Constantine and the church

My friend Art went on a "Reformation Trip" to Europe a few years ago, and wrote a paper on "Constantine's Legacy" for the trip. He was kind enough to share his paper with me, since it relates to Pagan Christianity. Both Pagan Christianity and Art's paper reference Justo Gonzalez's The Story of Christianity, Vol I. I told Art that he could have written a controversial book about church practices back in 2004, before Viola and Barna!

Here a few excerpts that I'd like to share (with Art's permission):

Constantine bestowed the empire's favor on the church. He made church lands tax-free. He provided labor and materials for the construction of churches. He built world-class church-buildings all throughout the empire, the likes of which Christians at that time had never seen before. Prior to Constantine, Christians met in the homes and they also met in simple church buildings they owned. He gave gifts of food to members of the church. He gave allowances to the nuns and employees of the church. These allowances were funded by the state. Before the 4th century, the church was known for its social cohesiveness. Christians took care of each other. According to historian Michael Grant, Christians possessed retirement and funeral insurance companies which extended benefits to the humblest social classes. In effect, Constantine made the church materially-dependent on the state instead of God.

[...]

Constantine also introduced changes to Christian worship. Gonzalez wrote these about the changes:

"Incense, which was used as a respect for the emperor, began appearing in Christian churches. Officiating ministers , who until then had worn everyday clothes, began dressing in more luxurious garments. Likewise, a number of gestures indicating respect, which were normally reserved for the emperor, now became part of Christian worship. The custom was also introduced of beginning services with a processional. Choirs were developed, partly in order to give body to the procession. Eventually, the congregation came to have a less active role in worship." 

These were some of the changes Constantine brought to the church. His influence extended to church polity, worship and the church's social welfare system, which was rooted in the body coming to each other's needs. The peace that Constantine gave the church came at a great price.

Comments

[Art]

Natalie,

I saw enough crazy leadership and practices at the church I attended for 12 years. I was tempted to make my report more contextual and make obvious parallels for the people in my travel group. But I decided to restrain myself and write it the way I wrote it.

Now tell me, just how "controversial" is Barna's book? I really don't find Barna controversial at all, and if he is, it's probably not controversial enough for my taste. When it comes to controversial, I like Elijah-like, Jeremiah-like and John the Baptist-like controversial.

:D

Art

[Natalie]

The book definitely strikes a nerve. When I've mentioned the issues in this book to my friends, every one of them has reacted negatively and immediately began to criticize. And I consider all of these people very well-read, educated, and relatively open to new things. Our church practices are so precious to us that rethinking them causes a strong reaction.