A superb point, Thom.  Oddly....or perhaps not so oddly... we have only the report of the known liar Eusebius for Constantine's "conversion" to xtianity.

http://www.newadvent.org/fathers/25024.htm


It starts here in Chapter 61 and goes on and on with the pious horseshit which, given the fact that Constantine was a murdering thug, seems oddly out of place.  It's almost as if Eusebius made it all up!

On the other hand, being a murderous thug would not preclude him from being a Christian.

Certainly not.

(April 5, 2015 at 2:53 am)Minimalist Wrote: Certainly not.

It certainly didn't preclude Charlamagne from being a Christian and turning into such a hero for them that they whitewashed his history and attributed a bogus "Carolingian Renaissance" to his reign. 

Being a murderous thug would seem to be a bonus as far as Christian history goes. After all, this religion spread less by hearts and minds and more by swords and blood. 

(April 5, 2015 at 3:37 am)DeistPaladin Wrote: Being a murderous thug would seem to be a bonus as far as Christian history goes. After all, this religion spread less by hearts and minds and more by swords and blood. 

Even Min has to agree with this.

(April 5, 2015 at 3:37 am)DeistPaladin Wrote:

(April 5, 2015 at 2:53 am)Minimalist Wrote: Certainly not.

It certainly didn't preclude Charlamagne from being a Christian and turning into such a hero for them that they whitewashed his history and attributed a bogus "Carolingian Renaissance" to his reign. 

Being a murderous thug would seem to be a bonus as far as Christian history goes. After all, this religion spread less by hearts and minds and more by swords and blood. 

Didn't the start of his reign coincide with the end of the Dark Ages?

"Dark Ages" is an amorphous term.  Originally it covered the period from the 5th century to the renaissance but now it is generally restricted to the late 5th-10th centuries.  That's well after Charlesmagne and more closely identifies with the dying down of the Viking assault on Europe.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Massacre_of_Verden

Quote:The Massacre of Verden, Bloodbath of Verden, or Bloody Verdict of Verden (German Blutgericht von Verden) was a massacre of 4,500 captive Saxons in October 782. During the Saxon Wars, the Saxons rebelled against Charlemagne's invasion and subsequent attempts to christianize them from their native Germanic paganism. The massacre is recorded as having occurred in what is now Verden in Lower Saxony, Germany.

Some scholars have since attempted to exonerate Charlemagne of the massacre, but these attempts have been generally rejected. The massacre became significant among German nationalists in the early 20th century, culminating in its commemoration in Nazi Germany. In 1935, landscape architect Wilhelm Hübotter designed a memorial, known as the Sachsenhain ('Saxon Grove'), that was built at a possible site for the massacre.

One of many carried out by jesus-loving xtian fucks.