they told him this meant that it was the cross of christ that would allow him to be victorious. and so he arranged to have the image of the cross painted on the shields of all of his warriors. constantine vowed to convert to christianity if he won the battle. and for centuries, his victory was seen as a turning point for christianity. but did constantine really convert to the faith his empire had tried to destroy? some historians have doubted whether constantine actually converted in the year 312, and it s true that there s some evidence that he retained a devotion to some of the roman gods. even after allegedly converted, for example, he minted coins in which he had a picture of the sun god. the inscription on the coin was
and so he arranged to have the image of the cross painted on the shields of all of his warriors. constantine vowed to convert to christianity if he won the battle. and for centuries, his victory was seen as a turning point for christianity. but did constantine really convert to the faith his empire had tried to destroy? some historians have doubted whether constantine actually converted in the year 312, and it s true that there s some evidence that he retained a devotion to some of the roman gods. even after allegedly converted, for example, he minted coins in which he had a picture of the sun god. the inscription on the coin was saul invictus, the unconquerable sun, a reference to the sun god who in fact was overall. and so was he really a worshipper of the god of jesus
and so he arranged to have the image of the cross painted on the shields of all of his warriors. constantine vowed to convert to christianity if he won the battle. and for centuries, his victory was seen as a turning point for christianity. but did constantine really convert to the faith his empire had tried to destroy? some historians have doubted whether constantine actually converted in the year 312, and it s true that there s some evidence that he retained a devotion to some of the roman gods. even after allegedly converting, for example, he minted coins in which he had a picture of the sun god. the inscription on the coin was saul invictus, the unconquerable sun, a reference to the sun god
constantine vowed to convert to christianity if he won the battle. and for centuries, his victory was seen as a turning point for christianity. but did constantine really convert to the faith his empire had tried to destroy? some historians have doubted whether constantine actually converted in the year 312, and it s true that there s some evidence that he retained a devotion to some of the roman gods. even after allegedly converting, for example, he minted coins in which he had a picture of the sun god. the inscription on the coin was saul invictus, the unconquerable sun, a reference to the sun god who in fact was over all. and so was he really a worshipper of the god of jesus or was he a worshipper of the sun god? by that time, of course, christians ran in the millions. and i suppose constantine
it s a dangerous, tumultuous time in the roman empire. nowhere more so than in the province of judea on the far edge of the mediterranean. its capital, the holy city of jerusalem, is teeming with pilgrims for the springtime feast of passover. many of them looking for an earthly key, a messiah who will deliver them from the yoke of roman oppression. into this powder keg walks jesus of nazareth. his protests against the romans make him a popular hero. to some, he is the messiah. but to the romans, he s political trouble, so they crucify him. the followers of jesus believed that he has risen from the dead and will soon usher in the kingdom of heaven, but when and how will this new faith survive after jesus? today, more than 2 billion people call themselves christians, people who believe jesus rose from the dead. but perhaps it s a miracle that christianity did not disappear when the romans crucified jesus on a lonely hill outside jerusalem almost 2,000 years ago. this region