Were Christians Nice When They Took Over the Roman Empire
Many who write on Christian sites today complain about how bad Christians have it, both in other countries and in the U.S. Christians have a right to complain when they are denied freedom of religion and speech. Their history has not, however, been one of treating well those of other religions and races.
Some scholars, like Professor Bart Ehrman, give Christians credit for not being as bad as they could have been during the first five centuries. He says Constantine did not use much of his army to destroy Pagans after he converted to Christianity.
There is lots of evidence according to Catherine Nixey (The Darkening Age: The Christian Destruction of the Classical World, 2018) that Christians defaced sacred statues, tore down temples and promoted harassment of Pagans. In surviving papers there are documents pleading officials to allow Pagans to continue to worship in Italy.
Christians have taught for a thousand years that Pagans were tired of their religion and were shopping for something else. When they learned of Christianity, it is said, they were delighted. This certainly is contrary to surviving written work attributed to Pagans of the era. They found themselves on the receiving end of an anti intellectual faith that was intolerant of the gods they had worshiped for centuries.
I think it may well be that Christians could have been worse as they amassed power but were, nevertheless, quite ruthless in stamping out Paganism.
Some scholars, like Professor Bart Ehrman, give Christians credit for not being as bad as they could have been during the first five centuries. He says Constantine did not use much of his army to destroy Pagans after he converted to Christianity.
There is lots of evidence according to Catherine Nixey (The Darkening Age: The Christian Destruction of the Classical World, 2018) that Christians defaced sacred statues, tore down temples and promoted harassment of Pagans. In surviving papers there are documents pleading officials to allow Pagans to continue to worship in Italy.
Christians have taught for a thousand years that Pagans were tired of their religion and were shopping for something else. When they learned of Christianity, it is said, they were delighted. This certainly is contrary to surviving written work attributed to Pagans of the era. They found themselves on the receiving end of an anti intellectual faith that was intolerant of the gods they had worshiped for centuries.
I think it may well be that Christians could have been worse as they amassed power but were, nevertheless, quite ruthless in stamping out Paganism.
Hello Jon!! It took me a bit to find you but I think you did!! On this topic, I don't know a lot about it but it seems to me its on the right track.
ReplyDeleteSeveral years of blogging down the drain it appears. That's what happens when you don't own your content. It would appear that the Fargo Forum did to your AreaVoices blog what you accuse the early Christians of doing to pagan buildings and writings; scrubbed clean. There are differences, however. Paganism had no staying power as it was based on imaginary idols with no spirituality. Your form of anti-theism is not much different. Christianity is not for the faint of heart. Sacrifice and self denial are the way of the Cross. "Thou shalt not ...." is not an easy message in a world that tells you you are a victim and entitled to some sort of pot of gold.
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