Constantine did not require all Romans to adopt Christianity (given that Christians were still a minority, this would have been too radical a measure for the time) but his sponsorship, in Lactantius' eyes, and his own, personal faith was seen as evidence that God himself had blotted out the bad emperors who had killed Christians and taken their land -- the land subsequently restored by Constantine.
During the 10th century, however, a far less sanguine view of the influence of religion in politics was articulated in Gregory VII's Dictatus Papae (323) and Henry IV's "Letter to Hildebrand" (323-324). In these documents, the two leaders are clearly fighting for political power. The Holy Roman King Henry IV was struggling to retain the ability of secular authorities to have direct influence over church appointments. The Roman Emperor had previously had tremendous power over every facet of medieval life -- powers the Church was attempting to encroach upon. He wrote angrily to the Pope: "Thou hast won favour from the common herd by crushing them; thou hast looked upon all of them as knowing nothing, upon thy sole self, moreover, as knowing all things." Henry criticized what he saw as Gregory's self-interested meddling in politics. When Henry wrote his letter, Christians no longer believed that the kingdom of heaven was nigh and being enacted upon the earth in the personas of the Pope and the Emperor. Instead, Henry was struggling to create a functional state in the midst of chaos, and also to shore up his own power.
Articulated in Henry IV's words is the clear sense that there is a conflict between religion and politics. Instead of being harmonious, Henry creates a dichotomy between the two. He criticizes the Pope of hypocrisy in using force and the seat of faith to serve the Church's own needs: "By wiles, namely, which the profession of monk abhors, thou has achieved money; by money, favour; by the sword, the throne of peace. And from the throne of peace thou hast disturbed peace, inasmuch...
The ruling stated that, since the moment of silence was for the purpose of advancing religion, it was unconstitutional. This was evidently a case-specific ruling however, and the fact is that the Court has not ruled that this moment of silence may always be unconstitutional. There are multiple court rulings in other jurisdictions that have ruled the moment of silence allowable if it passes the test of not advancing
Saudi Women's Role in Respect of Raising Family Within the Male-Dominated Culture The present study reports an interview with a Saudi woman on the changing role of women in the Saudi society in regards to raising a family within the male-dominated culture that characterizes the Saudi society. Attached to this study are an informed consent form as well as the interview transcript marked Appendix A and Appendix B, respectively. This
Christianity THE ROMAN WAY Rome exerted tremendous pressure on its colonies to conform, and do things in the Roman Way. When in Rome, one does as the Romans do. The Via Romana is a road referring to the Roman way. Rome conquered Alexander's vast empire and then imposed the Imperium (the imperial right to rule) upon the world. Religio-Romana refers to the Roman religion of paganism and polytheism. Roman religion. Romans are
They used concepts with which pagans had long been familiar to construct a world in which individuals could no longer roam alone, without the benefit of priests, and be safe. Medieval theologians complicated what had once been simple, if at time frightening. One can infer from this that the medieval mind viewed the world as dangerous; magic had been one way to control it. However, it appeared that magic
Christianity vs. Islam vs. Hinduism Comparing and Contrasting Christianity with Islam and Hinduism Christianity, Hinduism and Islam are among the five most practiced religions in the world. Christianity, with its top position, shares common grounds with both Hinduism and Islam. However, there are several differences that make Christianity a unique religion in comparison with Hinduism and Islam. Christianity and Islam Similarities Christianity and Islam are Abrahamic religions and monotheistic in nature. Abrahamic religions are the
Role of Spirituality in the Treatment of Depression Over the last thirty years, one of the most interesting paradoxes in the study and treatment of depression has been that increased knowledge about the biomedical and genetic causes of the disease has been coupled with a renewed interest in the effect of religion and spirituality on human mental health and well-being. No matter how religion and spirituality are defined -- and many
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