Discuss the importance and influence of Constantine on the spread of Christianity?

Answer 1

After a careful and indepth study of history (Biblical and secular) many people come to the conclusion that Constantine influenced FALSE Christianity greatly.

The Bible prophesied that the Christianity that Jesus taught, would not stay pure for long after the death of the apostles (Acts 20:29, 30; 2Peter 2:1-3; 1John 2:18, 19), and this proved very true.

One reference work says:"First-century Christianity had no temples, built no altars, used no crucifixes, and sponsored no garbed and betitled ecclesiastics. Early Christians celebrated no state holidays and refused all military service. "A careful review of all the information available goes to show that, until the time of Marcus Aurelius [who ruled 161-180 C.E.], no Christian became a soldier; and no soldier, after becoming a Christian, remained in military service."-The Rise of Christianity, by E. Barnes, 1947, p. 333.

By the time Constantine took power(306-337 C.E.), much of 'true Christianity' had been tainted with pagan beliefs and rituals. Constantine, desiring to unite his rather fragmented political kingdom, opted to combine the belief systems of several opposing religions, in an effort to unite them under his rule. He himself was never a true follower of Christ, but was incriminated in the murder of no less than seven close friends and relatives. He had nothing to do with the furthering of TRUE Christianity, but figured in events that led to the development of a state religion disguised as "Christianity", containing a combination of pagan philosophy ,materialism and very few of Jesus' teachings.

"By the time Rome had become an imperial power, Jupiter had become assimilated to the Greek Zeus . . . Later on Jupiter was worshiped as Optimus Maximus, the Best and Greatest, a designation which was to be carried over into Christianity and appears on many a monumental inscription."says the book Roman Mythology.

The New Encyclopædia Britannica adds: "Under Christianity, Greek heroes and even deities survived as saints."

Many people feel that much of what we see today comes from this background, and we owe alot of it to the influence of Constantine, who united these beliefs into a state religion and erroneously called it 'Christianity'.