Ep 1359 | From Constantine to Miss Kay: Faithful Mothers Shape the History of the World
6/19/202650 min
Al, Zach, John Luke, and Christian connect the hidden influence of faithful mothers from Constantine’s mom to Miss Kay with the way one unknown believer can change history through a single faithful conversation. The guys look at Constantine’s complicated legacy, from the Nicene Creed and the spread of Christianity to his violent family history and deathbed baptism. They also connect ancient Rome’s struggle over faith, power, and paganism to modern America’s temptation to make Jesus smaller than politics, party loyalty, personal peace, or cultural identity.
In this episode: 1 John 4, verse 8; 1 John 4, verse 10; John 1, verses 1–14; Philippians 2, verses 5–11; 1 John 2, verses 18–23; 2 John 1, verse 7; John 17, verse 3; Acts 17, verse 24
Today’s conversation is about Lesson 10 of Ancient Christianity taught by visiting Hillsdale Professor of History Kenneth Calvert. Take the course with us at no cost to you! Sign up at http://unashamedforhillsdale.com/.
More about Ancient Christianity:
Christ entered the world during the reign of Caesar Augustus. The tensions between Christianity and the Roman Empire shaped the daily practice of the Christian faith and led many Romans to distrust and persecute the early Christians. But Christianity also benefitted from the Roman world. And when Rome collapsed in the West, Christianity provided the hope for preserving civilization.
In this free, eleven-lecture course, Professor Kenneth Calvert will explore:
- How the Jewish, Greek, and Roman cultures all contributed to preparing the world to hear the Gospel.
- Why many Romans distrusted and persecuted the early Christians.
- The inspiring stories of Christ, His apostles, and faithful ones throughout the first four centuries of Christianity.
- The arguments of key early Christian apologists—Ignatius, Irenaeus, Justin, Athanasius, and more—who defended and defined the Christian faith amidst the animosity of the Roman world.
- The conversion of Constantine and how he brought stability to Rome, and how the rivalry between his sons almost returned Rome to paganism.
- How Augustine’s writings helped preserve the message of Christianity during the collapse of the Roman Empire in the West.
You will discover the uncertainties, trials, and triumphs of the earliest Christians as they confronted controversies within the faith and persecutions from outside it.
Join us today to discover the improbable and miraculous story of Christianity. Sign up at http://unashamedforhillsdale.com/
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Chapters
00:00 Constantine’s Mom & the Holy Sites
06:07 Unknown Christians Who Changed History
12:09 Constantine’s Deathbed Baptism
16:57 A Violent Empire After Constantine
23:20 Arianism, Paganism & the Fight over Jesus
28:17 Politics without God Turns Tyrannical
34:04 America’s Debt to the Nicene Creed
39:14 Athanasius Stands for the Incarnation
44:10 Jesus Is Bigger Than Any Government
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Clips
Transcript preview
First 90 secondsAl Robertson· Host0:00
[upbeat music] I am unashamed. What about you?
Zach Dasher· Host0:04
All right, welcome back to the Unashamed Podcast. We are back in our Hillsdale study, uh, unashamedforhillsdale.com. You can take the courses free with us. We are on lecture number 10 in ancient Christianity. We've been talking about Constantine, and now we're gonna talk about some of his kids and how things really, they get hairy in the early, early part of the church. But, uh, you guys can take the course with us. Go to unashamedforhillsdale.com. It's good to be back. Good to see you guys again.
Christian Huff· Panelist0:34
Great to see you again, Zach. I will say, I will give a quick disclaimer that I thought this was the hardest lecture we've taken- [laughs] ... so far.
Zach Dasher· Host0:41
Number 10?
Christian Huff· Panelist0:42
Yes.
Zach Dasher· Host0:43
Yeah.
Al Robertson· Host0:43
Well, the kids are a little confusing. Uh- The kids' na- it was, it was, it was really just the names.
Christian Huff· Panelist0:48
It was the Constantine II, and then Constantinianus, and then Constans.
Al Robertson· Host0:53
So, and y- you mentioned, uh, after we wrapped the last podcast that we neglected to mention Constantine's- Helena ... mom.
Christian Huff· Panelist1:01
Helena.
Al Robertson· Host1:01
Yeah.
Christian Huff· Panelist1:01
Helen- Helena.
Al Robertson· Host1:02
Helena. She had a, she had a pretty big role. Uh, I was trying to find my notes. Uh- Yeah, she identified and restored Bethlehem, Golgotha, and the tomb of Jesus. Right.
Christian Huff· Panelist1:13
'Cause in the lecture they talked about how it had been buried, which actually ended up preserving- Yeah ... preserving it, which was interesting.
Al Robertson· Host1:20
The attempt was to cover it up for nobody to know, but it, uh, again, you talk about the, the, the, uh, the power of God through situations and- Mm-hmm ...