So...why Rome converted to Christianity?
A vision in the sky
I always like to imagine how fucking surprised the soldiers who nailed Jesus to the cross would be to see the entire Roman Empire worshipping this dude 400 years later.
It was gaining popularity fast, their persecution gained even more sympathizers, and Constantine was a cuck.
>>669668
Rome had SJW's?
>>669668
So basically, they used the SJW liberal cuck strategy and it ended up working out for them
Because Constantine was a Christian. Therefore, those after him were too.
Thats about it.
>>669670
Fuck yeah they did. However the sense of social justice was quite different than ours.
>>669679
Not really no.
>>669668
I know you are 15 years old and jack off to Amon Amarth aka Sunday Pagans but just because someone is a Christian doesn't mean he is a bad leader and Constantine was a good Emperor
>>669697
>Christian has no arguments so immediately resorts to ad hominem
typical, really
>>669688
Yes really, yes.
Would you like me to open up my textbooks or are you going to eat shit?
>>669704
I'm not a fucking Christian I just don't see why we should invalidate someone's achievements because of his religious beliefs. Also ''cuck'' is a buzzword it doesn't explain why Rome converted at all it's just some random verbal vomit.
>>669713
No you liberal atheist kike mudslime shitskin fedora nigger degenerate shill
I don't need to see any bullshit "history books" written by so-called "historians"
Christianity spread and became the dominant religion because it's the only true religion unlike other false violent death cults like PISSlam or Buddhism or Shitduism that need to be eradicated
DEUS VULT
>>669679
Rome was heading towards Christianity long before Constantine came to power.
>>669642
After the 3rd century crisis, roman traditional beliefs lost popularity. Diocletian tried to revitalize them, but he wasn't succesful. Oriental cults that offered different things that the traditional roman religion didn't became popular. Christianity was only one of them, and probably not the most widespread since it was persecuted by the state.
But christianity got a way of growing when Constantine, who had been a pagan follower of the Sol Invictus for most of his life like his father, started to favor this religion. He really was just established religious freedom, but he also compensated the christians for the persecution and eventually converted. It's not strange that he converted since his mother and other relatives of him were christian, as I said it was a popular religion. With this reparations the church became very rich and with this and the fact that the imperial dynasty was christian they were able to win the race against other similar cults. Eventually Theodosius made it the official religion of the empire.
Rome was iirc ~10% Christian when Constantine converted.
Constantine and his successors (other than Julian) basically making it the state religion gave Christianity the support it needed to replace the various forms of paganism throughout the empire as the dominant religion.
>>669670
Christians were the SJWs.
>>669642
>being a sinner
>believing in multiple gods
"I'ts 324AD, COME ON" -Constantine
>>669679
There are loads of factors besides just that one. It's not like Constantine would have converted if christianity wasn't already starting to become a powerhouse within the empire.
Also, just because one emperor adopted a certain religious belief that didn't mean that it got universally embraced by the empire as whole. It took a decent amount of work for therising star of christianity to become and remain the majority religion of the state and later also the official state religion.
To boil it down to Constantine was christian therefore the empire became christian is a gross misunderstanding of the history of the roman empire. Especially considering that it wasn't made the state religion until the rule of Theodosius I.
>>669727
Nice shitposting. Too bad that argument is one of the worst in the history of mankind.
>>669730
Sure there were Christians in the empire, but it certainly wasnt heading to full christianization. Before the council of Nicea, Christianity was a fragmented and scattered religion. Right before Constantine both Galerius and Diocletian were enacting widespread persecutions of Christians. It was with the rise of Constantine that brought about the end of these persecutions and the spread of Christianity, via the edict of Milan. He brought Christianity together too, during the council of nicea, so it was actually now a respectable and structured religion. He gave tax benefits to Christian clergy, promotions and Sundays off to Christian soldier, and donated tons of money to the churches. The things he did to create the Christian Roman empire were numerous and there is no way that Christianity would have spread so easily with Constantine.
Remember too that the Senate remained pagan well after Constantine, and were some of the last to convert.
>>669730
Actually Rome, or atleast the people of any relevance in that city (which wasn't that relevant to begin with in that epoch) remained pagan for quite a long time.
/pol/ was right again
>>669781
>few CENTURIES later
yeah I'm sure it was Christianity that destroyed Rome and if they were still pagan it wouldn't be sacked it's not like most of Legionaires were deployed somewhere else and cowardly shit eating germaniggers attacked easy pray or anything
>>669760
>Also, just because one emperor adopted a certain religious belief that didn't mean that it got universally embraced by the empire as whole.
Or else Julian would have dismantled Constantine's little project.
>>669674
Really? Do you have to bring these stupid terms up no matter how irrelevant? In no way was economic theory developed enough at the time to be classified as Liberal/Conservative, and in what way does a specific sexual fetish about watching others pork have anything to do with either Constantine or gaining Christian converts?
>>669760
Technically it wasnt made the state religion, but actually using that in an argument is ridiculous. Under Constantius the Pagans were outlawed from practicing sacrifices, and their temples were destroyed, along with other persecutions that were enacted. Christianity was the state religion long before Theodosius I, whether officially or not.
Im not trying to underestimate the work it took Constantine to convert the empire, or that just because he was emperor the empire decided to convert. For that see
>>669766
>>669766
It would have been really interesting in comparing the differences from what happened IRL to what would've happened if Julian the Apostate would have ruled for a long time instead of fucking off to persia to die an unecessary death.
I'm not some kind of edgy faggot who thinks that christianity would have been completely eradicated and that we would've seen the classical religions reemerging into complete dominace, but surely his somewhat misguided attempts to turn back the tide of christianity would have had some effects, especially if his successors continued an anti-christian or pro-something else official stance.
>>669781
>n-no but christianity is a white religion
>>669785
Yeah, or the whole empire would have collapsed long before when Elagabalus turned the whole empire into decadent transsexual worshippers of Sol Invictus.
>>669642
Rome and the economic and technological changes it brought spread literacy to the masses, because most people are meek, they connected more with jesus than the old olympian gods, after a while christian tolerant and later openly christian politicians had an advantage over their competitors and someone like constantine the great was bound to reach the op
>>669796
considering the massive impact it had on Europe yeah it is
>>669807
Thanks for a non meme answer.
>>669792
Certainly would have. My guess is something similar to what happened in England with the English church. Basically monarchs constantly flip flopping until a compromise was reached or conflict started.
In the first scenario, wed likely see a very different version of Christianity. In the second, Rome could have ended earlier.
Just my thoughts though, who actually knows what would have happened.
How come he failed?
>>669790
>Technically it wasnt made the state religion, but actually using that in an argument is ridiculous.
I wasn't saying nor were I implying that the roman empire wasn't heavily christianised during Constantine's reign. The fact that it took some time longer for it to become the official state religion would however suggest that christianity wasn't as all comprising during the Constantine's life times as during Theodosius I's.
>Im not trying to underestimate the work it took Constantine to convert the empire, or that just because he was emperor the empire decided to convert
Then why the hell did you make that argument before, or atleast felt the need to protect the guy who made it?
It grew popular with SJW tactics. It started at the bottem quickly picking up the lower members of society that responded well to a message about the virtues of being weak and that everyone was spirtually equal.
Than it went up the social ladder. By the time Constantine come up the religion already had a sizable popularity and was extremly hateful of rival religions. He saw a way to gather immense power by allying himself with it. He made the official religion and inexchange the priesthood acknowledged that he was the rightful ruler ordained by God and this right of kings continued into the Byzantine empire.
>>669807
Your post is highly misguiding as it leaves out the popularity of all manner of mystery cults that were making their way through the empire at the time of the emergance of christanity. At that time the traditional religious customs and practices had been steadily eroded and was considered more and more arcane.
Also, claiming that christianity's rise was due to increase in litteracy is, to my knowledge, a falsehood. Litteracy wasn't exactly a requirement to spreading the faith.
>>669821
So using your own argument islam is a white( i.e european) religion as it has massively impacted Europe.
>>669796
what even is a ''white religion'' anyway? Sounds so tribal like something a nigger in Africa would come up with.
Because they wanted to go to Heaven :)
>>669883
>He saw a way to gather immense power by allying himself with it.
Or you could just take his word for it.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_the_Milvian_Bridge#Vision_of_Constantine
>>669844
My argument is that Constantine initiated the massive spread of Christianity, which you seem to agree with. He certainly didnt single handedly create Christian Rome, but he was the first to begin the process. It was because of him that successive emperors were Christian, and continued to Christianize the empire.
>Then why did you make that argument before?
Where did I say that? The basis of my argument, and what I originally said was that because Constantine was Christian, the empire became Christian. This is still my assertion, and Ive put forth evidence for it already. I never said people simply looked up to him and decided to be Christian.
I admit that I may have boiled down my original statement to too few words, because after all this is 4chan and not the republican debates.
>>669827
Actually what you are describing isn't that far off from what happened anyway as not all emperors were orthodox but instead (atleast privately) embraced one of the multitude of christian sects/heresies that arose.
>>669838
Beause he took a fucking javelin to his liver.
>>669912
I suppose youre right, what with Constantius' arian business, and Julian's paganism
>>669838
1) He was offered to go and fight the goths, but he said he preferred "better enemies" so he attacked persia and died like a bitch.
2) His plan to counter christianity was meme-tier, with stuff like creating pagan diocesis and forcing pagan priests to adopt some christian values that were attractive.
>>669642
Constantine say a bright light and said "Oh, guess thats God. Best convert".
Thats pretty much it.
>>669910
Glad to hear that you agree with my original post and as such acknowledge that limiting it to Constantine therefore a christian roman empire is not an acurate description of the rise to dominance of the religion.
>>669760
It's not an emperor converting to a religion but an emperor giving the priesthood of said religion the economic means to become the richest and most powerful lobby on the empire. The reparations for the persecution and the allowance of getting inheritance from the faithful really benefited the christian church a lot.
>>669948
Where in my post did I write anything that goes against your post?
Basically because white people
Constantine prayed to every god he could before a battle, including the Christian one, and in the battle he saw a fiery cross in the sky, and since the battle made him emperor, he said Christianity is breddy gud.
>>670010
was he high?
>>669983
Not all replies have to contadict the original post my fäm. They can add content. Don't get defensive.
>>670010
>>669932
>>669909
It's a very common tactic for a leader to invoke the idea that he was ordained or guided by some super natural forces. All the Protestant and Orthodox kings had their rule supported by a divine right from God who arranged for them to get there, the Catholic did the same thing but the right travels from God to the Pope to the King (hence why a King that was excommunicated was in deep shit)
There were tons of Greek or Roman generals or kings that claimed some God told them something or was their father.
Back than if you told people God was helping you win wars people thought you were hot shit and the priests would fall in line behind you.
>>669704
I know this is bait but one of those is from 1000 years ago the other is still standing today
>>670078
1000 years really isn't that long
>group A doesn't build big structures until after 199,000 years
>group B doesn't build big structures until after 200,000 years
>wtf why was B so primitive???
>>670582
>1000 years isnt that long
Do you listen to yourself ever?
Within only about a hundred years weve seen washing machines, computers, automatic rifles and nuclear fucking power. Get ahold of yourself.
>>670606
>Do you listen to yourself ever?
Did you even read the rest of the post? I just showed why it's not that long when you put it into perspective.
>Within only about a hundred years weve seen washing machines, computers, automatic rifles and nuclear fucking power.
Technology advancing this fast is completely unprecedented for most of history. The first industrial revolution was a complete paradigm shift in that regard.
>>670069
We're talking about the religion of only 10% of the population, which was hated by the other 90%
Why so many people from /pol/ here - they brought their shit that doesn't fit here.
I'm personally a favorite of the fan of the Nietzche arguement.
Basically Christianity gained popularity with the Roman poor because it glorifies the only stuff they had.
I.E. No Sex = Purity
Weakness = Humility
Having to do what someone you hate says = Obedience
etc.
>>669704
It's more like strawmanning amigo. But your point is non the less valid
>>671093
The Roman rich also liked it tho
Female fornication was always bad with the Romans, Christianity just got rid of the double standard.
Roman morality already demanded obedience toward gods, masters, parents, rulers and so on. Hubris was already seen as repulsive.
>>670017
Ah sorry, read your post as a critical response rather than an addition to mine.
