<\/p>
Gerald Schlabach notes that critiques of Constantinianism pose temptations of various sorts, just as Constantinianism itself does. Insofar as such critiques posit a \u201cfall\u201d for the church, \u201cthey tend to be dysfunctional \u2013 not just for ecumenical debate, but also for ethical discernment within those churches that historically have defined themselves over against some \u2018fallen\u2019 mainstream Christianity.\u201d <\/p>\n
His point is that the \u201cDeuteronomic\u201d temptation to forget God in the land is a prior and more fundamental temptation, one that tempts anti-Constantinians as much as Constantinians. <\/p>\n
Deuteronomy shows us that God\u2019s good gift itself is the \u201cmost important occasion for temptation,\u201d and given that, one \u201ccan never assume an inexorable link between some present unfaithfulness or moral dilemma and some prior theological mistakes or ethical blunders.\u201d It would be a mistake to assume that all theology done in a Constantinian church is wrong: \u201cSome positions that nonpacifist \u2018Constantinian\u2019 churches have taken historically are surely convertible, yet still represent efforts to respond to the right problems.\u201d <\/p>\n
More sharply, \u201cpeace churches\u201d cannot \u201cexpect their critique to be credible if they bring a principled suspicion to all institution-building, or to all exercise of authority by leaders called to focus communal life, or to all forms of discipline. If the only alternative that peace churches, free churches, and other reform movements within Christianity have to offer is a perpetual starting over with primitive forms of face-to-face community, then they are admitting that they really have no idea how to live long in the land that God would give them. And they should not be surprised if mainstream \u2018Constantinian\u2019 Christians dismiss their witness as little more than an effort to avoid the most basic problem of Christian social ethics.\u201d <\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Gerald Schlabach notes that critiques of Constantinianism pose temptations of various sorts, just as Constantinianism itself does. Insofar as such critiques posit a \u201cfall\u201d for the church, \u201cthey tend to be dysfunctional \u2013 not just for ecumenical debate, but also for ethical discernment within those churches that historically have defined themselves over against some \u2018fallen\u2019 […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3021,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[22],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-4736","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-politics"],"yoast_head":"\n