Have you ever considered why so many Christians, churches, and denominations act in un-Christlike ways? Why, in fact, do their beliefs, worldview, and actions seem more to favor the spiritual forces of darkness than the children of light? I have. This has been a consistent question for me since high school and my call to ministry. It stayed with me through college and seminary, my ordinations as deacon and elder in the UMC in 1984 and 1986, respectively, and through 40+ years of ministry.
Within the church, we do not do enough to feed the hungry, clothe the naked, provide potable water, visit the sick and imprisoned, care for orphans and widows, and welcome the stranger. There is not enough peacemaking, justice-seeking, welcoming the stranger, and self-sacrifice. There is not enough grace, peace, mercy, and love.
Instead, there is too much judgment, too much selfishness, greed, blaming the poor, and looking after oneself. There is too much racism, misogyny, xenophobia, anti-immigrant resentment, hatred, and war-making. Nations, under the banner of Christianity and often with the support of clergy and church leaders, have supported both the slave trade and domestic slavery, forced conversions of indigenous persons, empire-building, persecutions, war-making, and the genocide of entire populations.
The Church is at an Inflection Point
The Church is, as it has been many times through history, at an inflection point. Membership, attendance, and finances are down in churches across the nation, with a few exceptions. Our churches are older and dying. Young people look at these and other beliefs and actions of “The Church” and turn away.
These are the questions I sought to answer when I began this book three years ago.
My initial research led me back to the Roman Emperor Constantine, who ruled from CE 306 to 337. Although Constantine was the first Roman Emperor to be baptized and profess the Christian faith, helped end Roman persecution of Christians, ended pagan sacrifices, and funded the construction of multiple churches throughout his empire, he can also be seen as a turning point in Christian and human history. He was a lifelong warrior and general, and his military campaigns of expansion and conquest as emperor cost hundreds of thousands of lives. He was the richest person on the planet, began the persecution of pagans and Jews, and merged church and state at the Council of Nicaea.
Constantine’s place in history has been greatly debated during the past 1,700 years. The Western Church calls him Constantine the Great, and the Eastern Orthodox and Eastern Catholic Churches call him St. Constantine. Howard Yoder popularized the phrase “the Constantinian Shift,” emphasizing how Constantine changed Christianity. Even today, defenders of Constantine include Peter Leithart, who published Defending Constantine in 2010.
In my recent book, Imperial Christianity, I concluded that Constantine did not shift Christianity, as Yoder and others maintain, nor was he a “moment” or “good for Christianity,” as Leithart argues. Instead, my evidence suggests that Constantine created a new religion. The changes he ushered in during his time as emperor are so profound that we must acknowledge two opposing religions have operated under the name “Christianity” for the past 1,700 years.
On the one hand, there is the Christianity based on the life, death, and, according to believers, resurrection of Jesus Christ. The theology and structure of this religion were greatly influenced by the apostle Paul. This religion began as a sect within Judaism and emerged as an independent religion in the second century. I call this version of Christianity Nazarene Christianity, which reflects Jesus' central characteristics and message (not to be confused with the Church of the Nazarene).
Another Brand of Christianity
On the other hand, a separate and distinct religion, another brand of Christianity, was established during the reign of Constantine. I trace the official start of this religion to the summer of 325 CE and the Council of Nicaea, where more than 200 bishops gathered with Constantine to discuss Christianity's theology, observances, and polity. The Christianity that emerged from this assembly was not Nazarene Christianity. Rather, the Council of Nicaea produced a new and distinct religion based on Constantine's life and worldview, and a pivot away from Jesus' worldview. I call this religion Imperial Christianity.
Emperor Constantine and Jesus were as diametrically opposed as any two people could be. Constantine was, in actuality, an alter ego of Jesus, or if you will, an anti-Jesus. Not “the Anti-Christ” as described in the Bible and by theologians through the centuries, but rather an emperor whose life, beliefs, and actions produced an antithesis of Nazarene Christianity. For example:
- He was the ruler of the empire that crucified Jesus.
- He ordered the execution of his wife, Fausta, and his son, Crispus, and many other close family members, including his father-in-law, brothers-in-law, cousins, nephews, and nieces.
- He was a soldier and general who fought in, and then commanded, armies, leading them into multiple wars during his 36-year reign as emperor.
- He was born in a palace and was likely the richest person on the planet. He lived a life of magnificent opulence, conspicuous consumption, and extravagant luxury.
- He called and presided over the First Council of Nicaea, which led to the merger of church and state, known as Christendom, Caesaropapism, and Constantinianism.
The list of differences between these two men is extensive and explored throughout my book. The point is that none of the actions described above regarding Constantine’s life and beliefs can be associated with Jesus' life and teachings.
Imperial Christianity’s Dire Threat
Imperial Christianity must be considered a distinct entity. It has been, and remains, a dire threat to the message of Jesus Christ. This is especially important given the recent emergence and growth of the Christian Right, White Nationalism, Christian Nationalism, Ethnonationalism, and Christian Dominionism in the United States, Western democracies in Europe, and beyond. These groups are so strong, influential, and significant that I have created a new moniker for them: CRoWNED, for Christian Right, White Nationalism, Christian Nationalism, Ethnonationalism, and Christian Dominionism. Their message does not follow nor endorse the worldview of Jesus, but the man who hijacked this religion and made it fit his worldview.
Martin Luther once wrote that Christians should be little Christs (Christen sollen Christi). I submit for your consideration the proposition that many Christians are, in fact, little Constantines. We can see the differences between Jesus and Constantine in these two poems: the first, the well-known poem One Solitary Life, and the second, One Imperial Life:
One Solitary Life
He was an itinerant preacher.
He never wrote a book.
He never held an office.
He never had a family or owned a house.
He didn’t go to college.
He never visited a big city.
He never traveled two hundred miles
from the place where he was born.
He did none of the things
one usually associates with greatness.
James Allen Francis
Published in 1926 by Judson Press in Philadelphia
One Imperial Life
He was a Roman emperor.
He commanded the greatest army on the planet.
He constructed and lived in glorious palaces.
He received a classical education.
He founded a great city that bore his name.
He met the most important military, political,
and religious leaders of his day.
He traveled widely.
He shaped Christianity for billions of people.
He did all of the things
one usually associates with greatness.
Wayne Lavender
DISCLAIMER: This book will challenge you to question what motivates you as a Christian and should change your life. The Church faces many challenges and opportunities today. A simple question to keep in front of us is whether our primary motivation is to preserve a self-serving institution in the image of Constantine, or the selfless Savior, Jesus Christ. Identifying the difference between Nazarene Christianity and Imperial Christianity is a first step in helping men, women, churches, and denominations that want to follow Jesus back to him and away from being disciples of Constantine.
The book comes with a full study guide to complement each chapter. The book is available through Market Square Books, Cokesbury, and Amazon.
The Rev. Wayne Lavender, Ph.D., is a United Methodist pastor currently serving as the executive director of the Foundation 4 Orphans and a faculty member in the political science departments at Quinnipiac University and the University of Connecticut. A graduate of the doctoral program at George Mason’s School of Public Policy in 2010, he earned his BA from Drew University and an MA and M.Div. from the Pacific School of Religion. He is the author of ten books, including Pure Religion and Dante Redux. Wayne lives close to nature with his wife, Maureen, in Hamden, Connecticut.
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September 10 Webinar with Wayne Lavender
Join Wayne on Thursday, September 10 for his CEU 1-hour webinar at ClergyEducation.com titled, "How Constantine Created the Christian Right."