"...in those days, many changes went through the world." (p. 396)
That sounds familiar. There have been many periods of change.
Changes In The Fourth Century
Rome is at peace.
Constantine has divided the Empire.
He has "...declared Christ the single god of the state." (ibid.)
Missionaries convert some Goths.
A wooden church is small but the marble temples are emptying.
The Goths factionalize.
Comments
As I understand it, Constantine did not make Christ the single state god but he paved the way for those who did.
A state should acknowledge all gods or none.
"One state, one god" made sense to a lot of people but a state should protect everyone within its borders.
2 comments:
Most premodern communities have a political/social identity which is tightly bound with religious practice (though often not a "a religion" in the sense we use the term).
It's the usual means of legitimizing arrangements, which is very important in preventing things from slagging down into a war of all against all.
Kaor, Mr. Stirling!
Trouble is, what might be called the "Westphalian" view the state should take when it comes to contending faiths and philosophies, as codified for the US in the First Amendment to the Constitution, seems to be more and more breaking down, at least in the US. I have actually seen suggestions by some on the left that the First Amendment should be repealed, so "hate speech" can be penalized. And that includes hatred of Christians, conservatives, libertarians, etc.
Left wing "liberals" need to be very, very careful. Any attempts to arbitrarily use state coercion to suppress speech they don't like can easily back fire if they fall from power and their opponents get control of the state. All TOO easily, conservatives might seek revenge for being persecuted and oppressed by behaving exactly the same way to leftists.
That is what I believe is going on in the US. And it's very bad news! It means the old political institutions are breaking down and the state is in danger of losing its legitimacy. I HOPE the process does not degenerate to civil wars and dictatorships of either the left or right. We are not likely to be so fortunate to have as reasonable and fairly well meaning dictators as Julius and Augustus Caesar!
Ad astra! Or should that be Ave, Caesar? Sean
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