Asking me to write a review of Peter Leithart’s defense of Emperor Constantine may seem like asking the fox to inspect the henhouse. My work, after all, has been closely identified with that of John Howard Yoder and in particular with Yoder’s critique of Constantinianism. Leithart, moreover, makes clear that though Defending Constantine is a biography of Constantine, his primary purpose is theological- he has written his book in defense of Constantine and to provide a critique of the work of Yoder. Not exactly a project designed to warm this theologian’s heart.
But I think Leithart has written an important book that does more than help us to better understand the complex human being who bore the name Constantine. More significantly, Leithart’s criticisms of Yoder’s account of Constantinianism is one that Yoder would have appreciated and taken seriously. For unlike many who criticize Yoder, Leithart has actually read him appreciatively. He understands that even if Yoder does not get the “historical Constantine” right, that does not mean Yoder’s case against Constantinianism is mistaken. The history matters, Leithart makes clear, but how it matters is finally a theological question.
Read the rest: Defending Constantine: The Twilight of an Empire and the Dawn of Christendom – The Christian Century.
Just a couple of things come to mind:
Stanley is both a generous individual and a very careful reader. Anyone in the theology “business” should take note of how carefully and appreciatively he reads anyone he is in conversation with, even those he is quite opposed to.
Also, I know that Stanley and Peter have both enjoyed and benefited from each other’s work in the past. I know that Stanley appreciated the humorous treatment he got in Against Christianity. I seem to recall him saying at one point that the reformed vision of Christian culture was the only legitimate alternative to his and Yoder’s vision.
Anyhow, I hope you take any opportunities you get to read Hauerwas.