Question

Compare the relationship of the army with weak rulers to their relationship to Constantine

Answer 1

Many rulers persecuted Christians while Constantine ended persecution. Rulers before Diocletian tried to rule an empire that was too large; Constantine first ruled only the West. Weak rulers often stole money for themselves and the army while Constantine used money to build important churches and to move the capital.

Answer 2

"Tell me the history of Christianity and I can tell you your theology." This is especially true with a controversial figure like Constantine. Where Roman Catholics present him as laying the foundation for the Papacy, Protestants see him as the one responsible for leading the early Church away from the simplicity of the pure gospel and turning it into an institutional Church. However, blaming Constantine for the fall of the Church is a double-edged sword that cuts in both directions. If Protestants accuse Constantine of tampering with the Church, how do they know that Constantine did not tamper with the Bible? The problem with the "fall of the Church" argument is that it opens the possibility of a radical discontinuity between present-day Christianity and the early Churc