Talk:Constantine I and Christianity

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Contents

[edit] Biased

This article seems biased to me since it claims '...there were no pagan martyrs' in the time of Constantine, whereas in 'Persecution of religion in ancient Rome' we read that Constantine actually 'ordered the summary execution of eunuch priests in Egypt' (R. MacMullen, "Christianizing The Roman Empire A.D.100-400, Yale University Press, 1984) - a notable contradiction. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 84.51.86.82 (talk) 12:11, 5 June 2008 (UTC)

[edit] Sunday & Milan?

The Edict of Milan (if it even existed) did not make Sunday a special day of observance, that happened 8 years later (321)in Contantine's Sunday Law. MnJWalker 01:50, 24 August 2005 (UTC)

This is correct. The Sunday Law is CJ 3.12.2, passed in 321.

[edit] Constantine as an Eastern Orthodox Saint

I'll add information about Constantine being a Saint of the Eastern Orthodox Church (feast on May 21st). Does anyone know if there are other Churches that give him this particular status? Dahn 19:32, 30 October 2005 (UTC)

The Eastern Catholic Church. In addition, some Catholic sources: [1]. Probably the Acta_Sanctorum.

[edit] merge?

shouldn't this be merged with Constantinian shift? What is the difference in scope? dab (ᛏ) 16:26, 26 December 2005 (UTC)

Constantinian shift is its own unique term. Roughly, this article is about Constantine and Christiantiy, Constantinian shift is about the changes in Christianity in response to the empire.
Great article! Merge will make it too long. --MeBee 06:17, 12 June 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Constantine's Conversion

I have altered the section on Constantine's conversion which was POV and more appropriate for the Constantinian Shift article. The quotation given later in this article makes it quite clear that Constantine was following Christianity, not merely allowing others to do so. The doubts as to the authenticity of his conversion are a much later scholarly debate and those claims do not include proposing that he did not appear to convert until his deathbed, that was his baptism. The link between baptism and becoming a Christian was not strong at this time, but within a hundred years had become so, as the most popular time for baptism switched from just before death to just after birth. MnJWalker 23:36, 17 May 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Before Milan

I removed the following paragraph:

In the end, many Christians kept their religion to themselves even during times of peace, because it was all too likely that the peace would soon be replaced by violence, and that those who had revealed themselves as Christians might be remembered as such during later trials.

While I have not made a great study of evangelism in the early church, I do know that Christian literature contains references to outspoken members of the faith (Eusebius, HE 5.1.10; The Book of Martyrs, preserved in HE, Chp. 2; Justin Martyr was also known for debating a pagan philosopher). W.H.C. Frend said Christians preached on streets and in marketplaces (Martyrdom and Persecution in the Early Church, Anchor Books: 1967, 204). Frend also noted that in 232/233 there is evidence of a church, the existence of which was not hidden (p. 229). Also, Christians frequently visited others in prison (see the letters of Ignatius of Antioch), all sure signs of demonstrating one's faith.

While I realize that the deleted graph says "many Christians," I think it needs to be cited since there is primary, and secondary, source evidence which could cast some doubt on it. If the view of the deleted graph is from a source, I would like to see it cited and placed with the appropriate counter-arguments. --LawrenceTrevallion 06:10, 7 August 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Novak Quote

The quote from Novak on Constantine's conversion is a little odd to me. Is there some evidence that Constantine believed the government had the power to condemn one to hell? The quote makes it sound as if he did believe that. --LawrenceTrevallion 06:16, 7 August 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Fair use rationale for Image:ConstantineCoin.jpg

Image:ConstantineCoin.jpg is being used on this article. I notice the image page specifies that the image is being used under fair use but there is no explanation or rationale as to why its use in this Wikipedia article constitutes fair use. In addition to the boilerplate fair use template, you must also write out on the image description page a specific explanation or rationale for why using this image in each article is consistent with fair use.

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BetacommandBot (talk) 05:09, 2 January 2008 (UTC)

[edit] Creation of bible?

I've heard rumors Constantine had scolars compile/edit/write the New Testament. Maybe this article could attempt to clarify that. --71.182.162.11 (talk) 15:54, 6 January 2008 (UTC)

[edit] Persecutions

As this article is named 'Constantine I and Christianity', I was wondering if the information under the 'Persecutions' heading is really relevant. Although it does span over the time that Constantine is in power, it has no reference to him at all. Does it really belong here? Mentalbasedoninstrumental (talk) 17:32, 6 May 2008 (UTC)

Your insofar correct that it would be appropriate to change the name of the article, if we want to debate "Constantine I and religious persecution" here. If you take a look at articles like: Persecution of religion in ancient Rome it should be rather obvious that we need to debate that question somewhere, and I would think that this is the appropriate place. If there are no objections, I'll move the article to religious beliefs of Constantine I in two weeks. (talk) 02:56, 24 May 2008 (UTC)