''Defending Constantine: The Twilight of an Empire and the Dawn of Christendom'' is a 2010 book by

Peter Leithart Peter James Leithart (born 1959) is an American author, minister, and theologian, who serves as president of Theopolis Institute for Biblical, Liturgical, & Cultural Studies in Birmingham, Alabama. He previously served as Senior Fellow of Theology ...

which examines

Constantine the Great and Christianity During the reign of the Roman Emperor Constantine the Great (AD 306–337), Christianity began to transition to the dominant religion of the Roman Empire. Historians remain uncertain about Constantine's reasons for favoring Christianity, and ...

. Leithart argues that

Constantine Constantine most often refers to: * Constantine the Great, Roman emperor from 306 to 337, also known as Constantine I *Constantine, Algeria, a city in Algeria Constantine may also refer to: People * Constantine (name), a masculine given name ...

was a real Christian, and takes issue with

John Howard Yoder John Howard Yoder (December 27, 1927 – December 30, 1997) was an American Mennonite theologian and ethicist best known for his defense of Christian pacifism. His most influential book was '' The Politics of Jesus'', which was first published in ...

's view on Constantinianism, arguing that there was no

Constantinian shift ''Constantinian shift'' is used by some theologians and historians of antiquity to describe the political and theological changes that took place during the 4th-century under the leadership of Emperor Constantine the Great. Rodney Clapp claims th ...

. ''Defending Constantine'' provoked a book-length response: ''Constantine Revisited: Leithart, Yoder, and the Constantinian Debate'', edited by John D. Roth (

Wipf and Stock Wipf and Stock is a publisher in Eugene, Oregon, publishing works in theology, biblical studies, history and philosophy. History Wipf and Stock was established in 1995 following a joint venture between John Wipf of the Archives Bookshop in Pasade ...

, 2013).

References

2010 non-fiction books Constantine the Great and Christianity {{Christian-book-stub