Module 6: Constantine & Victory
Hi everyone, and welcome to the sixth module of the History of Christianity 1 Course. In this section, we'll be looking at a pivotal series of events for the early church, and the effects of these events for the following centuries.
This module will help you to understand not only the events surrounding the outward conversion of the Roman empire and the privileged place the church was given in that society, and the reasons for this. But in this module, you will also wrestle through what was beneficial about these events as well as the detrimental effects of this turning point in history. This module will introduce the short-term, and the more long-term effects, which will be explored in later modules. And the student will be given opportunity to process how these lessons can be applied to current social situations, by learning from their successes, as well as their failures.
The student will have opportunity to evaluate the longer-term effects of these movements, approaches, and practices, and the lessons that can be learned from the changes made by Constantine. This module will also aid the student to work through how the lessons learned are applicable in their own life and ministry.
Introductory Scenario
Imagine you just found out that you are the long-lost heir to the throne of a thriving country. You have a responsibility to rule wisely and in a godly manner. What kind of a leader would you aspire to be? What kind of laws would you pass? What principles and goals would inform how you ran the government? How would your Christian faith influence your approach to government? How would your government interact with the church? Please consider these questions and be watching for material that will help you answer them as you work through this module.
Module Objectives and Outcomes
Upon successful completion of this module, the student will:
- Describe the history of the conversion of Constantine and its impact on Christianity in the Roman Empire.
- Articulate the evidence for and against Constantine's conversion being genuine.
- Describe both the positive and the negative outcomes of Christianity becoming the official religion of the Roman Empire.
- Evaluate the long-term impact of the changes after Constantine realistically in light of the options available at that time, and apply this evaluation to current situations.
- Articulate the lessons learned about the ideal state, ideal leader, and ideal church, and how those lessons can be applied.
- Place the major people and events from this period in a general chronology.
Instruction Guides
In this section, you'll find links to important instructional documents for this module. Click the following links to open each document. There is a set of instructions for individual study and a document for group study.
Textbook Content
In this section, you'll find a study guide for the textbook reading for module 6. And then you'll find the link to a practice quiz covering this textbook reading.
This section also contains a review quiz to test your understanding of the textbook material for this module. By clicking the banner below, you will be given a series of questions, in random order. The quiz will be different each time, so feel free to take it more than once.
Click the button next to the best answer for each question, or drag each term to its best definition. Then press the Submit
button at the bottom to see if your answers are correct.