Was Constantine the Great a Christian

Constantine—also known as Emperor Constantine I or Constantine the Great—decreed tolerance for Christians in the Edict of Milan, convened an ecumenical council to discuss Christian dogma and heresy, and constructed Christian edifices in his new capital city (Byzantium/Constantinople, now Istanbul) Was Constantine a Christian? The short answer is, Yes, Constantine was Christian, or seems to have said he was, but it belies the complexity of the issue. Constantine may have been Christian since before he became emperor. [For this theory, read Constantines Conversion: Do We Really Need It? by T. G. Elliott; Phoenix, Vol. 41, No. 4 (Winter, 1987), pp. 420-438.] He may have been Christian since 312 when he won the Battle at the Milvian Bridge, although the accompanying medallion showing him with the Sol Invictus deity a year later raises questions. The story goes that Constantine had a vision of the words in hoc signo vinces upon the symbol of Christianity, a cross, that led him to promise to follow the Christian religion if victory were granted. Ancient Historians on the Conversion of Constantine A contemporary of Constantine and a Christian, who became bishop of Caesarea in 314, Eusebius describes the series of events: CHAPTER XXVIII: How, while he was praying, God sent him a Vision of a Cross of Light in the Heavens at Mid-day, with an Inscription admonishing him to conquer by that.ACCORDINGLY he called on him with earnest prayer and supplications that he would reveal to him who he was, and stretch forth his right hand to help him in his present difficulties. And while he was thus praying with fervent entreaty, a most marvelous sign appeared to him from heaven, the account of which it might have been hard to believe had it been related by any other person. But since the victorious emperor himself long afterwards declared it to the writer of this history, (1) when he was honored with his acquaintance and society, and confirmed his statement by an oath, who could hesitate to accredit the relation, especially since the testimony of after- time has established its truth? He said that about noon, when the day was already beginning to decline, he saw with his own eyes the trophy of a cross of light in t he heavens, above the sun, and bearing the inscription, CONQUER BY THIS. At this sight he himself was struck with amazement, and his whole army also, which followed him on this expedition, and witnessed the miracle.CHAPTER XXIX: How the Christ of God appeared to him in his Sleep, and commanded him to use in his Wars a Standard made in the Form of the Cross.He said, moreover, that he doubted within himself what the import of this apparition could be. And while he continued to ponder and reason on its meaning, night suddenly came on; then in his sleep the Christ of God appeared to him with the same sign which he had seen in the heavens, and commanded him to make a likeness of that sign which he had seen in the heavens, and to use it as a safeguard in all engagements with his enemies.CHAPTER XXX: The Making of the Standard of the Cross.AT dawn of day he arose, and communicated the marvel to his friends: and then, calling together the workers in gold and precious stones, he sat in the m idst of them, and described to them the figure of the sign he had seen, bidding them represent it in gold and precious stones. And this representation I myself have had an opportunity of seeing.CHAPTER XXXI: A Description of the Standard of the Cross, which the Romans now call the Labarum.Now it was made in the following manner. A long spear, overlaid with gold, formed the figure of the cross by means of a transverse bar laid over it. On the top of the whole was fixed a wreath of gold and precious stones; and within this, the symbol of the Saviours name, two letters indicating the name of Christ by means of its initial characters, the letter P being intersected by X in its centre: and these letters the emperor was in the habit of wearing on his helmet at a later period. From the cross-bar of the spear was suspended a cloth, a royal piece, covered with a profuse embroidery of most brilliant precious stones; and which, being also richly interlaced with gold, presented an indescribable degree of beauty to the beholder. This banner was of a square form, and the upright staff, whose lower section was of great length, bore a golden half-length portrait of the pious emperor and his children on its upper part, beneath the trophy of the cross, and immediately above the embroidered banner.The emperor constantly made use of this sign of salvation as a safeguard against every adverse and hostile power, and commanded that others similar to it should be carried at the head of all his armies.Eusebius of Caesarea The Life of the Blessed Emperor Constantine Thats one account. The fifth-century historian Zosimus writes about the pragmatic reasons for Constantine seeming to embrace the newish faith: Constantine under pretence of comforting her, applied a remedy worse than the disease. For causing a bath to be heated to an extraordinary degree, he shut up Fausta [Constantines wife] in it, and a short time after took her out dead. Of which his conscience accusing him, as also of violating his oath, he went to the priests to be purified from his crimes. But they told him, that there was no kind of lustration that was sufficient to clear him of such enormities. A Spaniard, named Aegyptius, very familiar with the court-ladies, being at Rome, happened to fall into converse with Constantine, and assured him, that the Christian doctrine would teach him how to cleanse himself from all his offences, and that they who received it were immediately absolved from all their sins. Constantine had no sooner heard this than he easily believed what was told him, and forsaking the rites of his country, received those which Aegyptius offered him; and for the first instance of his impiety, suspected the truth of divination. For since many fortunate occurrences had been thereby predicted to him, and really had happened according to such prediction, he was afraid that others might be told something which should fall out to his misfortune ; and for that reason applied himself to the abolishing of the practice. And on a particular festival, when the army was to go up to the Capitol, he very indecently reproached the solemnity, and treading the holy ceremonies, as it were, under his feet, incurred the hatred of the senate and people.THE HISTORY OF COUNT ZOSIMUS. London: Green and Chaplin (1814) Constantine may not have been a Christian until his deathbed baptism. Constantines Christian mother, St. Helena, may have converted him or he may have converted her. Most people consider Constantine a Christian from the Milvian Bridge in 312, but he wasnt baptized until a quarter century later. Today, depending on which branch and denomination of Christianity youre following, Constantine might not count as a Christian without the baptism, but its not an event that clear in the first few centuries of Christianity when Christian dogma had yet to be fixed. A related question is: Why Did Constantine Wait Until He Was Dying to Be Baptized? Here are some responses from the Ancient / Classical History forum. Please add your opinion to the forum thread. Was the deathbed conversion of Constantine the act of a moral pragmatist? Constantine was enough of a Christian to wait until his deathbed to be baptized. He knew that a ruler had to do things that were against Christian teachings, so he waited until he no longer had to do such things. That may be the thing that I most respect him for.Kirk Johnson or Was Constantine a duplicitous hypocrite? If I believe in the Christian god, but know that I will have to do things which are against the teachings of that faith, I can be excused for doing so by postponing baptism? Yes, Ill join Alcoholics Anonymous after this crate of beer. If that isnt duplicity and subscription to double standards, then nothing is.ROBINPFEIFER See: Religion and Politics at the Council at Nicaea, by Robert M. Grant. The Journal of Religion, Vol. 55, No. 1 (Jan. 1975), pp. 1-12

Essay on Life Course of a Mas Murderer - 780 Words

The Life Course of a Mass Murderer Cornelius Davis DeVry University The Life Course of a Mass Murderer On April 16, 2007 one of the most devastating mass murders in U.S history occurred at a Virginia college. Seung-Hui Cho a 23 year old South Korean alone executed the killing of 33 people by securing colleges doors to prevent escape of any students. Events such as these are truly tragic and devastating to all involved. By gathering background information about Seung-Hui Cho, we can effectively examine social development theories as they relate to Cho and review my analysis that this particular occurrence was preventable. Born in South Korea, Seung-Hui Cho immigrated to America when he was 8 years old. Although Cho was a quiet well†¦show more content†¦Cho had a hard childhood and was in the shadows of his very successful sister. Even in college Cho had no friends and began to look up to other school shooters as martyrs. Although these individuals were not his friends at all in his situation they were the closest thing to having friends. In college Cho was accused of stalking women on two different occasions, was caught taking photos of the legs of female students in class and was separated out of classes. I believe that Cho’s antisocial lifestyle along with the transition any from home eventually lead him to commit the mass murder. Cho’s anti-social lifestyle seemed to escalate to criminal behaviors from the time he went off to college until the time of the Virginia Tech shooting. I believe that this tragedy could have been prevented if the proper preventative measures and treatment techniques were taken. As a boy Cho should have been taken in for a mental evaluation but I believe the integration of his family into the American society prevented that. In high school Cho being bullied and teased could have been put to a stop by teachers and surrounding students. Also when Cho started writing gruesome poems short stories and plays he should have been recommended to a counselor. Any counselor that Cho had encounters with could have been a lo t more persistent in getting to the bottom of Cho’s situations. A teacher college teacher doesn’t just separate a student from her class. FinallyShow MoreRelatedThe Rights And Privileges Of Women1527 Words   |  7 Pagesthe complete opposite, women have the same rights as men (in mostly all cases) and have even more leniency. â€Å"As for anyone - be it man or woman - who does righteous deeds, and is a believer withal - him shall We most certainly cause to live a good life; and most certainly shall We grant unto such as these their reward in accordance with the best that they ever did.†(An-Nahl Ayah 97). The islamophobic people of the west only take ayahs and hadiths out of context in order to try to convince the worldRead MoreCase Study 2: U.S. Versus Aol. 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Federal Reserve Paper Free Essays

Federal Reserve Paper Alex Layer Macroeconomics On October 23 and 24 the Federal Reserve Open Market Committee held a meeting to discuss what they need to do or continue to do to stimulate the economy. According to the statement consumer spending has increased, but investment in companies has continued to decrease. They also said that inflation has increased which causes energy costs to go up, but the expectations are looking good. We will write a custom essay sample on Federal Reserve Paper or any similar topic only for you Order Now The Fed decided that continuing to buy securities would be a good idea since they are trying to lower the long-term interest rates. Their plan is to continue purchasing these mortgage backed securities until the labor markets improve. They will also plan on purchasing more assets if that is the case. The Committee wants to continue extending the holding of Treasury securities, and it is keeping the policy of reinvesting principal payments from the holding of agency debt and agency mortgage-backed securities. Their goal by doing this is to keep the Federal funds rate between 0 and . 25%. All of this will increase securities held in the long run. They influence the interest rates by buying securities through open market operations. The Committee decided that the economy is getting better but too slowly so that is why they decided to take these actions to try and increase the speed. According to The New York Times article , they want to max out employment and price stability, which will help stimulate the economy. After reading the Committee’s statement I have concluded that they are using expansionary policies or â€Å"easy money policies†. I figured they are doing this since they are buying and holding their securities in an attempt to raise the aggregate demand. I do agree with what the Fed is planning to do in an attempt to stimulate the economy. I this it is a good idea since our economy is still in somewhat of a slump to use the easy money policies to increase the aggregate demand by changing the interest rates. Overall I agree with what they plan to do seeing that it should give us a positive outlook on the economy in the time to come. Sources http://www. nytimes. com/2012/10/25/business/economy/fed-affirms-low-rates-and-sees-moderate-growth. html? hp_r=1 http://www. federalreserve. gov/newsevents/press/monetary/20121024a. htm How to cite Federal Reserve Paper, Papers

Live Music vs. Recorded Music Essay Example For Students

Live Music vs. Recorded Music Essay Live Music vs.. Recorded Music As Mark Morris addresses the people at the Midwest Arts Conference in 1998, he explains how deeply he feels about the importance of live performances as opposed to recorded performances. He feels that each time tickets are sold and a performance takes place it is a true miracle. In todays world live performances are separating farther away from society and recorded performances are taking control. This needs to change. Live performances and recorded performances are incomparable and will ultimately affect human beings in very different ways. Live performances provide a special opportunity for the performer and audience, whereas recorded performances will not. Live performances are spontaneous and a spur of the moment experience. This spontaneity creates a more natural performance since mistakes will be made, but the piece will ultimately be greater than the number of mistakes made. Recorded performances are an attempt at creating something perfect without any mistakes, but as humans, that is something we are not capable of doing. Furthermore, recorded performances are unrealistic and are an untrue performance. As a performer performs live, the audience will help create a positive atmosphere for the performance, however recorded performances do not rely on an audience. In live performances there is an exchange of energy that also does not occur in recorded performances. This energy can only occur between a live performer and an audience. Since it is difficult to fully understand the energy taking place while watching or listening to a recorded performance, the viewer/ listener will not have the same experience as an audience member that watched that act same performance live. In addition to the energy, the visual elements oaf live performance will impact the experience. Also the body language has a deep visual impact on the message and the experience of the performance. A performance is not about how the act was performed, but rather how the audience perceives it. Unfortunately, recorded performances are having a large affect on live performances. Currently, people are becoming so used to recorded performances, that performers will try to replicate their recordings during their live performances. In music, many artists have been caught lip-syncing to their own recording in public instead of actually singing. This is a much larger mistake than the small mistakes that might be made during a truthful live performance. Having recently been to several live performances, I can personally attest that viewing a performance live is more affective then watching it on a TV or listening to it on your pod. Each time I go Tao concert the music always sounds different. The singers voice is much more natural, as you hear the heavy breathing in the microphone and the interactions that the reformer has with the audience. This does not occur in recorded music. Although I enjoy listening to music, especially the same music that I Just heard live, the recorded music is impractical. Although there is a Joy to listening or watching a recorded performance at home while sitting in your own comfortable space, viewing a live performance provides an entirely different type of comfort. While sitting in a theater, a space specifically made for performances, one will experience a series of programs By emanated home will force the viewer to become a lazy viewer, because they can sample, skip round, and even turn it off. The experience is different at a live performance; you are not sampling, but rather you taste the entire performance. As Mark Morris explains the importance of live performances and his experience at church in Seattle, he discusses the utterly private experience and the music that we all shared in the air. These words are the essence of a live performance. One will not feel this connection when viewing or listening to a recorded performance. Live performances have always and will continue to blow the mind of their audience.