Transformation of Rome - Essay Example

The Roman Empire was reeling under crisis in 192. The half century, from 235 to 280 was the most trying period in Roman history. Neither the aristocracy nor the tradesmen respected authority. Army was plundering towns and farms; tax collectors squeezed tax from the people. Discipline within the army continued to decline; even the army disrespected authority. The chaos was such that even technological advances did not benefit the Empire’s economy. Economic activity declined; roads deteriorated. Prices skyrocketed and the middle class was bankrupt. Those who did have money started hoarding rather than investing. In such a chaotic condition, people lost faith in their government and turned towards religion for solace. Certain characteristics of Christianity enabled the transformation of the Roman world and enabled it to grow and ultimately to triumph. During this calamity, Romans underwent deep religious and philosophical changes. The economic downturn forced people to adopt mystical religious and philosophical attitude. Before the advent of Christianity, there was no single faith or belief followed by the people in Rome. The Roman Empire was a mix of different cults and beliefs with influences from Greece, Egypt, and the Middle East (Ostara, 1999). Paganism was followed by many but it fell to Christianity although not peacefully. Although Christianity was not a popular religion in Rome until the third century, it started taking hold during this period. It was first ignored, then persecuted and finally supported by the Roman government. It is believed that if Christianity was not psychologically superior to paganism, it could not have overwhelmed the Roman Empire (Trejo, n.d.). Besides, this proves the divine forces behind Christianity. In fact, the greatest feat of Western History is the mass conversion of the Roman Empire from ancient paganism to Christian Religion. The first characteristics of Christianity that appealed to the people of Rome was the austere morality (Smitha, 1998). It denounced the worship of Roman Gods, which provided no guide to the people on morality. Christianity had strict moral code, which appealed to the people of Rome. It described the existing society as evil but had a positive attitude towards humanity; it believed in the sacredness of human life. Christianity explained the suffering in this world and assured of promise in an afterlife. It laid stress on the individual and spiritual life (Hooker, 1996). Worshipping the traditional Roman Gods was an entity that nobody had seen and was a creature other than human. Christianity provided worship of a God who had lived like a common man on earth, Jesus. Jesus was a martyr with a message. People could identify easily with Jesus; they could feel their suffering in his suffering. People were attracted by his words and deeds; they believed in His justice and cherished his love for all people. Christianity, through Jesus, offered them refuge from pain and suffering. Christianity was organized and unified. It offered solace and refuge to people who had been ignored and excluded by other religions. Nobody was a slave in the eyes of God, claimed Christianity, which was a unique characteristic that appealed to the people. Christianity equally was appealing to the poor. Christianity advocated that poverty was neither a sin nor a crime. It was a path, an advantage in attaining salvation. Poverty brought people closer to God. Besides, becoming a Christian or following Christianity did not require money, as many faiths did. When one became a Christian, the community looked after the welfare of its members. The community offered health care and shared their wealth. Widows were looked after and in general becoming a Christian offered protection overall, which the government had not been able to provide. Two types of meetings or services were held. At one meeting scriptures were read, prayers were held and hymns sung. The second was a common evening meal followed by the Lords Supper (communion). With the growth in Christianity, Christians became more visible. Many Romans saw this faith in Christianity as an end to civilization. Rome held Christianity as illegal and the Christians as disloyal for not respecting the Roman Gods. The Christians were blamed for the anger of Gods when earthquake rocked Rome. This situation prevailed upto the middle of 200s. Even when Christians were arrested and executed, they declined to worship the Roman Gods, which proved their undeterred faith in Christianity. They preferred to suffer and die in their belief although they did not agree that they should be persecuted as they had not committed any criminal act. The wise people saw the state as an enemy and not the Christians. Christians were preferred over the soldiers who only hurled abuses. Christianity continued to grow. Persecution against Christianity followed any calamity although it was infrequent. The army general, Decius had taken strong action against the Christians and Christianity. In order to restore order and lift the Empire from economic ruin, he instructed that Romans worship the Roman Gods. He acted against the Christians and hoped they would all convert to state religion. He ordered those who were supposed to be Christians to prove their loyalty but when Decius’ family suffered, people were convinced that God was angry with Decius than with Christians. People, who had left the Church during the turmoil, wanted to re-enter the faith. The threat to Christianity gradually subsided. There was rapid growth of Christianity by late 200s (Williston, 1970). At this point, pagan intellectuals and the neo-Platonists, concerned about the growth of Christianity, started criticizing it. By 300 Christianity was found in all parts of the Roman Empire. By now, more than twenty percent of the Greek population in the eastern half of the Empire had adopted Christianity. Overall, about ten percent of the population was Christians, their number having doubled in about fifty years. Christians were now serving the Roman army and working as civil servants in local government. Following a dispute, Christians were once again ordered to sacrifice to the Gods of the state or face execution. Bibles were confiscated and churches were destroyed but by now, the number of Christians was too huge to be wiped out. As they could read and write, they were an indispensable part of the government. Soon after this Constantine came to power. Emperor Constantine, a Christian, and the Roman Emperor, had a vision the night before the battle in 313 (Dim.com). He saw a cross in the sky and a purple banner with Greek letters inscribed on it. He directed his soldiers to paint crosses on their shields and they won the battle. Constantine then became a convert. He changed the world by becoming the first Christian Emperor. He freed people to pursue any religion they wished to. Christianity had legal equality and the church property that had been confiscated during the persecution, was restored. At this time Christianity was still collection of minor cults. Very soon, Christianity became the state religion of Rome. Christianity gave a new direction, a new focus to Rome. It emphasized on self-discipline. Christianity helped to sustain Rome for several hundred years. The Church strengthened itself by adopting the machinery of the government. The early Church was a mass movement and not merely a creation of the elite. It occupied the middle ground between the rich and the poor. Christian values of love and charity from the beginning unified the Roman Empire, enabled it to grow and finally triumph. References: Dim.com, River of Blood, 11 June 2006 Hooker R (1996), Rome, The Calamitous Century, 11 June 2006 Ostara Publications (1999), History of the White Race, 11 June 2006 Smitha F E (1998), Romes Decline and Christianitys Ascent, to 306 CE, 11 June 2006 Trejo P E (n.d), Was Hegel Christian or Atheist? 11 June 2006 Williston W (1970), History of Christianity in Europe, 11 June 2006 Read More