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In our society today we seem to have a hard enough time remembering what happened last week, let alone last year. But imagine a society that existed over thousands of years ago whose legacy still lives on, it must have taken a great deal to bring this society down. What affect did Christianity have on this mighty empire and what factor did it play in the decline and fall of the Roman Empire? Rome was not always an empire; it started out as a republic, but with the many reforms of Augustus it rose to a mighty empire. Rome began expanding and developing its culture and its love of life. Augustus had to play a hard political game " He had to be vitally aware of what men were thinking, and if possible pre-empt their actions or meet them half way". (Southern) By doing so he also reformed the government into an extremely balanced government with checks and balances. Christianity was at first considered to be a sect or different version of Judaism but through the Disciples, Apostles and the enthusiasm of John the Baptizet, it spread throughout the empire rapidly. "Christianity, an equally distributed mystery cult… eventually replaced all other cults" (Infogettable) the unique appeal of this monotheistic religion was "His [Jesus'] message of love, humility, and compassion seemed incompatible with violence and killing". (Holmes) This was quite a contrast when compared to the polytheistic religion of Rome. In Rome the woman were considered subordinate and were excluded from political and other decisions. Many Roman women would experiment with pagan religions. Like a hobby, they would try many untill they found one that suited them. For this reason many women found the teachings of Christ ideally suites for there situation. Critics of Christianity called " Christianity a religion of women and slaves" (Historiography). It proposed a link between class, race, and gender. The idea of a community is described in Galatians 3:28, "There is no longer Jew or gentile, slave or free, male or female. For you are all Christians" (new living translation) the promise of equality through Christ was what drew the women and slaves to Christianity. Though Christianity spread quickly through the empire, so did the hatred and persecution of Christians. The government felt threatened and the pagans felt a superior indifference towards them. It was decided that something had to be done to put a stop to this religion and its spread throughout the society.
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