There were signs in the sky, but I did not know

[sovay]

If one more student tries to tell me that Constantine was responsible for making Christianity the official state religion of the Roman Empire, I'm going to stab them with a Chi-Ro.

(I agreed to help grade papers for a friend with a classful of undergraduates. I despair of humanity.)

Comments

[ap-aelfwine.livejournal.com]

I'm going to stab them with a Chi-Ro.

Under the circumstances, I think this would be an entirely pardonable act.

Good luck with the lot. Sorry they're such eejits.

I'm sadly reminded of an old boss of mine who told me she'd ended up giving As on intro archaeology papers simply for not plagiarising.

[sovay]

Under the circumstances, I think this would be an entirely pardonable act.

Rather severely blasphemous, probably, but cathartic.

[ap-aelfwine.livejournal.com]

Rather severely blasphemous, probably, but cathartic.

Not so much worse than stabbing them with a cross-hilt sword,* I should think, but if it would make you feel better you could strike them with a Thor's hammer instead--not as symbolic, maybe, but appropriate.

*If you were Catholic I'd advise you to find a Jesuit historian for when you went to Confession afterwards. I'm sure he'd be understanding and let you off with no more than a couple of Hail Marys.

[ron-drummond.livejournal.com]

Could you share the brief statement you would make to correct this misprision? Who WAS responsible for making Christianity the official state religion of the Roman Empire? I would very much like to hear what you'd say!

And belated congratulations on all the good things happening in your life -- may your success continue and grow.

I thought you might find my new holiday greeting amusing:

Best Wishes for all the Holy Days You Care to Count,
And Not One Holy Day More, So You May as Well Count All of Them,

Ron

P.S. What I like about it is that, really, if one chooses, every day is a holy day, every last one of them. And none of us will ever see any of them ever again, so we may as well treasure each one under foot, in our hearts, before our eyes, beyond the skies.

[schreibergasse.livejournal.com]

Well, it's complicated. Constantine patronized Christianity, so in some sense it took the place of the old religion as the "official" religion: just more like "D'Angelo's: The official sandwich of the Boston Red Sox" than "the one everybody had follow". Pagan cults, on the other hand, weren't banned until Theodosius in about 390, so one could take that as the point at which Christianity became the "official" religion in the latter sense.
But get a second opinion from sovay.
--The Professor in question

[timesygn.livejournal.com]

Constantine was, on the other hand, the first Roman Emperor to report seeing the face of Christ appear in his morning breakfast cereal ...

[sovay]

Constantine was, on the other hand, the first Roman Emperor to report seeing the face of Christ appear in his morning breakfast cereal ...

At least he was classier about it than grilled cheese!

[timesygn.livejournal.com]

Or this:

http://religion.blogs.cnn.com/2010/12/24/ohio-woman-says-markings-in-pistachio-look-like-jesus-face/?iref=allsearch

[sovay]

Could you share the brief statement you would make to correct this misprision? Who WAS responsible for making Christianity the official state religion of the Roman Empire?

I make a distinction between personally adopting, decriminalizing, and popularizing a religion (Constantine I, 313 CE) and making it the only option on the menu (Theodosius I, 380). One could still be a practicing pagan under Constantine—the temples were open, the imperial cult was still on the books. After Theodosius, observance of pagan religion was not only illegal, but systematically proscribed. He put out the sacred fire in the Temple of Vesta.

And belated congratulations on all the good things happening in your life -- may your success continue and grow.

Thank you!

And none of us will ever see any of them ever again, so we may as well treasure each one under foot, in our hearts, before our eyes, beyond the skies.

That's a good blessing.

[asakiyume.livejournal.com]

They're doing the thing that lots of the folks opposed to legalizing gay marriage do--namely, confusing legalization with mandation.

[larryhammer]

+1

[schreibergasse.livejournal.com]

lol, yeah...

[sovay]

They're doing the thing that lots of the folks opposed to legalizing gay marriage do--namely, confusing legalization with mandation.

Yep. The line I deleted from my reply to ron_drummond was, "Just because they legalize marijuana doesn't mean you have to spend your life stoned."

[asakiyume.livejournal.com]

The deleted line makes me laugh out loud, imagining the stoner police coming around to make sure you're properly toked up.

... wait a minute, that's actually rather nightmarish...

[sovay]

On the other hand, there are still serious scholars trying to argue that Constantine was the one who made the cross a symbol of Christianity. Which is just...argh.

*headdesk*

I stab them with a labarum.