Keep Calm, Be Constantinian

Last updated on: May 24, 2015 at 11:53 am by John Mark N. Reynolds

Keep Calm, Be Constantinian 2015-05-24T11:53:46-04:00 John Mark N. Reynolds

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

Christians need to stop reading the news and thinking doom is coming tomorrow. Doom might be coming, but it does not come in time for the news. By the time the seeds sown in one generation bear awful fruit in the following, the next generation no longer remembers what had come before their own time. Christendom is timeless: we live in the Kingdom of Jesus Christ. We are always losing in this age to somebody about something, but in two generations our enemies will change.

To those doing doctoral dissertations in two hundred years: Many of us knew the decadence of our time would lead to a reaction. We hope you have not over reacted or forgotten that there were many in 2015 who did not become libertines. We were calm and we carried on being Christians.

Amazingly, if Ireland, which rejected Irish culture ages ago for modern European decadence with a brogue, accepts gay marriage in a vote, some people feel like giving up while others decide it does not matter. Get this right: Ireland is no longer particularly Irish. Ireland has rejected the Catholic culture that saved it from barbarism and gave it a national identity. This is tragic and is a sign of the fall of the West, but the West had fallen before and we have survived.

Constantine knew Christianity would be there in one hundred years.

When Scotland voted to stay in the United Kingdom, the proponents of independence began talking about the next vote. The defenders of real marriage should begin the campaign for the second vote for marriage. We will lose that one as well, but the defense of culture and civilization against barbarians is long. We need not panic. Once Ireland stopped making babies at a rate to sustain Ireland, then Ireland stopped understanding marriage. Combined with scandals in a broken Church, the Irish stopped being Irish or making new Irishmen. Eventually, this cannot continue!

A Constantine will come and liberate Ireland from the demon’s presumption and the tyrants’ false promise of freedom.

Some will advocate retreat and surrender to the spirit of our age. Given the way the rest of the world, the parts of the world having babies, is going, I advocate saving what we can of the West. The rest of the world thinks us mad and risks throwing out Locke with the dirty libertine behaviors. We will not let that happen. We will remain an alternative.

Constantine faced a much more difficult situation. His nation was falling apart in a world where falling apart was easy to do and no structure would replace what was destroyed. He built when everyone else was sacking and looting. He put his faith in the Cross when the rest of the world was moving toward living for personal peace and affluence. Constantine built a city for the ages and not just for his time.

We will do the same.

The bad news is that Ireland has decided that vice is virtue and deserves state approval. The good news is that this flies in the face of human nature and the only way forward for Ireland will be further folly. Eventually, the normal will defeat the abnormal and the holy will prevail over the libertine. This will come and when it comes Christians must be loving, merciful, and never make some of the mistakes that brought us to this pass: no hiding, no closets, no excuses, no cover ups.

The Christian age that is coming when the West is renewed will have learned from this time that “cover ups’ or hiding sin will never work. We must be real. We must all admit that we are not what we should be, but that the should be is still our goal. We all fail, fall short, but we all wish to do better tomorrow.

I do not know if I will see “victory” on some issues in my lifetime. I doubt it. So what? If we “won,” there would soon be another reason to reject the True, Good, and Beautiful. Humans cannot stand victory and soon will corrupt the best with the worst. Our heroes will be a mix of error and goodness. Our hearts will contain the seeds of the next crisis. And yet King Jesus will help us to do better this time than we have ever done before now.

We will keep calm, carry on, and win. This is the lesson of the ages.

Spiritual Reflections

Previous Post

May 23, 2015

Constantine not Benedict?

Next Post

May 25, 2015 Memorial Day and the Real World

Browse Our Archives

Select a Category Apologetics Art Culture Education On Books On Education Philosophy Politics Pop Culture Spiritual Reflections Uncategorized

Select a Month October 2026 September 2026 August 2026 July 2026 July 2025 June 2025 September 2024 July 2024 June 2024 December 2023 June 2023 September 2022 May 2022 April 2022 March 2022 February 2022 July 2021 June 2021 May 2021 April 2021 March 2021 February 2021 January 2021 December 2020 November 2020 October 2020 September 2020 August 2020 July 2020 June 2020 May 2020 April 2020 March 2020 February 2020 January 2020 December 2019 November 2019 October 2019 September 2019 August 2019 July 2019 June 2019 May 2019 April 2019 March 2019 February 2019 January 2019 December 2018 November 2018 October 2018 September 2018 August 2018 July 2018 June 2018 May 2018 April 2018 March 2018 February 2018 January 2018 December 2017 November 2017 October 2017 September 2017 August 2017 July 2017 June 2017 May 2017 April 2017 March 2017 February 2017 January 2017 December 2016 November 2016 October 2016 September 2016 August 2016 July 2016 June 2016 May 2016 April 2016 March 2016 February 2016 January 2016 December 2015 November 2015 October 2015 September 2015 August 2015 July 2015 June 2015 May 2015 April 2015 March 2015 February 2015 January 2015 November 2014 October 2014 September 2014 August 2014 July 2014 June 2014 May 2014 April 2014 March 2014 February 2014 January 2014 December 2013 November 2013 October 2013 September 2013 August 2013 July 2013 June 2013 May 2013 April 2013 March 2013 February 2013 January 2013 December 2012 November 2012 October 2012 September 2012 August 2012 July 2012 June 2012 May 2012

TAKE THE

Religious Wisdom Quiz

True or False: Elijah was fed by ravens at the Brook Kerith.

Select your answer to see how you score.

FALSE TRUE

Books by This Author John Mark Reynolds

See All Titles »