Constantine Revisited: Leithart, Yoder, and the Constantinian Debate

by John D. Roth (Editor)

This collection of essays continues a long and venerable debate in the history of the Christian church regarding the legacy of the Roman emperor Constantine the Great. For some, Constantine's conversion to Christianity early in the fourth century set in motion a process that made the church subservient to the civil authority of the state, brought a definitive end to pacifism as a central teaching of the early church, and redefined the character of Christian catechesis and missions. In 2010, Peter J. Leithart published a widely read polemic, Defending Constantine, that vigorously refuted this interpretation. In its place, Leithart offered a thoroughgoing rehabilitation of Constantine and his legacy, while directing a rhetorical fusillade against the pacifist theology and ethics of the Mennonite theologian John Howard Yoder. The essays gathered here in response to Leithart reflect the insights of eleven leading theologians, historians, and ethicists from a wide range of theological traditions. They engage one of the most contentious issues in Christian church history in irenic fashion and at the highest level of scholarship. In so doing, they help ensure that the "Constantinian Debate" will continue to be lively, substantive, and consequential.

Genres: Religion

216 pages, Paperback

First published June 27, 2013

About the author

Department chair, Professor of History, Goshen College, Goshen, Indiana
Director, Mennonite Historical Library
Editor, Mennonite Quarterly Review

Education:
BA, Goshen College, 1981
MA, University of Chicago, 1983
PHD, University of Chicago, 1989

Reviews

[Scott · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is a collection of politely critical responses to Peter Leithart's Defending Constantine, along with a brief reply by Leithart at the end. The reviewers are all sympathetic to Leithart's target, John Howard Yoder.

The two responses that really stood out were Alan Kreider's challenge on the grounds of ancient church history and D. Stephen Long's systematic application of Yoder's principles from Christian Witness to the State. William Cavanaugh's chapter is also interesting, though somewhat more theologically liberal than I expected. The rest of the selections were interesting but not nearly as good.