How the church went from persecuted to persecutor
For almost three hundred years Christians were the most hated people in the Roman Empire. They had to meet in dark tunnels under the city, use secret fish symbols to recognise each other, and bury their dead at night so the police wouldn’t notice. Any day a soldier could break down the door, drag the whole family away, and throw them to wild animals or burn them alive, just for believing in Jesus. Whole families were torn apart. Children grew up watching parents die. Fear was normal life.
Then, in the year 313, everything changed. The emperor Constantine signed a law that said Christians were allowed to live. A few years later he started giving money to build huge churches, returning land that had been taken, and putting the cross on his soldiers’ shields. He even said he saw a glowing cross in the sky before a big battle with the words “In this sign you will win.” For the first time in centuries Christians could walk outside, sing hymns in the street, and not be afraid. It felt like the biggest miracle ever. It felt like God had finally rescued His people.
Most people today say, “That’s when Constantine turned Christianity into the religion of the empire.” That’s only half the story. Constantine was a soldier and a politician; he didn’t write books about the Bible. The man who explained why all of this was God’s plan who gave the church the new words to describe itself—was a bishop called Eusebius.
Eusebius wrote books and gave speeches that did three dangerous things:
1. He changed how Christians read the Bible.
In the Old Testament book of Daniel there are four scary monsters that stand for four evil empires. Most Christians had always said the fourth monster was Rome, the empire that was killing them. Eusebius said, “No, you got it wrong. Constantine’s Rome is not the monster. It is the good kingdom that God promised would come after the monsters and never end.” Suddenly Rome was not the enemy of God; it was God’s favourite tool.
2. He turned Constantine into a Bible hero.
Eusebius said Constantine was a new Moses who led God’s people out of slavery. He even said the emperor was like Jesus on earth, a “friend of God” who showed the world what God looks like. When Constantine won wars, Eusebius said it was Jesus winning. When Constantine’s enemies lost, they were enemies of God.
3. He said the Kingdom of God and the Roman Empire were now the same thing.
Jesus had taught that His kingdom was not of this world. Early Christians waited for a perfect future when God would fix everytthing. Eusebius said, “Stop waiting. It’s already here. The peace of Rome is the peace of God. The army of Rome is the army of God. The laws of Rome are the laws of God.” Heaven and the emperor’s palace had become one address.
After living in terror for so long, people were desperate for safety heard this and thought, “Yes! God has finally given us victory!” Being on the winning side felt holy.
But not everyone agreed. A bishop named Athanasius kept arguing with emperors about what Christians should believe and was sent into exile five different times rather than let the government control the church. Thousands of ordinary believers were so upset they left the cities and went to live in the desert with almost nothing. We still remember them as the Desert Fathers and Mothers. By walking away they were saying, “If following Jesus means sharing the emperor’s throne, we’d rather stay poor and free.”
But most Christians stayed in the cities and cheered. Soon the church that once said “love your enemies” and “do not kill” started using the emperor’s soldiers to arrest people who believed differently. The victims became the bullies.
That same pattern has happened again and again for seventeen hundred years. Whenever Christians feel weak, scared, or disrespected, a loud leader shows up and says, “Follow me and I’ll make you strong and safe again.” And almost always some preacher or writer (a new Eusebius) appears to say, “This leader is sent by God. This country is God’s special nation. Our enemies are God’s enemies. Winning is God’s will.”
We are watching it right now. Many Christians today feel mocked, pushed aside, and afraid of the future. Then a strong voice promises, “I will protect you. I will bring back the old days when Christians were respected.” Flags go up in church buildings. Politicians are called “God’s chosen.” Laws and armies and courts are called tools of the gospel. It feels good. It feels safe. It feels like winning again.
But it is the same old mistake. The lesson from the fourth century is simple and hard: the moment the church climbs into bed with political power to feel safe, it stops looking like Jesus and starts looking like every other empire. The moment we say “our side must win, no matter what,” we have forgotten that Jesus won by losing everything on a cross.
We don’t need to run the government.
We don’t need to be the majority.
We don’t need laws that force people to act Christian.
We only need to love the way Jesus loved, love that forgives enemies, love that serves the poor, love that is willing to suffer rather than hurt others.
That kind of love looks weak. It looked weak when Rome was killing Christians. But in the end it was the only thing that ever beat Rome.
If we grab the sword again today to “protect” the church, we will only lose the one power that actually changes the world: the power of an empty tomb and open, nail-scarred hands.
Let the new Eusebiuses shout. Let the crowds cheer for safety and victory. The desert is still there, and Jesus is still calling us to follow Him, not to the throne room, but to the cross.
Read more about author: Philip Kakungulu
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