SECTION V
Chapter 3 - Success of Christianity against the Pagans

  As we have seen, Christianity slowly evolved from a small, obscure sect
into a powerful hierarchical religion. Starting off in the first century as
basically a religion for the common man, it developed into an ecclesiastical
organization by the second century C.E.  In the third century, it had
integrated classical thoughts and philosophy into its theology.  During the
fourth century, it became the official religion of the Roman Empire.

Belief in Demonic Powers in the Ancient World

  In the ancient pagan world, superstition was rampant. Most people believed
that nature was alive with supernatural forces.  Some of these gods and
spirits dwelled in the upper realms of the sky above the earth, whereas demons
were sometimes visualized as inhabiting the center of the earth.  These
forces were believed to interfere in the daily affairs of mankind on earth,
ranging in the areas of sickness and health, to participating in great
battles and wars. People attended temples to make sure that they had
appeased the gods, least they in some way become angered.

  Most early Christians did not deny the existence of powerful pagan gods,
but instead considered them to be DEMONS!  They believed that they saw
scriptural basis for this belief. First of all the Greek version of the Old
Testament (ie the Septuagint) rendered the hebrew word for "idols" as
"demons." Thus in the Septuagint version of Psalms 96:4, one read:

  "Great is the Lord and highly to be praised, He is to be feared above
   all gods; for all the gods of the heathen are demons, but the Lord
   made the heavens."

  (Weiss, EARLIEST CHRISTIANITY, vol. I., p 248)

  The term demons even remains in more modern versions of the Bible.  For
example, in Deuteronomy 32:17 we read how heathens "sacrificed to demons
which were no gods", in Psalms 106:37 that disobedient Jews "sacrificed their
sons and their daughters to the demons." Matthew 8:28 describes how Jesus
exorcised "demons" from a mad man into a herd of swine.  Even the apostle
Paul believed in demons, such as when he says "what pagans sacrifice they
offer to demons and not to God." (I Cor. 10:20) (See Section II, Chapter 5 for 
more examples of demonic belief.)

  St Augustine reconciled belief in God AND in demons this way.  According
to Augustine, demonic miracles "may seem in externals to equal many of
those performed among true worshippers..." However these "are in no way
comparable in power and grandeur with those performed...among the people
of God." (Augustine, CONCERNING THE CITY OF GOD AGAINST THE PAGANS, trans
J. Bryce and J. Campbell). 

Belief in Relics and Miraculous Powers

  When pagans began converting over to Christianity, the belief in demonic
powers, was if anything reinforced.  Most people kept their previous beliefs
in these supernatural forces, exchanging old charms and incantations for new
ones representative of Christianity.  The relic of the cross, in this
regard, was especially popular.--Anybody who was anybody, seemed to have
a piece of this most famous relic. (See Section VII, Chapter 5 for a
description of how the pagans also had their relics.)

  Constantine's mother, Helena played an important role in locating these
early relics.  Being blessed with "prophetic powers", Helena set off on a
religious archeological expedition to the Holy Land in 326 C.E. with the
Christian chronicler Eusebius at her side. Jerusalem had been a Roman pagan
city since 132 C.E. (ie after the defeat of the Jews in the second Jewish
Revolt.) Helped partly by local Christians in the area, Helena used her
powers to divine the EXACT location where Jesus was born (now the site of
the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem), Jesus' trail in carrying his cross
(celebrated as the Via Dolorosa in Jerusalem) and the site of the crucifixion
(now the site of the Church of the Holy sepulcher in Jerusalem.)

  According to the Christian writer Socrates Scholasticus, Helena also
discovered Jesus' cross while in Jerusalem. She was said to have located
during this time, not one but three crosses lying side by side. To determine
which one of the three was the authentic cross of Jesus, she reportedly
applied a piece of each cross to a dead body.  One of them raised the man
from the dead, and was thus discovered as the "true" cross. (Sulpicius
Severus, CHRONICLE 2.34.4)

   Helena left a portion of the cross in Jerusalem, shipping its main portion
to Constantinople to her son Constantine.  Constantine privately enclosed
the cross relic inside his own statue at Constantinople, "being persuaded
that that city would be perfectly secure where that relic should be preserved."
As for the nails of the cross that he received, Constantine made these into
bridle-bits for his horse, and the rest he used in his helmet, which he took
with him on his military expeditions. (Socrates Scholasticus, ECCLESIASTICAL
HISTORY 1.17)

   Socrates Scholasticus wrote how it was commonly believed that the cross
contained within it "the power of God"--not only to ward of disease, but
for power on the battlefield as well.  The reason why the cross was
believed to have been the instrument of victory, was that it symbolized
the cosmic victory of the power of God over the power of Satan, through
the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ.

   Helena's successes in uncovering relics, would soon be followed by other
discoveries. Even during the mid fourth century C.E., there were reports on
how "the whole world" seemed to be filled up with pieces of the wood of the
cross.(Cyril of Jerusalem, CATECHETICAL LECTURES 4.10; 10.19;13.4)  So many
pieces of wood from the cross were "discovered", that it was noted how the
entire city of Jerusalem could have been rebuilt with these discovered
"authentic" fragments of the cross. (Pelikan, JESUS THROUGH THE CENTURIES, p 99)

Pagan Oracles as Predicting The Coming of Jesus Christ

  As early as the late first century C.E., early Christian writers (including
the gospel writer Matthew) had interpreted Old Testament stories as predicting
the birth, life, and death of Jesus Christ. By the fourth century C.E., later
Christians were applying these same techniques to prove that Jesus' coming
was also predicted in GENTILE pagan literature.

   Perhaps the most famous of these cited predictions was written by
the Roman poet, Virgil. In a poem written in praise of the emperor Augustus.
he predicted the beginning of a "new order of the ages"; for "now the virgin
is returning" and "a new human race is descending from the heights of heaven."
This new era would be brought about by "the birth of a child, with whom
the iron age of humanity will end and the golden age begin." (Virgil,
ECLOGUES 4.5-52) During this new age, the poem goes on to predict a
gardenlike existence on earth, where even the serpent shall die. (Pelikan,
Ibid, p 35-6)

  These lines were hailed as a prophecy of Jesus by the first Christian
emperor Constantine in 313 C.E.  St. Augustine likewise believed that "it
is of [Christ] that this most famous poet speaks." (Augustine, EPISTLES
137.3.12, IBID). Other Christian fathers, such as Jerome were not inclined
to interpret Virgil's poem in this manner.

  Other famous prophecies regarding Jesus were seen in the writings of the
Greco-Roman prophetess Cuma, also known as the Cumean Sibyl.  (The Sibyl
was the character who "sang frightening riddles" in Virgil's AENEID.)
There were several collections of visions and sayings from various Sibylline
oracles.  One of the most important of these was destroyed by a fire in
Rome in 83 B.C. This allowed various groups--pagans, Jewish, and Christians,
access to the new collections that were being gathered to replace them.

   Even in their original form, the sayings of the Sibyl apparently contained
threats and warnings about some future divine punishment.  In the hands of
the early Christians, this was expanded to prove that the sibyls had predicted
both the advent and passion of Jesus, and that Christ would return to destroy
the World during his Second Coming.  Early Christians also liked to quote the
Sibyl to prove that the divine power of God was the source of famines, plagues,
and other earthly punishments.(See Justin Martyr, I APOLOGY 20; Clement of
Alexandria, EXHORTATION TO THE GREEKS 8.27.4.) (Ibid p 38). In his ORATION
TO THE SAINTS, Constantine appealed to the Sibyl.  In its works, he found a
poem whose first letters spelled the Greek word for fish ("ichthys") which
he interpreted to symbolize Christ.  Although this was attributed to the
wisdom of the pagan sibyls, it was in reality written by an anonymous
Christian interpolator. (Pelikan, Ibid, p 37).


  Because some pagan writings were similar in tone and spirit with
Christianity, they became very popular with Christians.  Pliny the Elder's
NATURAL HISTORY--which was considered by Christians to be one of the great
classics--held that everything on earth was created for a special purpose
and for the benefit of mankind:

  "Nature and the earth fill us with admiration... as we contemplate that
  they were created for the wants or enjoyments of mankind."

The NATURAL HISTORY contained fantastic tales of far off lands--where for
example, people lived with feet so large that they could use them as
umbrellas, and where others had no mouths but lived on the fragrances of
flowers. Written in a "scientific"-sounding style, it goes on to tell of the
existence of winged horses, unicorns and mermaids. These stories were
literally believed by nearly everyone--even up through the Renaissance in
Europe.

  Some time during the second century C.E., there was an anonymous Christian
work, known as PHYSIOLOGUS.  This read the Scriptures in an allegorical sense
to "discover" exciting and magical creatures that no longer existed.  The
contrast with Aristotle's careful detailed work on animals is striking.  The
PHYSIOLOGUS spoke of the biblical existence of the unicorn and dragon.
(Because of a poor early translation of the Old Testament from Aramaic to
Greek, the phrase "strong lion" was at the time, commonly mistranslated as
"ant-lion".  From this mistranslation, the belief developed in a creature
that had a head of a lion and a body of a giant ant.  Presumably it perished
because the ant body could not digest the meat that the lion head wanted to
eat.)

Religious Forgeries

  By the second century C.E., a number of religious forgeries began circulating,
which purported to be documentary evidence on the miraculous events of
Jesus' life on earth.  It must be emphasized that Christians were NOT
the first (nor the last) group to produce forgeries in this regard, and that
this practice was quite common in the hellenized ancient world.

  Some of these Christian forgeries are included below.  The letters below
were purported to have been written between Pilate and Herod, and were known
by the second century Christian father, Justin Martyr.  The favorable
view of Pilate is characteristic of the Eastern Church (where even today,
the Coptic Christians revere Pilate as a martyr):

                     LETTER OF HEROD TO PILATE

"It is no small sorrow--according to the divine Scriptures--that I write
to you.  My dear daughter Herodias was playing upon the ice and fell in up
to her neck.  And her mother caught at her head to save her, and it was
cut off, and the water swept her body away.  My wife is sitting with the
head on her knees, weeping, and all the house is full of sorrow.

  I am in great distress of mind at the death of Jesus, and reflecting on
my sins in killing John the Baptist and massacring the Innocents.  Since
then, you are able to see the man Jesus again, strive for me and intercede for
me: for to you Gentiles the kingdom is given, according to the prophets and
Christ.

  Lesbonax my son is in the last stages of a decline.  I am afflicted with
dropsy, and worms are coming out of my mouth.  My wife's left eye is blinded
through weeping.  Righteous are the judgments of God, because we mocked at
the eye of the righteous.  Vengeance will come on the Jews and the priests,
and the Gentiles will inherit the kingdom, and the children of light be
cast out.

  And Pilate, since we are of one age, bury my family honorably:  it is
better for us to be buried by you than by the priests, who are doomed to
speedy destruction.  Farewell.  I have sent you my wife's earrings and my
own signet ring. I am already beginning to receive judgment in this world,
but I fear the judgment hereafter much more.  This is temporary, that is
everlasting.

(quoted in JESUS OUTSIDE THE GOSPELS,  R Joseph Hoffman, Prometheus Books,
pp 63-4)


  Traditionally, the Western Christian Church viewed Pilate's role in
Jesus' crucifixion in a more villainous light.  Following is a letter
that claims the Roman Emperor Tiberius  held pro-Christian views
and ordered Pilate's arrest for trial back in Rome.


                      LETTER OF TIBERIUS TO PILATE

[This was delivered to Pilate by means of the messenger Raab who was
sent with 2,000 soldiers to bring him to Rome.]

  "Since you have given a violent and iniquitous sentence of death against
Jesus of Nazareth, showing no pity, and having received gifts to condemn
him, and with your tongue have expressed sympathy, but in your heart
have delivered him up, you shall be brought home a prisoner to answer
for yourself.

  I have been exceedingly distressed at the reports that have reached me:
a woman, a disciple of Jesus, has been here, called Mary Magdalene, out of
whom is said to have cast seven devils, and has told of all his wonderful
cures.  How could you permit him to be crucified?  If you did not receive
him as a God, you might a least have honored him as a physician.  Your
own deceitful writing to me has condemned you.

  As you unjustly sentenced him, I shall justly sentence you, and your
accomplices as well.(Ibid, p 64-5)

  There are other examples too (not all included here.)  One letter is
purported to be from Pilate to Claudius.  This letter (believed to have
dated from the third century C.E.) is interesting, because the writer
appears to have overlooked the fact that Pilate's governorship of Judea
was over in 36 C.E., and Claudius did not become emperor until 41 C.E.
In it, the letter stresses the birth of Jesus by a virgin, Jesus' healing
miracles, and that there were soldiers guarding Jesus' tomb--and that
they were bribed into lying about it."
(ibid p 65-66)

    As we have seen there is some concern that the gospels themselves may
have been tampered with during this time. Some scholars also point to the
discrepancies between Codex Vaticanus and Sinaiticus with later New
Testament texts as proof of this. (See Section III, Chapter 2).

Use of Allegory by Early Christians to Interpret the Scriptures

  As we have seen earlier, both the Greeks and the Jews used allegory
to interpret the words of their holy writings so that they had a deeper,
underlying meaning, separate from their literal meaning. For example, a
literal ready of the Song of Solomon would be of a sexual love of a man
for a woman.  Jewish rabbis allegorized these statements to symbolize
God's love for Israel.

  Origen  made strong use of the allegory in interpreting the Bible. A list 
of kings in the Old Testament, thus represented a tally of sins. The ass upon 
which the Savior rode on his triumphant entry into Jerusalem represented the 
Old Testament, the foal the New Testament, and the two apostles who were sent 
to loose them symbolized the moral and mystical senses.

 Origen also shared many of the common pagan superstitions of his time.
He believed comets portended catastrophes, and that the stars were
living beings with souls. (This had been deduced from Job 25:5, which
states "the stars are not pure in his sight").  He believed demons were
ever present, and held them responsible for famines and plagues.

   It was Origen's powerful use of allegory that helped him rise to fame
during his lifetime. Others followed after him, including the brilliant
St. Augustine.

  To St. Augustine, the condemnation of the serpent to eat dust, exemplified
the sin of curiosity--since in eating dust, the serpent "penetrates the
obscure and shadowy".  When Noah's ark was "pitched within and without
with pitch", this symbolized the safety of the Church from the leaking in
of heresy.

  According to Augustine, (see Chapter 5) "ignorance of numbers prevents
us from understanding such things in Scripture." For example, the number
forty, especially as it related to the number of days of fasting, was held
by Augustine to have held special significance-After all, forty, he reminds
his reader, is four times ten.  The number four represents the number of
parts dividing a day and the year. The number ten, which is made up of
the numbers three and seven, symbolizes knowledge of the Creator and the
creation.  The number three refers of course to the threesome membership
in the Holy Trinity.  The number seven in turn refers to the three elements 
heart, soul and mind--combined with the four elements of earth, water, fire 
and air. Therefore the number ten, representing knowledge, again multiplied 
by four representing time, reminds us to live our time according to knowledge--
ie to fast for forty days.

  In the sixth chapter of St. John, where we are told that the disciples had
rowed about "twenty-five or thirty furlongs", St. Augustine also found
religious mystical significance.  The number "twenty-five typifies the law,
because it is five times five, but the law was imperfect before the gospel
came; now perfection is comprised in six, since God in six days perfected the
world, hence five is multiplied by six that the law may be perfected by the
gospel, and six times five is thirty."

Growth of Christianity

  Estimates vary, but by 313 C.E. when Constantine issued his famous Edict
of Toleration for Christians and pagans, somewhere between one tenth and
a quarter of the population of the Roman Empire was Christian. During the 
next centuries, the vast majority of the Roman Empire would be converted to 
Christianity--and orthodox Christianity at that.  Although there were obvious 
political reasons for converting to Christianity (for example, later edicts 
forbade non-Christians to hold public office) probably the most important 
causes for the massive conversions can be classified under moral, historical, 
and socio-economic causes.


Advantages of Christianity over Other Religions

Moral Causes:

  As we have seen earlier, Christianity emerged at a time when the hellenistic 
world was already moving in a direction towards monotheism.-- Platonic 
philosophy had postulated an almighty Creator of the universe who dwelled in 
heaven.  Evil powers were believed to control the lower levels of the 
universe, including the earth. Christians and Greek Platonists found that 
they shared a common basis of morals.

   Many pagans greatly admired the morals and virtues displayed by the early 
Christians. Christians took on the Stoic philosopher's ideal of living a 
virtuous, even chaste life. One Christian writer had petitioned to the Roman 
authorities how they should support the Church, since Christians promoted the 
same moral and family values that the State was seeking to encourage. During 
this time, Jews were experiencing a form of religious crisis, from their 
dramatic defeat against the Romans in the Jewish revolts of 66 and 132 C.E. 
There was a sharp decrease in Jewish missionary activities among pagans in 
the ancient world, during the third and fourth centuries.

   The cult of the Roman emperors, while serving the day-today social needs
of the empire, did not really provide for the spiritual and emotional
needs of the majority of the people.  This is probably one reason why
the "mystery religions" were also so popular at this time.  They, like
Christianity, promised eternal life through the performance of certain,
often exotic rituals.

   Still, when compared to the other mystery religions, Christianity exhibited 
one of the STRONGEST bases of morals. True, the Mithra cult was led by a 
chaste and holy leader (here Mithras, instead of Jesus)-- who stood above 
and apart from the female entanglements of say an Attis, Baal, and Serapis. 
He also set down the highest standards of truth and brotherhood. However, 
compared with the Christian brotherly love of the poor and dispossessed, 
Mithraism emphasized a more MILITANT and CHAUVENISTIC feeling of camaraderie--
including a bloody battle between Mithra and a bull, which enacted this 
scene in their rites. Although this military image was very popular with 
soldiers, this would obviously not appeal to all segments of the population-- 
such as women.  Indeed, women were NOT even permitted to join this all-male 
cult. Slaves and poor individuals could also find important rites too 
expensive for them!

  When the pagan critic Celsus debated Origen, he accused Jesus of being
just "another" magician.  Origen admitted that there were other magicians
who appeared to have similar powers to Jesus.-- But Origen argued it was
Jesus' MORAL teachings that distinguished him from the other miracle workers!
According to Origen, Jesus, "by the things he does, calls the spectators to
moral reformation, or teaches the fear of God to those astounded by the show."

   Pagans and Jews greatly criticized Christians because it emphasized
FAITH as opposed to ALSO insisting that the believer perform GOOD WORKS.  
This meant that the more base elements of the population that were either 
lazy or unscrupulous (even ruthless) could be tempted to convert to 
Christianity because it promised them the MOST rewards for the least effort.  
For example, according to Julian the Apostate, the emperor Constantine had 
decided to convert into Christianity after the Mithraic Holy Father had 
informed him that his crimes of killing his second wife and his son were 
unpardonable sins. The Mithraic Holy Father thus refused to let Constantine
partake in purification rites.  Afterwards, Constantine turned to the 
Orthodox Christians--as they assured him that ALL of his sins could be washed 
away by Christian baptism. (Constantine was baptized on his deathbed, because 
Christian doctrine THEN taught that one could only have his or her sins 
forgiven ONCE in a lifetime).
                             
  Another distinct moral advantage Christians had over the mystery religions, 
was its leaders' DETERMINATION that ALL other religions (even RIVAL Christian 
sects) were really worshipping demons! This meant that belonging to another 
religion was the most heinous sin possible--for which the guilty were assured of 
being punished with eternal damnation in hell! Only Orthodox Christianity 
represented the TRUE religion, and worshiped the one God according to His 
commandments. Only Orthodoxy could offer eternal life in heaven, to those who 
professed faith in its dogmas.  Even GOOD WORKS was not sufficient. Instead it 
was vital that everyone profess FAITH in the creeds of the Orthodox Church. With 
so much at stake, Orthodox Christians felt justified in conducting purges 
against anyone (including other Christian sects) who disagreed with them.

  The other mystery cults apparently did NOT consider it a sin to be a member
of a competing mystery religions-- and indeed some adherents appear to have
been members of more than ONE mystery cult.  Probably, the belief in MANY gods
made pagans relatively more tolerant to groups that worshiped different gods
than themselves.  That is, pagans were generally willing to compromise with
groups who wished to worship their own local deities, as long as they added
the "official" state gods to their own list.


Historical Causes:

  Christians could point to their founder Jesus as a real HISTORICAL person 
who had lived within recent centuries. Many of the mystery religion gods, 
such as Osiris and Mithra purportedly lived much further ago in time--and 
therefore could be easily attacked as mythological.

  Christians also used the historical, well-respected bible of the Jews,
to claim that their ancient prophets had PREDICTED Jesus Christ. As we
have seen, the gospel of Matthew (which is believed to have been the most
popular of the four gospels in early orthodox Christian congregations),
continually refers to "proofs" in his gospel, that Jesus' life had been
foretold by the hebrew prophets of the Old Testament. (See Section I,
Chapter 10.)

  This appears to have been a powerful argument made by Christians. For
example, the Christian Lactantius referred to this, when he compared Jesus
with other miracle workers and magicians. Per Lactantius, it was the
"testimony of the [Old Testament] prophets" and NOT just his miracles, that
proved Jesus was more than a man:

  "we do not think [Jesus] a god because he did miracles, but because we see
  that in him have been fulfilled all those things which were announced to us
  by the divination of the prophets.  So he did miracles? We should have
  thought him a magnus [magician], as you now think and as the Jews thought
  in his lifetime, had not all the prophets with one spirit predicted that
  he was to do these very miracles.  Therefore, his marvelous deeds and
  works do no more to make us think him a god than does that very cross...
  because it too was prophesied at the same time.  Not therefore from his
  own testimony--for who can be believed if he speaks about himself--but from
  the testimony of prophets... has he won credence for his divinity, a
  testimony that...can never be given to Apollonius or to Apuleius or
  to any of the magi [magicians]." (as quoted by Morton Smith, JESUS THE
  MAGICIAN, op cit., p 89)

Social-Economic Causes:

  Christianity was, no doubt, the most EGALITARIAN of all the religions of this 
time--being open to ALL members of society--including rich and poor, men and 
women, master and slave. Women were especially attracted to Christianity during 
the early centuries C.E. In the charismatic churches, they were told that they 
were spiritual equals to men before God, and often held important leadership 
roles on an equal basis with the men.  Even in the Orthodox churches, women 
played an important role in participating in Christian charities. Jesus' strong 
teachings against divorce, would give women a comfort in the sanctity of their 
marriages. Husbands were told to treat their wives just as Christ had treated 
his Church "bride".

   Christian penetration into the upper classes frequently began with a woman
convert, who later brought her children up as Christians--sometimes but not
always converting her husband as well. (Paul Johnson, A HISTORY OF
CHRISTIANITY, p 75).  For example, St. Augustine's father was a pagan.
His mother, Monica played an instrumental role in converting her son
into Orthodox Christianity.

  Historians have increasingly pointed to the existence of plagues in
the ancient world for leading to the decline of Roman civilization, and
the entry into the Dark Ages.

  Terrible plagues were commonplace in the ancient world.  For example, the
Roman historian Livy recorded at least eleven cases of disease outbreaks
between 387 B.C. and the second century C.E. (William H. McNeill, PLAGUES
AND PEOPLES, P 103). The bubonic plague (known later as the Black Death in
the fourteenth century in Europe) hit the Roman Empire hard in the early
centuries C.E. Diptheria, tuberculosis, typhoid fever, and leprosy were
other common afflictions. Malaria was a constant problem, especially in
more rural areas.

  Most pagans viewed epidemics as punishment from the gods whose anger
was kindled after having been inadequately worshipped or offered sacrifices
to.  Christians likewise, viewed epidemics as divine punishment from God--
however they believed that as an "Elect" group they would be rewarded
in heaven for their sufferings on earth.  Thus, the pain and anguish in
this life, was not really important. Instead all efforts were to be expended 
towards preparing for the NEXT life in heaven.

  This view would be comforting to survivors of a plague who could dwell on
a vision of heavenly existence for friends and relatives-- who had died as
good Christians during the plague. Thus life could be seen to have meaning,
even in the setting of such a disaster.  Indeed the shattering of pagan pride
and secular institutions would be seen as some as evidence of God's
intervention in human affairs. (Ibid)

  One Christian writer, Cyprian bishop of Carthage in 251 C.E., wrote how
Christians could view the horrors of a local plague with TRIUMPH:

  "Many of us are dying in this mortality, that is many of us are being
  freed from the world.  This mortality is a bane to the Jews and pagans and
  enemies of Christ; to the servants of God it is a salutary departure. As
  to the fact that without any discrimination in the human race the just are
  dying with the unjust, it is not for you to think that the destruction is
  a common one for both the evil and the good.  The just are called to
  refreshment, the unjust are carried off to torture; ... How suitable, how
  necessary it is that this plague and pestilence, which seems horrible and
  deadly, searches out the justice of each and every one and examines the
  minds of the human race ..." (Cyprian, DE MORTALITATE, translated by Mary
  Louise Hannon, Washington D.C., 1933, pp 15-16 quoted in PLAGUES AND PEOPLES
  P 109)

    During times of plagues, another advantage Christians would have over
their pagan neighbors, was their known dedication to the sick--even during
times of pestilence. When normal services broke down, basic nursing such as
administering food and water would serve to help some survive through their
sickness.  It would be natural for those who survived to feel gratitude to
those who had saved their lives.  Thus occurrences of epidemics would have
the side effect of strengthening Christian churches, while at the same time
discrediting other institutions.(Ibid, p 108) Christian writers were well
aware of this strength, and boasted of how Christians helped each other
in such times, while the pagans heartlessly fled from the sick. (see
Eusebius, ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY, VII, 21-22 as quoted from PLAGUES AND
PEOPLES, P 108)

  No one, of course, knows how much of an impact this actually played in the
growth of Christianity.  It is likely that the mystery religions of
Mithras, Isis, and Solis Invictus, etc also picked up adherents for
similar reasons. Losses were probably heavier among the Stoics and other
pagan schools of philosophy, which emphasized natural law -- and thus
could not explain the apparent RANDOMNESS with which death would come
to the old and young, rich and poor, the good and the bad.

The Decline of Paganism

  During the reign of Constantine, pagans were allowed to observe their
rites and worship basically as they had before. Although there were edicts
forbidding pagans to sacrifice animals at their Temples and to divine the
future (often from the animal sacrifice's entrails), most of Constantine's
edicts can be viewed as outlawing immoral behavior, as opposed to stamping
out paganism. For example, in Egypt, Constantine prohibited the practice of
castration among the priests. However he allowed them to continue their pagan
ceremonies and rites--which was commonly believed to assist in the flooding
of the river Nile. (A CHRONICLE OF THE LAST PAGANS, Pierre Chuvin, p 32).

  Some scholars have therefore suggested that Constantine's edicts can be
viewed as outlawing immoral behavior, as opposed to halting paganism (which
Eusebius tries to suggest at times for example).  That is, Constantine
basically issued edicts which were in line with many older Roman laws issued
under pagans-- which outlawed sexual mutilations, homosexuality, divination,
and edicts against "bad" magic. (Ibid)

Harsher Laws against Pagans are Instituted

  Constantine issued legislation which forbade anyone to hold political 
office within the Christian empire who did not conform to the "apostolic 
discipline" of the Nicene Creed. Thus, after this point, not only was it the 
Law that a king had to be a Christian--he had to also proclaim a faith in the 
doctrine of the Trinity as well. Even after the Protestant reformation of the 
sixteenth century, this policy from the fourth century C.E. made it a political 
necessity for the new Protestant leaders to proclaim loyalty to the doctrine 
of the Trinity.

  Although various edicts were issued against the pagans by Constantine's
successors, these were typically not enforced in recognition of the social 
upheavals and violence that would result. Thus, although Christians were 
favored, and increasing in numbers and power all the time, pagans were 
generally tolerated up into the late 380's. (The emperor Theodosius I made 
Christianity the official religion of the Roman Empire in 380 C.E.)

  Even by 380 C.E., the Senate in Rome was still largely controlled by the
pagans, although Christians were quickly gaining ground.  Worship of the
State's pagan gods had traditionally been associated with the city's
great past. With the general spread of Christianity, there were appeals to 
return to paganism. One example of such an appeal can be seen from the 
following excerpt in a speech made by a pagan senator to the assembly 
sometime around 389-90 C.E.  In his speech, he appealed for the general return 
to "the religion of our fathers", the cornerstone of Rome's political 
greatness, and one of the paths leading towards the divine: "What does it 
matter by which wisdom each of us arrives at truth? It is possible that not 
only one road leads to so sublime a mystery."

  In the late 380's C.E., there was a decided shift in imperial policy AGAINST
NON-Christians.  This was largely brought about by the efforts of Ambrose,
bishop of Milan, who viewed Jews and pagans as a "problem" within the Christian 
empire.

  When Christian arsonists destroyed a Jewish synagogue, the emperor  
Theodosius responded--in the interests of civil law and order--by commanding
the Christian community to pay for the damages. St. Ambrose attacked the
emperor's decision from the pulpit-- and wrote to Theodosius regarding his
stance on law and order: "Which is more important, the parade of discipline
or the cause of religion?  The maintenance of civil laws is secondary to
religious interest." Theodosius backed down, and in 391 C.E., instituted even
harsher laws against heretics.

Destruction of Pagan Temple Sites and Jewish Synagogues

  Encouraged by perceived new imperial support during this time, Christian
bishops increasingly began to take the initiative of physically DESTROYING
all pagan Temples.  The common view (as expressed by Marcellus, bishop of
Syrian Apamea) was that the systematic destruction of all pagan temples was
the "easiest way to convert" the population. In 386 C.E., Marcellus received
support in the form of soldiers in destroying the pagan temple in his
community.  This endeavor, however cost him his life, in the ensuing
riots with pagans.

  By the latter part of the 380's and early 390's, there are reports of
Christian monks who roamed the countryside, looting and destroying temples,
and assaulting any person suspected of making a pagan sacrifice. (Libanius,
FOR THE TEMPLES (XXX),8-11).  Monasticism attracted not only the pious, but
the lower elements of society as well--misfits, criminals, and uneducated
tough peasants. Dressed in black-robes, they were used by Church councils to
bully hostile delegations to get their own way. They were also capable of
rioting at the bishop's command. The success of the Alexandrian monks led to
the spread of this form of 'religious mob' throughout Eastern Christendom.
(Paul Johnson, A HISTORY OF CHRISTIANITY, p 94)

  These religiously violent mobs would be used increasingly in the destruction
of pagan temples and Jewish synagogues.  They were also used internally
to blackmail church officials into getting their own way.  For example,
by controlling the seamen's union of the port entry into Alexandria, they
used their power to influence imperial policy, by threatening to hold off
vital Egyptian grain supplies to the capital of Constantinople. Their
fanaticism would later be hurled at bishops who were forced to compromise at
general Christian councils. When Bishop Proterius of Alexandria accepted the
decision of Chalcedon, he was literally torn to pieces by his congregation.
(Ibid, p 95)

   In 391 C.E., the militant bishop in Alexandria led a massed attacked on the
Serapeum, or Temple of Serapis in Alexandria.  This temple was reputed to
have been the largest temple in the world, and was considered one of the
most important monuments in the Roman empire, after the Capitol in Rome.
(Ammianus, XXII, 16, 12 as cited in A CHRONICLE OF THE LAST PAGANS, Pierre
Chuvin p 67). Heavy police operations had to be called in to handle the
pagan riots that followed the siege of the Serapeum.  Its destruction led
many pagan intellectuals to leave Alexandria.

  The destruction of the Serapeum was more than a symbol of the decline
of paganism.  It was a humiliation! For it was apparent that the "gods"
never rallied to the side of the pagans during the sieges against the
temples. Statues were smashed, and the head of the god Serapis was cut
off and paraded down the street in mockery of those who had worshiped there.
It also came to light how pagan priests had "tricked" adherents using hollow
statues, with hidden openings from which human priests could whisper
oracles or curses. (Ibid, p 98).

  The worst humiliation for the pagans, though, arose from their belief that
the rites performed in the temple were necessary to ensure the rising of the
waters of the Egyptian river Nile to fertilize the countryside.  Despite
warnings by various pagans that this would halt from the destruction of the
Temple, in the summer of 392 C.E., the waters came again, right on schedule--
despite the previous year's "sacrilege".

  After these attacks, Rome and other areas went through one last attempt at
a pagan revival.  In 394 C.E., the pagans rallied behind a new western emperor
that had taken over in a bloody coup.  In the Roman Senate, the pagan altar of
Victory was restored to its original place, and traditional ceremonies were 
Re-instituted.  But the battle that ensued between the pagan-backed armies
and those of Theodosius ended in disaster for the pagans, after an "ill wind"
blinded their faces.  The defeat was even more humiliating as pagan leaders
had received an oracle assurance of "victory" just prior to the battle. There
was a pronounced shift in Rome towards Christianity after this last ditched
appeal to the "traditional" gods was shown to have failed! Public opinion
deemed the defeat to mean that the Christian God was the true God.

  Following the defeat, more edicts were passed that revoked privileges
given to pagan priests.  It was after 394 C.E., that the State of Rome was now
unequivocally Christian. The Catholic faith was proclaimed by law, and
heresy was viewed as seriously as treason. There were still some pagans that
clung onto their ancient religions. During this time although pagan sacrifices 
and prayers were prohibited, there were no outright governmental laws that 
prohibited paganism.  The major discrimination experienced by pagans were 
instead SOCIAL in nature--whereby Christian mobs stepped up attacks against 
their pagan temples and (educated pagans claimed) harassed them in their daily 
living.  (Note: Paganism was not directly outlawed until over a century later in 
the 530's by the Emperor Justinian.  See Chapter 7 for details.)

   Christian Churches were built on many of the old destroyed temple sites--as
any traveler to Italy or Greece can see today.  Statues and paintings of
the Greek and Roman gods were sought out and destroyed. Indeed, the reason
why there are so few statues left of the ancient world, is because early
Christians felt it their moral duty to smash them. The sculptures in museums, 
are for the most part, cheap and inferior COPIES made for travelers and 
private collectors during Roman times. Unlike the original works, these
copies were overlooked in the zealous campaign of destruction that took
place in the temples and cities. (EH Gombrich, THE STORY OF ART, Phaidon
Publishers, Inc, 1966, p 56)

  Christian leaders tried to accommodate some of the ancient pagan beliefs
within its doctrine, to facilitate the transition from paganism to Christianity.
Greek gods and goddesses were replaced by Christian saints or even the Virgin
Mary herself.  For example, around the time of the destruction of the Serapeum
in 391 C.E., the veneration of the Virgin Mary as the Theotokos, (Mother of God)
was introduced. In this way, the worshipers of the mother-goddess, Isis were
essentially able to continue worship uninterrupted--merely by changing their
goddess' name.  The figure of Isis nursing her child Horus became identified
with the Virgin Mary suckling the baby Jesus. The Third Council at Ephesus,
voted to replace its ancient protectorate of the virgin huntress Diana with
the Virgin Mary. In Egypt, the ankh--the ancient symbol of life--was transformed
into the Christian cross.

  In 376 C.E., Mithra's cave temple on Vatican Hill in Rome had been already
seized by Christians. Catholic bishops not only took up residence in the
general area--but also assumed the old name for the Mithraic high priest--
"Pater Patrum" (ie "father of fathers"), which evolved into Papa or pope.
(David Adams Leeming, THE WORLD OF MYTH, Oxford University Press,1990, p 199.)
Likewise, the twin founders of the city of Rome--Romulus and Remus were
now replaced by the biblical apostles-- Peter and Paul.

  The festival of Sol Invictus (December 25th) became celebrated as Christmas--
complete with decorating tree branches with ornaments, singing, and exchanging 
gifts in the name of the reborn god.  Earlier, just as the pagan god Apollo 
had merged with the Roman god, Sol Invictus-- now there emerged the new god, 
Jesus-- the Christ "of the sun".  Sometimes all three of these gods were 
depicted in their chariots of fire--tall blonde youths with strong Roman 
features and radiating halos. (John Romer, TESTAMENT, p 231)  (See Section IV, 
Chapter 2.)

  However, there was ONE very important area in which the orthodox Christian 
church had absolutely NO interest in accommodating! And that was in the areas 
of secular learning, especially the natural sciences. Thus the natural 
sciences remained largely in the hands of pagans and Jews. Institutions of 
science and learning remained strongly identified with paganism itself--and 
as such, later became targets by Christian Orthodox zealots, in their drive 
to "purify" the area from all vestiges of pagan influence.

  Probably no event more dramatically symbolized these forces--which 
eventually led to the ultimate decline of Graeco-Roman classical thought and
civilization in the Ancient World--than the death of Hypatia and the exodus of 
remaining pagan scholars from Alexandria, Egypt.