It was not long after Constantine came to power with his bishops(about 1,700 years ago) that people who believed differently than this "Constantinian
Church" were unbiblically treated. Later the Pope of Rome follows the same path, calling for wars against others who believed differently. Thus there is
the Constantine Catholic Church, what we know today as the Roman Catholic Church and its head bishop, the Bishop of Rome or the Pope, is given the exalted
status of infallibilty, primacy, universal jurisdiction and the title Holy Father(which is how Jesus addressed God in John 17), pretty much exalted to the
status of a god. This is not just an issue with Protestants 500 years ago, but take a look at how people 1,700 years ago were treated as well if they chose to
differ or remain independent of the Constantinian Church. Learn about pre-protestant groups such as John Hus and the Hussites, the Waldenses, Lollards,
Paulicians, Albigenses, Donatists, Montanists, and Arius. Not that all these groups agreed with one another or even that I agree with everything they believed,
but the common theme is how they were treated by the official church(the church of the emperor or pope...Greco-Roman or simply Roman Catholic), because they
believed differently and wanted to remain independent of or reform the official church and as far as I can tell held to a form of the doctrine of Scripture
Alone or the scriptures are often mentioned in connection with them in their history. They were often banished, exiled and even executed. I believe we all
reserve the right to believe as we chose and should be able to do so without threat of torture or forced conversion. I'll remain true to my Protestant
convictions.
