tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1937029335588381712.post2483111023552343400..comments2024-01-07T06:04:58.892-08:00Comments on Roots & Wings: Constantine, Calvin and a night in Airport Exile. Alan Frowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13397225158817567917noreply@blogger.comBlogger1125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1937029335588381712.post-10982802157000064302015-07-04T12:38:22.364-07:002015-07-04T12:38:22.364-07:00Thanks for this post, Alan!
Another thing that Ch...Thanks for this post, Alan!<br /><br />Another thing that Church history gives us is encouragement that we are not alone, that others have gone before us and weathered cultural opposition without succumbing. Christ was tempted and tested in every way that we are, and therefore his Body was/has been, too.<br /><br />I know that you're writing this from an airport terminal, running on little sleep and a lot of jetlag! I just wanted to clarify some points and counter the following sentences: "Christendom, while providing protection and privilege for Christians, was never a good mother of radical Christ followers. That tended to happen in places with less Christian freedom."<br /><br />It's true, an intense period of Christianity's persecution ended with emperor Diocletian's death in 311. Christianity was finally legalized in 313 by Constantine's Edict of Milan, but wasn't declared the official religion of the Roman Empire until 380. Were it not for the providence of Constantine's role, and the stalwart defense of orthodoxy by such figures as Sts. Alexander, Athanasius, Nicholas and others, it's very possible we would have an Arian theology today.<br /><br />While Christianity does thrive under persecution and produces the solidarity you write about, I think it may be too much to say Christendom was never a good mother of radical Christ followers. The lack of external persecution puts a higher importance on self-control and personal purity, and it can be in some ways more difficult to maintain a faithful witness in a time of excess. Lack of opposition may make it easier to claim Christ, but it does not make it any easier to follow Him.<br /><br />In skipping from the 4th century to the 16th century, you miss out on 12 centuries of Christian witness that even Reformers like Calvin appealed to in their arguments against the Latin Church. You also miss the witness of the ecumenical councils, and that great Symbol of the Faith, the Nicene Creed.<br /><br />It skips incredible saints, theologians, and church leaders like St. Augustine, St. John Chrysostom (who spoke ), the Cappadocian fathers, and others.<br /><br />It skips the conversion of Ireland by St. Patrick, or the conversion of Slavs by Sts. Cyril and Methodius. The later missionaries established Christianity in Russia, which thrived for nearly 1000 years, only to be trampled by the communist regime a century ago.<br /><br />This may be too much writing on a minor point, but I've learned so much from the entirety of Christian witness — not just pre-Nicea and post-Reformation Christianity — that I can't help but hope others see its great value and witness.<br /><br />I hope the rest of your trip goes well! I look forward to future posts.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18061103139483896804noreply@blogger.com