Question n. 2The separation of church and state is not a new concept. Over the last two thousand years of Christian history, however, the strategies and ideas of Christian leaders have changed several times. During the time Christ walked the earth we can anecdotally perceive a very contentious relationship between the ministry of Jesus and the local Jewish and Roman governments. This type of relationship continued for the first three centuries of the Christian Church. There was an almost total separation between the emerging Christian Church and the governments in power at that time due to constant and violent persecutions of the Christian Church and Christians personally. This persecution continued despite the efforts of Paul, Tertullian, and other early church scholars to justify Christianity to the Roman Empire. The current climate of persecution has seen Christianity spread far and wide across the known world and has seen no progress in the relationship between Church and State. (1) The situation changed dramatically after Constantine, winning the last decisive battle of the Milvian Bridge in 312 AD, became the sole Roman emperor. In 313 AD Constantine legalized and legitimized the Christian faith as an acceptable practice within the Roman Empire. It is noted by the historian Eusebius that Constantine's mother, Helena, was a Christian and it was through her influence that Constantine took these steps and eventually became a Christian himself. Constantine also changed the nature of the relationship between Church and State. With a strong emperor on the throne of Rome, a state-sponsored religion becomes a tool of unity and control. This is the change in relationship that Constantine favors. For the purposes of this discussion, this idea of ​​September...... halfway through the document...... with the discovery of the New World, once again the balance shifts back towards a relationship of church dominance with the Puritans and other religious groups seeking freedom in the New World. However, the rise of the self and the growth of freedom forever alter the question of balance and separation between church and state. Today there is a sort of détente between Church and State. Each party continues to seek dominance within the relationship, but each party is constrained by law not to significantly interfere with each other. The issue of separation of church and state is not the simple issue it is portrayed as today. This is a complex question with a history dating back over two thousand years, and although long discussed, there are also easy answers even today. Works CitedMiles, Margaret R., The Word Made FleshGonzalez, Justo L., The Story of Christianity V2