In the classical world there was not only a celebration of this life, it
was one of religious diversity and tolerance.

From backyard cults to mystery religions to lukewarm emperor cults
people were engaaged in all kinds of festivities and rituals.

When Christianity came on the scene it was first considered another
mystery cult with the same themes found in paganism; virgin births and
godmen.

Mithraism also had a virgin born godman-savior who died and rose
after three days.

But the empire soon found out that Christianity was different than the
rest. In a world where people were tolerant of other religious beliefs,
Christianity said that all religions but itself were demonic and false.

With these claims, Christianity became, in an empire of religious
diversity, an uncivilizing religion.

Consequently, some emperors decided that Christianity was bad for the
stability of the empire.

It is for this reason that Gibbon in his great
work on the decline of the Roman Empire, makes a case for Christianity
being a factor in it's fall.

It was not religious intolerance that prompted the emperors,

it was Christianity's religious intolerance and lack of Roman values of
religious tolerance cultural civility that brought about the
persecutions.

For the better part of a millenium, different religious
beliefs had lived side by side with no problems.

For the better part of a millenium, paganism was an attiude of
religious tolerance. When Christianity came on the scene, all
the civility and tolerance that Rome had embraced, was put in jeopardy.

There were only two major persecutions of Christians. Decius and
Diocletian, both hell-bent on keeping Roman traditions alive, were
religious conservatives. The fables we hear about Christians being
thrown to the Lions in the Forum are not based in fact. They are
Christian propaganda.

Diocletian's persecutions never demanded a Christian to denounce his
religion.

Cultural myth would have us think this was so but the fact is
that Christians were never required to denounce their faith; only to
accept others. To the emperors, religious tolerance was a stabilizing
factor in the empire. What was required was to accpt other religions by
sacrificing.

But Christianity was fanatical about exclusivity and could not tolerate
other faiths.

In the end, after 15 centuries of religious intolerance and barbarity,
paganism won because the modern principles of liberty incorporate
religious liberty for all.

This was a great virtue of the Roman Empire
and now we find it in most western constitutions.

In the classical world there was not only a celebration of this life, it
was one of religious diversity and tolerance. From backyard cults to
mystery religions to lukewarm emperor cults people were engaaged in all
kinds of festivities and rituals.

When Christianity came on the scene it was first considered another
mystery cult with the same themes found in paganism; virgin births and
godmen. Mithraism also had a virgin born godman-savior who died and rose
after three days.

But the empire soon found out that Christianity was different than the
rest. In a world where people were tolerant of other religious beliefs,
Christianity said that all religions but itself were demonic and false.
With these claims, Christianity became, in an empire of religious
diversity, an uncivilizing religion.

Consequently, some emperors decided that Christianity was bad for the
stability of the empire.

It is for this reason that Gibbon in his great
work on the decline of the Roman Empire, makes a case for Christianity
being a factor in it's fall.

It was not religious intolerance that prompted the emperors, it was
Christianity's religious intolerance and lack of Roman values of
religious tolerance cultural civility that brought about the
persecutions.

For the better part of a millenium, different religious
beliefs had lived side by side with no problems.

For the better part of
a millenium, paganism was an attiude of religious tolerance.

When
Christianity came on the scene, all the civility and tolerance that Rome
had embraced, was put in jeopardy.

There were only two major persecutions of Christians. Decius and
Diocletian,

both hell-bent on keeping Roman traditions alive, were
religious conservatives.

The fables we hear about Christians being
thrown to the Lions in the Forum are not based in fact. They are
Christian propaganda.

Diocletian's persecutions never demanded a Christian to denounce his
religion. Cultural myth would have us think this was so but the fact is
that Christians were never required to denounce their faith;

only to
accept others.

To the emperors, religious tolerance was a stabilizing
factor in the empire.

What was required was to accpt other religions by
sacrificing.

But Christianity was fanatical about exclusivity

and could not tolerate
other faiths.

In the end, after 15 centuries of religious intolerance and barbarity,
paganism won because the modern principles of liberty incorporate
religious liberty for all. This was a great virtue of the Roman Empire
and now we find it in most western constitutions.