, Pg.50). He was a respected leader among the African nations. He also brought Ethiopia into the United Nations, and in 1963, helped form