Expert: Brenda Martin - 1/16/2010

Question
I am writing a paper on the effect of Christianity in the fall of the Roman Empire, and I would love to supplement the research that I have done on this topic with an interview with someone knowledgeable in that subject. If this is possible please contact me and I would love to arrange an interview via the web, telephone, or any alternative means that you can think of. The choice of timing would be completely at your discretion, Thanks.

Answer
1.Edward Gibbon, in “The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire,” notes that the “zeal of the Christians . . . diffused them through every province and almost every city of the [Roman] empire.”

Says Professor J. W. Thompson in “History of the Middle Ages”: “Christianity had spread with remarkable rapidity over the Roman world. By the year 100 probably every province that bordered the Mediterranean had a Christian community within it.”
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2. No Christian became a soldier; and no soldier, after becoming a Christian, remained in military service.” (The Rise of Christianity, by E. W. Barnes, 1947, p. 333)

“It will be seen presently that the evidence for the existence of a single Christian soldier between 60 and about 165 A.D. is exceedingly slight; . . . up to the reign of Marcus Aurelius at least, no Christian would become a soldier after his baptism.” (The Early Church and the World, by C. J. Cadoux, 1955, pp. 275, 276)

“In the second century, Christianity . . . had affirmed the incompatibility of military service with Christianity.” (A Short History of Rome, by G. Ferrero and C. Barbagallo, 1919, p. 382)

“The behavior of the Christians was very different from that of the Romans. . . . Since Christ had preached peace, they refused to become soldiers.” (Our World Through the Ages, by N. Platt and M. J. Drummond, 1961, p. 125)

“The first Christians thought it was wrong to fight, and would not serve in the army even when the Empire needed soldiers.” (The New World’s Foundations in the Old, by R. and W. M. West, 1929, p. 131)

“The Christians . . . shrank from public office and military service.”
(“Persecution of the Christians in Gaul, A.D. 177,” by F. P. G. Guizot in The Great Events by Famous Historians, edited by R. Johnson, 1905, Vol. III, p. 246)

“While they [the Christians] inculcated the maxims of passive obedience, they refused to take any active part in the civil administration or the military defence of the empire. . . . It was impossible that the Christians, without renouncing a more sacred duty, could assume the character of soldiers, of magistrates, or of princes.”—The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire, by Edward Gibbon, Vol. I, p. 416.
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3. “Whatever may have been the true character of Constantine’s conversion to the Christian faith, its consequences were of vast importance both to the empire and to the Church of Christ. It opened the way for the unobstructed propagation of the Gospel to a wider extent than at any former period of its history. All impediments to an open profession of Christianity were removed, and it became the established religion of the empire. Numerous, however, in various points of view, as were the advantages accruing to it from this change, it soon began to suffer from being brought into close contact with the fostering influence of secular power. The simplicity of the Gospel was corrupted; pompous rites and ceremonies were introduced; worldly honours and emoluments were conferred on the teachers of Christianity, and the kingdom of Christ in a good measure converted into a kingdom of this world.”—Theological Dictionary, by Henderson and Buck. See also M’Clintock and Strong’s Cyclopædia, Volume 2, page 488a; and Gibbon’s Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire, Volume 1, pages 454ff.

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4. “In time the Roman Empire, in which early Christianity began, collapsed. Many historians claim that that collapse was also the time of the final victory of Christianity over paganism. Expressing a different viewpoint, Anglican bishop E. W. Barnes wrote: “As classical civilization collapsed, Christianity ceased to be the noble faith of Jesus the Christ: it became a religion useful as the social cement of a world in dissolution.”—The Rise of Christianity.

It was not the unadulterated Christianity of the apostles’ days that became the State religion of the Roman Empire. It was fourth-century Trinitarian Catholicism, imposed by force by Emperor Theodosius I and practiced by the Roman Catholic Church, which was then as it is now, truly a part of this world.

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5. Down through the Middle Ages, yes, even to this twentieth century, people of righteousness and integrity who have sought to hold to the pure worship of God have suffered persecution and reproach. As the Romans scoffed at the early Christians because they adhered to Christ’s teachings and the Bible writings and did not have temples, images, sacrifices to idols, sacerdotal orders, and like pagan things, so from the time of the establishment of the Roman Catholic Church and down through the centuries the powerful religious leaders have persecuted true Christians for keeping close to the Bible and pure worship.
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6. Early Christians followed Jesus’ steps closely. They heeded the command: “Do not become unevenly yoked with unbelievers. . . . ‘Therefore get out from among them, and separate yourselves,’ says Jehovah, ‘and quit touching the unclean thing.’” (2 Cor. 6:14, 17) Edward Gibbon in the book Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire (Vol. I, pages 396, 397) says that early Christians took no part in “the games that the prince and people celebrated in honour of their peculiar festivals . . . The Christian, on these interesting occasions, was compelled to desert the persons who were the dearest to him, rather than contract the guilt inherent to those impious ceremonies . . . The dangerous temptations which on every side lurked in ambush to surprise the unguarded believer assailed him with redoubled violence on the days of solemn festivals.”The situation is the same now. On the day of pagan festivals such as Halloween true Christians will want to be particularly on guard ‘to keep themselves without spot from the world.’

these are my thoughts on " Christianity & the Roman Empire" perhaps its not what you were looking for?

all the best
Brenda