Church and State BACKGROUND

Transcription

1 Church and State BACKGROUND Life for Christians changed dramatically when Constantine became emperor. While marching to a battle for his seat as emperor supreme, Constantine saw a cross in the sky. He decided that this was a sign that he should become a Christian. So he took up the banner of the cross and marched into battle victoriously. This battle secured his political position. Constantine believed that God had given him the victory. He painted the sign of the cross on all battle shields. Constantine s armies went into battle under the sign of the cross, on their banners. Constantine ended persecution of Christians by A.D It is interesting to note that he did not accept Christ as his Lord and Savior until he was on his deathbed. Constantine promoted Christianity, but there is not much evidence that he led a Christ-centered life. Under this emperor, being a Christian moved from being opposed to being legal. One of Constantine s successors, Theodosian, made it the law to be a Christian in A.D The tables were turned. People who were not considered Christians were persecuted during this time. The church and state had become a team under Constantine s leadership. From A.D. 213 until A.D. 110, the Roman Catholic (universal) Church gained in status and power. It became the church. Church and state ruled together or so it seemed. As time passed, questions emerged about who actually ruled the Roman Empire. The emperors were strong. They lived lavishly and spread power among the government ranks at local levels. The emperors demanded respect and obedience, and desired complete loyalty at all costs. Yet the marriage between church and state had muddied the waters. The popes were becoming more and more powerful. As the state (government) began using the church for taxation, lawmaking, and dissemination of information, the status of the pope became elevated. After all, the pope was in charge of the church or wasn t he? It was important to protray a united front, as the empire was constantly being challenged by other empires. The Roman Empire was involved in battle after battle to remain dominant in that part of the world. The struggle to maintain a healthy marriage between church and state continued with the help of Charlemagne, ruler of the Roman Empire from On Christmas Day, Charlemagne was crowned by Pope Leo II as emperor of the Romans. He was eventually recognized by emperors in the east. The Roman Empire was revived. Charlemagne had been heavily influenced by Augustine s writings. He wanted to help build the City of God as described by Augustine. From his perspective, expanding his Christian empire would contribute to Augustine s dream. This emperor was also interested in reformation with the church. As he conquered new territories, he created bishoprics, established monasteries, appointed abbots, and presided over church synods. It is important to note that most ordinary people could not read. In other words, they did not have direct access to the Bible. Priests and other church officials taught in Latin, a language foreign to many people in the congregation. Charlemagne tried to make improvements in the parish system. As Anabaptist History: Church and State 65

2 Christianity spread through the Frankish states, Charlemagne developed parish districts and appointed clergy. He required the clergy to teach the creeds, Ten Commandments, and special prayers. Charlemagne was instrumental in bringing scholars from England, Ireland, and elsewhere. While Charlemagne treated the popes with respect, he encouraged them to support him in prayer and leave administrative decisions in his hands. Emperor Charlemagne spent most of his life fighting. He defeated the Lombards and took the iron crown as his own. He captured part of Spain from Muslim Arabs. The empire s most persistent enemies were the Saxons, from northern Germany. These warriors loved their independence and detested Christianity. Charlemagne finally subdued the Saxons and exiled them. Charlemagne championed law and order in an age of barbarism and state-church Christianity. He died in 814. By that time, the Roman Empire was one of the strongest empires in western Europe. Tradition states that Charlemagne was buried in splendor. A century later, his tomb was opened. All that was left of the great monarch was his skeleton. A scroll of Scripture had been buried with him, and on closer inspection, it was discovered that Charlemagne s bony forefinger rested on a particular verse. The verse read: What does it profit a man if he gain the whole world and lose his soul, for what shall a man give in exchange for his soul? After Charlemagne s death, the Slavs and Hungarians attacked the empire from the east. For 300 years, Christians in Europe prayed, Lord, deliver us from the horsemen. Chaos and confusion mounted. Europe once more fell into instability. Feudalism arose from the ruins. Pope Gregory VII, also known as Hildebrand, is the most important person in the Middle Ages after Charlemagne. In 1049, Pope Leo IX transferred Hildebrand to a monastery in Rome, where he eventually became a powerful cardinal. The monastic movement at Cluny had begun a reform against the luxurious life of many monks. This reform called for freedom of the church from secular control. The movement also wanted to elevate the papacy as the supreme authority in the church. During the period of 1073 to 1085, the pope rose to power as supreme pontiff. Hildebrand became pope under unusual circumstances in He was conducting a funeral service in the Basilica of St. John Lateron when the people began to shout, Hildebrand for pope! They carried him to the Church of St. Peter, where he was seated on the papal throne. Later, the cardinals proclaimed him pope. Hildebrand was quoted as saying, The Roman Church was founded by God alone. The Roman pope alone can with right be called universal. He alone may use the imperial insignia. His feet alone shall be kissed by all princes. He may despise emperors. He himself may be judged by no one. The Roman Church has never erred, nor will it err in all eternity. Hildebrand worked with great determination to create a Christian empire governed by the pope. Hildebrand continued to gain power until his death. He fought with the emperor and helped oust other government officials who disagreed with him. Hildebrand laid the groundwork for the Crusades, which historians view as one of Christianity s most tragic and wicked exterminations under the guise of spreading the faith. 66

3 During the Middle Ages, Christians became interested in making journeys to the Holy Land. They wanted to see the place where Jesus had lived, taught, and performed many miracles. In 1073, the Seljuk Turks seized control of Palestine and began to desecrate the holy places and terrorize pilgrims from the Roman Empire. People appealed to Pope Hildebrand, who then planned a war. He wanted to drive the Turks (who were Muslims) out of Palestine and replace them with Christians from Rome. He died before he could accomplish this goal. In the early 1090 s, Pope Urban II decided to rally the empires of Europe to begin a military expedition against a common foe the Turks. Pope Urban called a great assembly of churchmen and nobles. He called on the knights of Europe to end their feuds and concentrate on ridding the Holy Land of the Turks. The pope promised exemption from the most horrible of sins to those who helped fight in the Crusades. The Crusades were comprised of four separate campaigns, which spanned the period from 1096 to The First Crusade was the largest. Common people, as well as trained knights, rallied for this cause. The crusaders marched to Jerusalem, fighting many bloody battles along the way. After six weeks of fighting in Jerusalem, they finally captured the city. Most of the crusaders returned to their homes, leaving a small number of people to care for the city. Less than 50 years later, the Turks again inhabited this part of the world. A Second Crusade followed. The Europeans were not united on this march, and due to internal struggles within their ranks, the Turks were able to prevail. The Third Crusade followed the Turkish recapture of most major religious cities of the Holy Land. A group of high-powered European leaders launched this crusade, only to find that they had opposing goals. They were not able to retake Jerusalem, but did secure permission for European pilgrims to visit important places of Christian history. The Fourth Crusade was an expedition for economic and political gain. The crusaders never reached the Holy Land because of complications arising from their alliance with the Venetians from Italy. Much of the Holy Land remained in the hands of the Muslims. The sad story of the Crusades reveals the depths to which much of western Christianity had fallen. The apostolic faith that preached love and tolerance to enemies was replaced by a gospel of hate. The Crusades set the stage for the Renaissance in the 14th century, which in turn prepared the way for the Reformation in the 15th. 67

4 Church and State LESSON 2: BIBLE & SWORD Objective To explore how historical actors and decisions led to church leaders supporting national violence with their Christian faith. Matthew 5:39 But I say to you, Do not resist an evildoer. But if anyone strikes you on the right cheek, turn the other also. Key Concepts Students will learn of Constantine s decision to make Christianity legal in the Roman empire in 312 CE. Students will explore the idea of cause and effect in history and imagine alternate paths of history. Students will consider the future implications of Constantine s decision. Students will contrast Constantine s approach with the peacemaking emphasized by Christ in Matthew 5:39. Estimated Lesson Time: 50 minutes Materials Two pieces of paper with print on one side Swinging Wonder -type toy, softball and bat, or box of dominoes My Name is Constantine and Connect the History handouts (pp. 72 and 73). Student Bibles (Optional) Sword or picture of sword, if using Extend the Lesson Swinging Wonder Teacher Preparation 1. Insert two pieces of paper with print on one side into separate places in your Journeys with God lesson book. 2. Bring to class a Swinging Wonder -type toy, a softball and bat, or a box of dominoes, to illustrate the principle of cause and effect. 3. Make enough copies of Connect the History and My Name is Constantine handouts for each student to have one. 4. If using the sword object lesson (p. 71), find an actual sword or a photo of a real sword to bring to class. Costume shops or drama departments may have one to borrow. INTRODUCING THE LESSON Cause and effect. Without saying a word, place a Swinging Wonder -type toy, softball and bat, or box of dominoes on a table or desk in view of the entire class. If using Swinging Wonder, set the balls in motion, swinging back and forth. If using a softball and bat, carefully use the bat to bunt the ball to one student after another. If using dominoes, set up several dozen in a spiral pattern and, when you 68

5 have the class attention, knock them down. Ask, What idea does this represent? Elicit responses. Identify the central idea you are interested in cause and effect. Explain, One action creates another action. One event leads to another event. Because of one decision, other decisions are made. Invite students to identify examples of other concrete situations of cause and effect: When you drive a car too fast, the car may go out of control; when you strike a match, a fire starts to burn; when you flip a switch, electric current connects and the light bulb goes on, etc. LESSON STEPS 1. Timester time. Open this Journeys with God teacher s manual in front of the class, as if preparing to read, but discover one of the pieces of paper you inserted ahead of time. Say, That s strange. Here s a note I don t remember being here before. What does it say? Pretend to read the statement. Continue with your charade by saying, Well, I think you ll find this interesting. It s a note from Timester. He asks me to read it to you. I guess it can t hurt. This is what he says: Sup, friends? Timester comin atcha again. Weren t spectin to hear from me, were ya? Well, here I am. I was going to say in the flesh, but that wouldn t be quite true, would it, seein as how I m writin to you and not standin before you in the classroom. Any rate, I got somethin to tell ya today. It s about the very beginning of this amazing timeline that s surrounding us. See at the very beginning? There by 1 AD? Well, to make a long story short (but not sweet), for more than the first three centuries of Christianity, things did not go well for the Christians. Emperor after Roman Emperor made life miserable for the Christians. Claudius kicked them out of Rome, Nero burned them alive, Trajan punished them, Marcus Aurelius killed some more, as did Septimius Severus. Valerian burned more Christians alive, and Diocletian tried to wipe out Christianity by destroying all the Christian churches and books that he could. So, you get the idea. The reason I m tellin you this is that it s like a sequel. It s hard to figure out what happened in The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King [or insert another popular trilogy or book series here if desired] if you didn t read The Fellowship of the Ring first. You have to know what happened first, in order to figure out what happened later. You have to know that Christians were persecuted for a long time before you can figure out why Constantine was such a big deal. But I m not gonna tell you who Constantine was. That s somebody else s job. Peace out. Add, Well, I guess it s somebody else s job to tell you about Constantine. Folks left this handout for everyone. 2. Meeting Constantine. Assign students to read the My Name is Constantine handout silently. When they are finished, read Matthew 5:39. But I say to you, Do not resist an evildoer. But if anyone strikes you on the right cheek, turn the other also. Ask, How did Constantine miss this verse? Break the class up into groups of three or four. Two groups are to get ready to answer questions as if they were press secretaries for Constantine. The remaining groups need to come up with questions to ask Constantine about his life. Tell the students they have five minutes to prepare. 69

6 Visit the groups and suggest that the questioners be sure to ask about the connection Constantine made between the Bible and the sword. Serve as moderator of a question-and-answer session between Constantine and his questioners. Let the students know that as moderator, you can rule that a question is inappropriate. Add your own questions to highlight how much of a change Constantine was from previous emperors. 3. Alternate histories. Following the interview session, brainstorm with the students what might have been some alternate histories. For example, Constantine might have decided the image meant he had to be prepared to die defenseless on the cross, and dropped his sword. Or, he might have commissioned frescoes of a fighting Jesus carrying a sword into battle. What about generals serving as priests? Or armies that went to war in the name of Jesus and killed people to save them? Invite students to think of other possibilities. Write their answers on chalkboard or newsprint. Comment that there have been times, such as during the Crusades, when Christians said they needed to kill people in order to save them. Ask students if this matches their understanding of Jesus teachings. 4. Connecting history. Distribute the Connect the History handout and give students time to figure out the correct order. Go over the actual order: 4, 11, 2, 1, 3, Writing decisions. Ask the students to spend five to ten minutes writing about the results of decisions they have made in the past. Students may choose from the following prompts (write on the chalkboard): Because I ate a sandwich, I... Because I got up this morning, I... Because my parents moved, I... Because this president was elected, I... Because our church got a new pastor, I... Because my parent (friend, neighbor, relative) decided to change jobs, I... Because Constantine brought the Bible and sword together, I Discussion. Invite students to respond to the following questions by bringing in examples from their writing prompt responses: Why do you think Constantine married the sword and the Bible? What information from the Bible would you use to try to convince Constantine that he was making a mistake? What analogy would you use to describe a cause and effect? What has changed since the time of Constantine in how people view the relationship of the Bible and the sword? If you were on an elevator and had only three floors to explain the most important thing about Constantine s decision, what would you say? 7. Word from Big Idea. Start to close your book, but make a show of finding another piece of paper. Say, Oh, here s another note. This one is from Big Idea. She writes: Sometimes we inherit the effects of decisions that we did not make ourselves. 70

7 The Anabaptists inherited the effects of the decision Constantine and many others like him made. Not only did people think the Bible and the sword went together, but they also thought the Church and the Government went together. That s not only a big idea, as we ll soon discover. It was a bad idea. Finish by saying, Hmm, I wonder why Big Idea thinks it s a bad idea for the church and state to go together. I guess we ll find out more in the next lesson. EXTEND THE LESSON (These activities will extend the lesson to longer than 50 minutes.) Memorizing Matthew 5:39. Pair up students and have them repeat the verse to each other until they can say it out loud while patting their heads and rubbing their bellies. Ask, Why are we memorizing this verse in a lesson on the Bible and the sword? Sword object lesson. Bring an actual sword into class or a large photo of one. Ask, What do swords represent in today s world? Are they considered cool? Why or why not? Fictional consideration. Assign students to write a story about an alternate world in which a Roman emperor or some other world leader decided to make peacemaking his or her first priority. What might that world have looked like? 71

8 My Name is Constantine I found this in my files. Thought you might be interested in it. Folks I grew up watching my father try to rule just one part of the Roman Empire. Under Diocletian, the empire had been split up into four sections, in hopes of creating more stability. It didn't work. I watched the four assistant emperors battle with each other even more than they battled the enemies of the empire. I knew that I would never do that when it came my turn to govern. I was going to rule them all. Eventually I got my chance. It was the day before I marched to meet Maxentius. I knew that if I could defeat him, I could rule all of Rome. As I was marching forward with my army, I saw the most amazing thing. A cross of light appeared in the sky above the setting sun. In the middle of the cross were the words, Hoc Signo Vinces, which means By this sign thou shalt conquer. I knew God had sent a message to me. All I had to do was support the Christian religion and I would win the battle and rule over the entire empire. I decided that was what I would do. The next day, we were in the midst of heavy fighting when Maxentius and his soldiers started to retreat across the Tiber River bridge. While they were crossing it, the bridge collapsed. Maxentius met his death by drowning. This was as sure a sign to me that God had given me the victory as was the sign I had seen the night before. I kept my word. From that year forward, 312 CE, I made Christianity the favored religion throughout the Roman empire. To be honest, I did not practice Christianity myself and only professed my faith as I lay dying. But I have heard that after my death, in 380 CE to be exact, Theodosian one of the emperors who came after me made this declaration: We desire that all peoples who fall beneath the sway of our imperial clemency should profess the faith which we believe to have been communicated by the Apostle Peter to the Romans and maintained in its traditional form to the present day... And we require that those that follow this rule of faith should embrace the name of Catholic (universal) Christians, adjudging all others madmen and ordering them to be designated as heretics. And to think that it came about because of my cross in the sky! I protected the Bible with my sword, because the Bible protected me when I used my sword. 72

9 Connect the History Connect the actual path of history by drawing a line from ball to ball in the correct order. Six of the balls will not be connected, because those events never happened (although they could have). 1. Roman emperors persecute Christians for 3 centuries burning them, executing them, banishing them, destroying their churches, and burning their sacred books. 2. Many Roman citizens come to believe, and choose not to burn incense to Roman emperors, who are worshipped as Gods. 3. Roman emperors continue persecuting Christians until 312 CE, when Constantine lifts Christianity to the highest position in the Roman empire. 4. Christ dies on a cross, an execution method used for thieves and other common criminals. 5. Disciples give up, two days after Christ s death, and decide that Jesus was nothing but a hoax. 6. Apostles keep their beliefs to themselves and the community of believers never gets any bigger than about 300 people. 7. Christians figure it will cost too much and go ahead and burn incense to the Roman emperor. They are accepted, and allowed to practice what they want, as long as they don't rock the boat. 8. Theodosian declares that all religions other than Christianity are heretical. 9. Christianity dies out when its churches are destroyed and its books burnt. Those who are left have seen too many people die, so they give up and convert to more popular religions. 10. Constantine decides to go back on his word and uses his new power to kill all the Christians that he can. 11. A group of disciples remains faithful to their belief in Christ s teachings and spread the word of his message of love, saving grace, and redemption. 12. Theodosian begins killing everyone who won t immediately convert to Christianity. 73