Eusebius' final pages are among the most optimistic in all of historical literature. Why is Eusebius so positive and so hopeful about the future? In particular, why is he so positive about Constantine? What is Constantine doing that makes Eusebius feel that the Roman world is exactly on the right track? Do you feel Eusebius is missing anything here?
Monday, April 27, 2009
Eusebius--Book Ten
Eusebius' final pages are among the most optimistic in all of historical literature. Why is Eusebius so positive and so hopeful about the future? In particular, why is he so positive about Constantine? What is Constantine doing that makes Eusebius feel that the Roman world is exactly on the right track? Do you feel Eusebius is missing anything here?
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21 comments:
Brian Johnson
Eusebius is hopeful about the future because of what has been happening around him. Constantine has been issuing decrees that favor Christianity and new churches have begun to spring up. That is quite a change from what had been happening previously.
But I think Eusebius probably does go a little overboard in his enthusiam and especially in his praise of Constantine. While I think it is easy to understand why he was so happy, it is a little too biased to be taken seriously. Perhaps it is another example of a weakness in his writing.
Book 10
Joe Adam
Eusebius is now starting to see a lot of change in these times. Changes such as cathedrals rising once again and Christians being freed from there former oppressors. New decrees were made in favor of the Christians, and church officials were now receiving great gifts and honors. Emperors are now also in favor of Christianity. Eusebius describes this as a time of great joy for Christianity. Eusebius also speaks about how the church was also formed as a unity.
Eusebius feelings towards Constantine are positive. He thinks that that Rome is on the right path because of the Emperors kindness to Christians.
Ruth Wilson
Eusebius could very well take the emperor's kindness to the Church as Jesus' promiced kingdom comming during his lifetime. the trasition of rulers from Diocletian to Constantine would be like going from John's anti Christ to Jesus come again.
I think he may have been a bit hasty in all this enthusiastic praise-- There were still wars to be faught, Christians and Jews to be killed... Not all the events mentioned in Revalation had been fulfilled, in any sense (allegorical, historical, ect:))
Eusebius starts off the chapter with a couple verses from Psalm 98, and those verses that could relate to Constantine's doctrine of peace and Christian protection: they proclaim praise to the Lord for making known his salvation, even amid times of persecution; good triumped over evil.
Constantine did not just benefit the Christians; he benefited the people of Rome with his decrees of friendly will, and his condemning of unusual practices and other inhumane acts, such as crucifixion and gladitorial combat. He looked at the pagans as a thing of the past, and as a reason for the failures of Rome. He looked to the Christians as an example of how Rome could thrive and not be subject to tyranny.
Eusebius is missing a lot of details, yes. Why? Because he cites that the decrees Constantine issued were many, and not all could be mentioned.
Zach Anderson
He has many reasons to be optomistic for the future of the church, especially since Constantine acknowledge the religion. Not only did he favor the church he eventually installed Christianity as the official religion of the Roman Empire.
To quote the hope that Eusebius felt can best be summed up in this when he says:
"All men, then, were freed from the oppression of the tyrants, and being released from the former ills, one in one way and another in another acknowledged the defender of the pious to be the only true God. And we especially who placed our hopes in the Christ of God had unspeakable gladness, and a certain inspired joy bloomed for all of us, when we saw every place which shortly before had been desolated by the impieties of the tyrants reviving as if from a long and death-fraught pestilence, and temples again rising from their foundations to an immense height, and receiving a splendor far greater than that of the old ones which had been destroyed."
This was a great hope for Christianity, the one thing he may have overlooked how the incorporation of the religion into society would change it.
To start, Eusebius would have been a great public relations person today. To read into his optimism slightly more than what I should, one of the best ways to promote a product/religion is to take an extremely biased look at it. Anything is going to look appealing to people when it is shamelessly promoted. Don't get me wrong, I think this is great approach if a person wants to build or maintain an organization. And while I can't tie Eusebius' optimism with any kind of authority to the rise of Christianity, I don't think it is that far of a stretch. Surely Eusebius didn't do it by himself, but I can believe he assisted in propelling it forward.
If Eusebius was missing anything, it would be a critical view of Christianity and its future. It's not always going to be sunshine and roses people.
Constanine was the first Christian emperior and he needs this well known. There was much fighting before, years of it. Constantine will bring about peace for some time. This is why I believe that Eusebius talks of him so highly.
Constantine will return church property, give money to the churches and help them by major building. He is making the people feel good and gettling them on his side in case he would evern need them. This can be a case my hand washed your hand now my hand needs...
Eusebius is missing more than we know here. This is his book and his writings so we can only hope that another writer will have something they can add to the pot.
After a little bit of reading we find out one little detail.. Eusebius records Constantine Baptismal in the River Jordan all of the ceremonies and as well as the words "if I make it though I will live more like a Christian".
He must have been wearing blinders.
Brett Newton
Eusebius is very excited and ready for the future because of Constantine. He even starts book 10 out with a type of prayer, almost praising how great life is. After all the bad things that happened before it its a postive attitude from alot of negatives. But the reason he is so happy was because of Constantine. Constantine is finally giving christianity the enviroment that it can be free in.
This is the first time that they had this feeling. Of course it makes everyone feel great to be able to worship freely is a huge barrier that was not dropped.
Eusebius' book 10 does have a vvery optimistic tone to it. I would probably by excited too if I were a Christian living then. The persecution is pretty much over and life started to get better for them. A lot of that is thanks to Constintine. He legalized Christianity and made people give back or fix all of the stuff they took and broke.
I would probably shared in Eusebius' joy if i lived back then. Things couldn't have become much worse for the Christians. I don't think Esubius is missing anything. The life of Christians in Rome is even if he did miss anything the quality of life had to be better after Constantine than before.
Jon Hepola
I think every other blogger so far has hit the point directly. Constantine is turning the Romans in a new direction, and Christianity is about to be able to thrive. It is really no wonder that Eusebius would have an optimistic outlook for the Christians. They have overcome persecution, and he is seeing the realization of a whole nation's or people's dreams.
This is clearly a time of great change, and a change that Eusebius has been waiting for. Eusebius believes that this change, and the rule of Constantine will change forever Christianity. They even worshiped Constantine by saying "Come and behold the works of the Lord, What wonders he has brought on the earth."
Constantine was the first fully attested Christian emperor, and he did have a complex personality that included some negative traits not cited by Eusebius. Some people even say that Constantines conversion, claiming that his actions in behalf of Christianity were done on the basis of cold political calculation rather than conscientious conviction.
I think Eusebius is hopeful for the future, not just because of all the things that are going on under Constantine, but also because of the terrible things that have taken place in the past. The old saying of you don't appreciate something unless you have had to "earn" it, holds true here. Eusebius writes of all of these terrible persecutions of Christians and the Christian faith, and now despite all of these efforts to stamp out Christianity is has survived and will now flourish under Constantine. Are things going to be as great as Eusebius states, probably not, but it is easy to see Eusebius's optimism an joy.
Eusebius is so optimistic because the persecutions have ended under Constantine. Eusebius also writes that “The whole race of God’s enemies was destroyed, as stated before, and disappeared in a moment, fulfilling another diving saying.” Eusebius is positive about Constantine because he has lifted the ban on practicing of religions other than Roman Paganism. “We have long intended that freedom of worship should not be denied but that everyone should have the right to practice his religion as he chose.” I don’t feel that Eusebius is missing to much here. He is overwhelmed with joy, expresses it perfectly, and tells us what is going on in the Roman world.
Jon Adam
Sam Merkel
Since Constantine acknowledged the religion and made christianity the official religion of the Roman Empire he should be very optomistic. Constantine shows the people that he cares for them by giving money to help build churches, and other buildings as well. When Constantine does this it makes the people happy and trust him more. Then when the time comes he can look to the people for help. To be a christian at that time would of been a good time. Since the persecution was over and than Constantine made it the official religion. Things were beginning to look up.
Sam Merkel
It seems that Eusebius is hopeful towards the future because of all that is going on around him. Things that Constantine has done was that he issued out decrees that are in favor of christianity. Another factor that was in Eusebius's favor was that churches were beginning to pop up.
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