Quotes from Glenn S. Sunshine

The government we have now would have been unrecognizable to the Founders, and our acquiescence to its systematic encroachments on liberty would have infuriated them. But here is the point: it would not surprise them.

Rome did not so much fall as collapse under its own weight. Germanic migrations, a corrupt and ineffectual government, insecurity within the borders, a breakdown of trade, and an economy built on slavery when the end of territorial expansion shut down new sources of slaves — all combined to destabilize Roman society. Add to that a colder and wetter climate that made it more difficult to grow crops, and this spelled disaster for at least the western, Latin-speaking half of the Empire.

Not only are people created in the image of God, but all people are spiritually equal before God. More than anything else, this idea separated Judaism, which was a national or ethnic religion, from Christianity. Jews and Gentiles, men and women, slaves and free, Romans and barbarians, all were welcome in the church as equals.

Never was a government that was not composed of liars, malefactors, and thieves. —Marcus Tullius Cicero (106–43 BC)

It would be hard enough to win the Empire to Christianity without Christians arguing among themselves about what they were supposed to believe.

The transition from being a persecuted minority religion to being the favored faith of the emperor inevitably forged ties between church and state that have been a driving force in Western political life ever since.

With the legalization of Christianity, the opportunity to be martyred disappeared. As a result, people who wanted to prove their faith turned to "white martyrdom" — the living of a strict, ascetic life — as the most viable alternative to actual martyrdom.

The state is more interested in self-aggrandizement and power than it is in promoting the good.

Monastic schools located in the countryside provided most of the education in Europe. With the urban boom of the eleventh century and the growing strictness of the monasteries brought about by church reform, cathedrals once again began opening schools (or, in a few cases, expanding existing schools) in the cities.

The medieval mind assumed that the rational God created a rational universe and that human beings, made in the image of God, were rational as well and could understand the universe.

To the Christian, the route to a meaningful life was found in sacrificial service to others in imitation of Jesus.

The aim of every political Constitution, is or ought to be first to obtain for rulers men who possess most wisdom to discern, and most virtue to pursue, the common good of society; and in the next place, to take the most effectual precautions for keeping them virtuous whilst they continue to hold their public trust. —James Madison (1751–1836)

No other civilization anywhere in history ever moved in this direction — only the West, under the influence of Christian principles. Along with equality came the idea of inalienable, God-given rights, which led to the Enlightenment emphasis on life, liberty, property, and virtue.