Today’s Readings: Psalm 124; Exodus 1:8-2:10; Matthew 16:13-20; Romans 12:1-8
Those of you who have read my blog for a while know that the event in Christian history I most wrestle with is the conversion of the Roman Emperor Constantine to Christianity in 312 AD. I certainly do appreciate the way Constantine’s conversion provided a larger stage to get the word out about the power of our faith. In fact this is the very reason why the Eastern Orthodox Church reveres Constantine as a saint. I do see a dark side to the conversion of the Emperor, however. As I discussed in earlier blogs, once the state officially merged with Christianity it helped set in motion a chain of events that established a sense of orthodoxy within our faith tradition that was used to decide who was in and who was out. This process of deciding who was in and who was out led to some of the most un-Christ like behavior in the history of our faith. Constantine played a huge role in putting this dynamic into motion. My biggest concern about Constantine’s conversion is that it helped minimize (if not eradicate) the difference between church and state. Following Constantine’s conversion Christianity entered the realm of popular culture; it has been struggling ever since to understand itself over and against popular culture. I so appreciate Paul’s words in his letter to the Romans where he warned against such a dynamic. In Romans 12:2 Paul wrote: “Don’t become so well adjusted to your culture that you fit into it without even thinking. Instead, fix your attention on God” (The Message). All of this leaves me to wonder where you are at with all of this. Have you become so “well adjusted to your culture” that you fit in seamlessly in all situations, or has your experience of the God revealed through Christ put you at odds with the values and customs of the culture around you? Regardless of how you answer that question, the single most important thing we can take away from Paul’s words today is an understanding of the difference between our faith and our culture. Once we truly begin to understand that, we can grow in our ability to prioritize our faith over our culture. Til next time…
Those of you who have read my blog for a while know that the event in Christian history I most wrestle with is the conversion of the Roman Emperor Constantine to Christianity in 312 AD. I certainly do appreciate the way Constantine’s conversion provided a larger stage to get the word out about the power of our faith. In fact this is the very reason why the Eastern Orthodox Church reveres Constantine as a saint. I do see a dark side to the conversion of the Emperor, however. As I discussed in earlier blogs, once the state officially merged with Christianity it helped set in motion a chain of events that established a sense of orthodoxy within our faith tradition that was used to decide who was in and who was out. This process of deciding who was in and who was out led to some of the most un-Christ like behavior in the history of our faith. Constantine played a huge role in putting this dynamic into motion. My biggest concern about Constantine’s conversion is that it helped minimize (if not eradicate) the difference between church and state. Following Constantine’s conversion Christianity entered the realm of popular culture; it has been struggling ever since to understand itself over and against popular culture. I so appreciate Paul’s words in his letter to the Romans where he warned against such a dynamic. In Romans 12:2 Paul wrote: “Don’t become so well adjusted to your culture that you fit into it without even thinking. Instead, fix your attention on God” (The Message). All of this leaves me to wonder where you are at with all of this. Have you become so “well adjusted to your culture” that you fit in seamlessly in all situations, or has your experience of the God revealed through Christ put you at odds with the values and customs of the culture around you? Regardless of how you answer that question, the single most important thing we can take away from Paul’s words today is an understanding of the difference between our faith and our culture. Once we truly begin to understand that, we can grow in our ability to prioritize our faith over our culture. Til next time…
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