The early Christians were pacifists.¹ It was only in the second century did Christians become or remain soldiers. John Cadoux’s explanation for the Christian transition into militarism is of a slippery slope in moral ethics due to economic and political pressure. A major sociological shift had occurred after the second century to even allow Christian soldiers in the Roman military. Rome needed armies, so for the first time in Roman history, individuals who enrolled in the legions were granted citizenship. The Roman Empire had a unique characteristic of bestowing citizenship upon trusted groups of people who shared its ideology rather then its culture. Within Rome, citizens did not pay land taxes until the third century and could move upwards socially and politically. Being a citizen meant the opportunity to be a professional solider and gain power and wealth with the inevitable victories of the Roman army. The pull factor was combined with pushing pressure from Roman society to defend the empire.

At first, this militarization was opposed by important early church writers like Tertullian and Origen (and by general practice) but it was not codified into official Church doctrine by the bishop in Rome. A young Numidian Christian, Maximilianus did not accept conscription in 295 CE and said “I cannot serve as a solider, I cannot do evil; I am Christian”. Despite witnesses like Maximilianus, the door remained open for Constantine’s transformation in the fourth century.

Excerpt from a blog post on jesusradicals.com, go read the rest.

Painting by Willem de Kooning

Tags:ConstantineEmpireJesus Radicalsnon-violencepacifisimRomeWillem de Kooning