Roberts outlines the characteristics of the early Christians, and paints a picture that seems truer to reality, less flattering than the one that has been handed down to us by historians seeking to defend Christianity as a whole, from protestant, Catholic, and other perspectives. It is a bold position:
"The Protestant writers must need set forth the theory that the Christian religion survived all the abuses and corruptions of it through ages of apostasy, else they would have no logical ground for the sixteenth century 'Reformation' to stand upon. They seem not oblivious to the fact, though never mentioning it, that if the Christian religion was displaced by a paganized religion 'a false religion' as is fully predicted, as we shall see later, in the New Testament prophecies, and of which the works of Protestant writers go far towards proving- then the only possible way in which the true Christian religion and the Church of Christ could be restored would be by a re-opening of the heavens, and the giving forth of a new dispensation of the Gospel, together with a renewal of divine authority to preach it, and administer its ordinances of salvation. Catholics hold that there has been no great apostasy in the Church, Their theory is, that there has been a constant, unbroken, perpetuation of the Christian Church from the days of the Messiah and His Apostles until now; and that the Roman Catholic church is that very Church so perpetuated through the ages."
"The Protestant writers must need set forth the theory that the Christian religion survived all the abuses and corruptions of it through ages of apostasy, else they would have no logical ground for the sixteenth century 'Reformation' to stand upon. They seem not oblivious to the fact, though never mentioning it, that if the Christian religion was displaced by a paganized religion 'a false religion' as is fully predicted, as we shall see later, in the New Testament prophecies, and of which the works of Protestant writers go far towards proving- then the only possible way in which the true Christian religion and the Church of Christ could be restored would be by a re-opening of the heavens, and the giving forth of a new dispensation of the Gospel, together with a renewal of divine authority to preach it, and administer its ordinances of salvation. Catholics hold that there has been no great apostasy in the Church, Their theory is, that there has been a constant, unbroken, perpetuation of the Christian Church from the days of the Messiah and His Apostles until now; and that the Roman Catholic church is that very Church so perpetuated through the ages."
I was impressed with the no nonsense presentation of Constantine. This is not the story that I am used to hearing, and it is interesting how those who tell the story shape our understanding of history. Roberts descriptions are erudite and accurate, rather than simply flattering to preconceived notions of Christianity. He shows that the seeds of apostasy were already present in the early Church, and that there is no reason to sugar coat the story. By the time of the Renaissance it was clear that there were serious problems in Christendom, but I enjoyed learning about the early deviations and transformations of Christ's original Church. The Great Apostasy was sad, but a necessary precursor to the Restoration of the Gospel.
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