Trump: Constantine or Cyrus?

This blog has been stirring and twirling around inside of me since the 2016 presidential election. I realize that any stipulations or caveats to introduce what I am about to say will never appease either side of the Trump phenomena. Our President has this ability (along with his adversaries) to push people into two camps. You are either “for him” or “against him” and there is little to no gray zone to simply make observations and factual evaluations. The “always-Trump” sycophants who support the President no matter what he does will probably take this article as an attack on the man whom God has anointed; while those “never-Trump” critics will say it has not gone far enough and compromises Biblical Christianity. I guess I will navigate the middle way which will probably get me hit from both sides, but I think the analogy which I want to share has a timeliness which needs to be released as we enter the 2020 election cycle.

I fellowship and minister predominantly in the Christian camp that is labeled evangelical, continuationist, Pentecostal, or even Charismatic. I have been called an anomaly because I am fiercely loyal to the inerrancy of Scriptures which has led me to fellowship with this camp despite it’s obvious shortcomings and problems. I am honest to acknowledge those problems (which many cessationist groups refuse to do with their own on several subjects) which included an obvious suspension of discernment when it came to the election of Donald Trump. It is not my intention to dredge up the arguments of 2016 which pitted Christians against one another in their support of Trump. I clearly understood the stakes and the two candidates which were presented to us as our only (supposed) viable choices. What is done is done and Trump won. Many prophesied of this victory. They compared Trump to King Cyrus in Scripture who despite his pagan roots and lifestyle, God ordained to help the people of God. I listened as celebrity and notable pastors and leaders assured us that Trump was indeed “born-again” and “one of us”, although his exact moment of commitment (or conversion) seemed to be elastic at best and elusive at worst. I was personally rebuked and chastised from good ministerial friends and others for calling Trump to account for his tongue and decisions in the months that followed. For many of them, because Trump was “selected” by God, as well as being a new believer, it was not our place to critique his inconsistencies or even hypocrisies. It took me to the place that I voluntarily decided to simply keep my opinions to myself and a tight circle of trusted friends.

I have said publicly and will say again now, that Trump has exceeded some of my expectations and performed much better than I anticipated. He should be commended and supported on those fronts. At the same time, the President has demonstrated certain inconsistencies with regards to certain lower-level appointments of federal judges as well as his celebration and esteem of the LGBT community and moderate pro-life stances. These are not without much concern. It puzzles me (and others) how a man who organized a rather elite, evangelical advisory board to surround him, as well as rubbing shoulders with some of the most high profile pastors of this nation, can demonstrate such blatant inconsistency. How can a president, which requests and receives Christian prayer on a regular basis, walk away and practice such a compartmentalized Christianity which is foreign to the teachings of the Scripture? I have come to this conclusion and that is Donald Trump is more like Constantine of the 4th century AD than King Cyrus of the 6th century BC.

I am not the first person to have suggested this connection. Ironically, a Jerusalem-based news agency, Israel Today, suggested just this type of connection in an April, 9, 2017, article entitled, “Constantine and Trump: Is History Repeating Itself”. I should have known that what I had thought to have been an original revelation was simply a confirmation of what another saw earlier. Be that as it may, perhaps it is a good time to resurrect this thought and learn some things from history which the early church may have missed.

It would be an impossible task to generalize or even synopsize the influence and history of Constantine the Great. To many Christians he is known as the Roman Emperor who initiated the ceasing of hostilities towards the Christian Church and leading the Roman Empire out of the times of persecution. (His biography is easily accessible on the Internet, so forgive my presupposition that the reader may have at least a superficial knowledge of this historical figure.) While Constantine is certainly to be applauded for his direct intervention as emperor in stopping the persecutions, the question which surrounds Constantine and numerous historians is “why”? Why did the emperor do what he did? This is the question that sparks an interesting discussion.

Two notable Christian Bishops (and early historians), Eusebius of Alexander and Lactantius, are convinced Constantine’s actions are birthed from a conversion experience at the battle of the Milvian Bridge in 312 AD, in which he saw a cross (the Greek letters Chi and Rho actually, which are the first two letters of the word, “Christ”) and heard a voice say, “By this you shall conquer”. Upon sharing this vision with his troops as they were poised to go into battle, they place this symbol on their shields and proceeded to push an adversary’s army into the Tiber River. This victory sealed the validity of the vision and henceforth, Constantine was considered converted and Christianity became the popular religion rather than the persecuted one. It’s a great story, especially IF Constantine was truly converted. Therein, lies the real question. Was this a genuine faith or a politically expedient one? That has been debated by historians far more notable than I, but it’s a question which has circled around to us in 2020. Is Donald Trump one of us? Are his actions birthed from a genuine and heart-transforming faith -or- are we (evangelicals) simply a good special interest group which provides a base for his administration? That answer may be as elusive as trying to pin down Constantine’s faith. Not all historians, after evaluating and analyzing the facts, are inclined to believe that Constantine was truly converted. In fact, some are quite convinced because of his political actions, his death-bed (delayed) water baptism, and his unrepentant worship of the Sun, there is no way he could be truly born-again. Constantine had some real inconsistencies which produce some real questions.

Here is the connection between the two:

Both men give testimony to receiving Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord. Both men protected the Church during times of great hostility and adversity. Both men did some important and notable things which promoted and propelled the Church into greater influence and visibility.

While at the same time, both men did some highly questionable things as a supposed “believer”. I will leave an analysis of Donald Trump to historians in the future and at this point simply zero-in on Constantine and you, the reader, may evaluate any current or potential connections.

Constantine’s epiphany happened at a politically expedient moment which propelled him to an important political victory. To some his testimony was a divine inspiration to the troops. To others, his speech was nothing more than a good pre-war, pep talk before battle.

Constantine’s “conversion” and subsequent extension of favor towards the Church and notable Christian Bishops brought both concern and support from the Christian community. Some saw it as divine favor. Others saw it as a mine-field of potential conflicts.

Constantine, despite his Christian confession, still practiced a number of pagan ways and kept numerous Roman idols.

Constantine appeased rather than challenged pagan practices in Rome.

Constantine merged pragmatism and paganism into his understanding of Christianity which influenced the Church. Many of the Christian leaders saw this as “practical”, while others deemed it as compromise.

Constantine’s life and influence dramatically altered certain doctrinal understandings. His need for unity was politically driven rather than spiritually ordered.

Constantine’s supporters compared him to numerous biblical characters not the least of which was, Moses.

Constantine still embraced pagan symbols and gods and even upon his death allowed himself to be venerated as a son of the ancient deities (pagan gods).

Constantine had family members “assassinated” as was considered normal for a Roman Emperor in that era.

Constantine’s closest friends and advisors were bishops which received special support in that relationship and undoubtedly, kept much of his paganism hidden and in secrecy.

Constantine provided equal benefits to pagan priests as he did Christian ministers with regards to support. He raised up places of worship and provided monuments for both camps.

A clear case is often made, and rightly so, that for all of Constantine’s benevolences towards the Church of that era, he also left some significant problems of which the Church never really recovered from for over 1,000 years. It took a Reformation to cleanse it all. After centuries of hostility and persecution aimed at the early Church, I personally have a compassion concerning why they were so enamored with the leadership of Constantine. Who among us wouldn’t want a reprieve from the Coliseum? Who among us wouldn’t want a liberty to practice the faith publicly without fear of reprisal after 3 centuries? Yes, it is easy to see how Constantine could be interpreted as a God-send. The problem was then, as it may be now, our exhaustion and need for ease may cloud our theology of civic accountability.

Hear me again, I thought at the time (2016) and still do today (2019) that Trump was better than Hillary and has surprisingly and significantly eclipsed many expectations, in much the same way Constantine was better than his nemesis, Maxentius for the early Church. I have no plans to critique a Trump candidacy in 2020, despite holding to the same election philosophy which I have espoused for several years. I understand that people’s concerns and fears after President Obama were massive. Our nation’s reaction is not all that unlike what we read in history concerning Constantine. My point in this blog is simple and it is this; our choices, capitulations, and compromises have historical ramifications. This is why as Christians we fearlessly obey our God who is Sovereign and knows, “the end from the beginning”. I am patiently watching as we are once again moving towards an election cycle. My hope is that before we flippantly anoint any candidate as “God’s Choice”, that we pause and seriously search the Scriptures and learn the lessons of history before we create a millennial old mess for our kids. As the Church, we are called to reach people (evangelize), train the saints (disciple), and challenge the culture and civic leaders to honor God in all things and in all ways (reformation).

President Trump may be the best selection for Christians in our current binary election process, but that doesn’t mean his poor decisions get automatically “baptized” as appropriate by our fears of greater threats. It is time our hearts, our homes, and our nation was forgiven, cleansed, and reformed for the glory of God. President Trump can be a conduit for some of that, IF he chooses to be a disciple and not a Constantine.