In the earliest centuries, the Church, despite its many problems, did not seek to be licensed by Rome, even though religious organizations were required by law to incorporate and apply for the State's approval. The early Christians recognized that worship is not to be authorized, controlled or regulated by civil government. In the first three centuries of Christianity, many believers in Christ were persecuted. By A.D. 302, Emperor Diocletian instituted the "pinch of incense" offering. Those who would not bend the knee and offer a pinch of incense to Caesar were persecuted.However, in A.D. 313, there was a sudden and radical change in the way that Rome did business. Emperor Constantine issued what historians have come to call "the Edict of Milan." Religious persecutions were abolished. Liberty of worship was declared for all, and Constantine himself professed faith in Christ and invited his subjects to join him.
You see, in the previous year (according to the historian Eusebius), on the afternoon of October 26, A.D. 312, Constantine claimed to have had a vision in which he saw a flaming cross in the sky accompanied by the Greek words en toutoi nika, meaning: "In this sign, conquer!" Rome was in a civil war with six different men claiming the title of Emperor. Constantine achieved victory over all of them, and in 313, he issued the Edict of Milan, which ended three centuries of the barbaric persecution of Christians.
It looked like the human race had finally recognized and endorsed the principle of freedom to obey God without interference. But, not so fast... Constantine was the quintessential politician. He seized any and every opportunity to gain the political support of both Christians and pagans throughout the Empire. Pagans were encouraged to profess faith in Christ--but concessions were made to make Christianity more appealing to the heathens. Sunday, the first day of the week (named for the sun god) had been the weekly holiday of the pagans. So, Sunday was declared to be a legal holiday ("holy day"). Work on Sunday was outlawed, with the exception of farming when necessary. The pagans throughout the Empire were happy campers!
But there were goodies for the Christians, too. By proclaiming Sunday the "Christian Sabbath," Constantine showed his favor for Christianity. More and more legislation provided privileges for Christians. The Church was provided with financial support from the State: huge financial support. The state financed lavish church buildings (which happened to resemble pagan temples). There were tax exemptions, political appointments, exemptions from military proscription and other benefits to those who converted to Christianity. According to Albert H. Newman, in A Manual of Church History, Constantine promised 20 pieces of gold to every person who converted to Christianity, plus a nice, white baptismal robe.[1] Needless to say, there were suddenly many "converts" in the Empire! By A.D. 346 the pagan temples were ordered to close, unless the pagan priests who ran them converted to Christianity. Of course many of them professed a new-found faith in Christ. The upshot of whole thing was that these priests, who "converted" because of the pressure and the money, introduced the Church to all of their idolatry and superstitions. Paganism had the last laugh: The Christian church had become thoroughly paganized! This never would have happened had the Church and State remained separate.
To make matters worse, the ancient Roman practice of persecuting those whose religions were not permitted was suddenly applied in a different way: In A.D. 380 Emperor Theodosius I issued an edict that established Christianity as the exclusive religion of the Empire. Those who deviated from the form of worship approved by the State were designated as "heretics" and punished accordingly. Perhaps this is why Peter Kershaw, in his book, In Caesar's Grip, said:
Constantine is the original and best example of the statement, "Hi, I'm from the government and I'm here to help you!"[2]
The merging of church and state under Constantine resulted in some profound changes in theology within the Church, especially in the area of eschatology. The way the 1000 year reign of Christ (mentioned six times in Revelation 20) was perceived changed drastically--a change which has continued into the Church of the present day. I'll be writing more about that in future posts to this blog.
The nation of Israel was originally established by God as a theocracy. However during the "times of the Gentiles" (Luke 21:34), the period from the siege of Jerusalem by Nebuchadnezzar until the Second Advent of Jesus Christ, the Bible recognizes the Church and the State as two separate entities. Jesus implied this in his reply to some of the Jews who were attempting to trap Him:
Then the Pharisees went and counseled together how they might trap Him in what He said.
And they sent their disciples to Him, along with the Herodians, saying, "Teacher, we know that You are truthful and teach the way of God in truth, and defer to no one; for You are not partial to any.
Tell us therefore, what do you think? Is it lawful to give a poll-tax to Caesar, or not?"
But Jesus perceived their malice, and said, "Why are you testing Me, you hypocrites?
"Show Me the coin used for the poll-tax." And they brought Him a denarius.
And He said to them, "Whose likeness and inscription is this?"
They said to Him, "Caesar's." Then He said to them, "Then render to Caesar the things that are Caesar's; and to God the things that are God's."
And hearing this, they marveled, and leaving Him, they went away. (Matthew 22:15-22)
The coin was especially offensive to the Jews, and rightly so, because it was engraved with the head of Emperor Tiberius and the inscription, divus et pontifex maximus: "God and Highest Priest."[3] Jesus was acknowledging that the tax was due Caesar, because Caesar and his government were in place under the sovereignty of God, fulfilling the laws of divine establishment (Daniel 2:21; Romans 13:1-7). But what was not due Caesar was the recognition of Caesar as God and highest priest! In other words, render taxes to Caesar and render worship to God. Caesar, by extension, represents human government during the "times of the Gentiles," which includes the time in which Christ spoke, as well as the present dispensation. The Church and the State are recognized as separate entities, with separate powers.
The marriage of church and state, which contradicts what God intended, has been the status quo for most of church history. The clear separation of church and state expressed by our nation's founders and the principle of religious freedom we enjoy are really quite unique to our heritage. The birth of our nation was a shocking departure from the fourteen hundred years of world history that preceded it. Few of us in the U.S.A. are really aware that the religious freedom we are blessed with, after century upon century of tyranny in western civilization, was recognized and protected in our founding documents. Few of us are aware of it, because few of us have been taught it.
Footnotes:
1. Albert H. Newman, A Manual of Church History, quoted by Peter Kershaw, In Caesar's Grip (Branson: Heal Our Land Ministries, 2000), p. 51.
2. Peter Kershaw, In Caesar's Grip, p. 50.
3. Robert H. Mounce, New International Biblical Commentary, Matthew (Peabody: Hendrickson Publishers, Inc., 1991), p. 208.
Scripture quotations taken from the NASB. http://www.lockman.org/
