On the topic of Christian persecution, there are stories often left untold.

[LiberalAndProud]

The persecution of pagans in the late Roman Empire began late during the reign of Constantine the Great, when he ordered the pillaging and the tearing down of some temples.[1][2][3] The first anti-Pagan laws by the Christian state started with Constantine's son Constantius II,[4][5] who was an unwavering opponent of paganism; he ordered the closing of all pagan temples, forbade Pagan sacrifices under pain of death,[2] and removed the traditional Altar of Victory from the Senate.[6] Under his reign ordinary Christians started vandalizing many of the ancient Pagan temples, tombs and monuments.[7][8][9][10]

From 361 till 375, Paganism was relatively tolerated, until three Emperors, Gratian, Valentinian II and Theodosius I, under Bishop of Milan Saint Ambrose's influence, reinstituted and escalated the persecution.[11][12] Under pressure from the zealous Ambrose, Theodosius issued the infamous 391 "Theodosian decrees," a declaration of war on paganism,[12][13] the Altar of Victory was removed again by Gratian, the Vestal Virgins were disbanded, and access to Pagan temples was prohibited.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Persecution_of_pagans_in_the_late_Roman_Empire

While I was working my way from belief to clarity, it occurred to me that my Christian heritage came at great cost to a great many people. Above we have only one example of how Christianity came to be one of the big three.

[beam me up scottie]

1. That's a very uncomfortable truth.

One most christians don't acknowledge, let alone discuss.

They celebrate missionaries who continue to valiantly spread the word destroy native cultures.

Those lucky lucky savages.

[LiberalAndProud]

3. I have a friend who was a missionary in South America.

My memory fails me, but it may have been Nicaragua or possibly Honduras. She wrote of how the locals there were prohibited from swimming in the river for fear of the evil spirits in the water. "Wouldn't it be terrible to believe such horrible things?" my born again friend asked in her letter.

I'll leave that here for others to ponder.

[AlbertCat]

9. prohibited from swimming in the river for fear of the evil spirits in the water.

Meanwhile..... the missionaries all got parasites ...the ones that weren't eaten by piranha and gators.

[skepticscott]

6. While all the while claiming to "respect" other faiths

And showing that respect by, in effect, saying "your gods are false and your beliefs misguided, but we're here to convert you to the correct ones".

That's Xstian (and especially Catholic) "respect" and "tolerance" for you.

[beam me up scottie]

11. Religious predators.

They prey on the vulnerable, like my ex bil who tried to commit suicide.

Don't even get me started.

[Curmudgeoness]

2. And yet,

on this day, we celebrate a Pagan holiday. Go figure.

[mountain grammy]

4. Christians justified slavery with the bible

everything is justified in the bible.

[onager]

5. The Vestal Virgins only disbanded temporarily.

Last edited Mon Apr 6, 2015, 07:53 AM - Edit history (1)

Then re-organized later, to be called "nuns."

Under the leadership of a guy using exactly the same title as the former head pagan priest: Pontifex Maximus. Who ran the shiny new religion from pretty much the same place as the pagans, Vaticanus Mons (Vatican Hill).

Fun article from the History Channel, "10 Things You May Not Know About The Vatican:"

http://www.history.com/news/10-things-you-may-not-know-about-the-vatican

ETA - another huge "untold story" is the influence of Alexandria, Egypt on early Xian history. When Constantine was trying to impose Xianity as the new state religion, he had to referee the never-ending squabbles between two powerful rival sects in Alexandria. Led by 2 holy men who hated each other, Bishop Athanasius and his competitor, Arias. They disagreed on the nature of Christ.

IMO, much of the totally baffling Xian bullshit, like the Trinity, resulted from those fights. That's how we got the hilarious contradictions, like Jesus simultaneously being one-third of God and also God's son. Those were compromises that all had to be incorporated into the theology. Somehow.

Standard Disclaimer: I am not a Sophisticated Theologian.

[LiberalAndProud]

10. I will file this under

Things I wish I had learned in Sunday School.

[DetlefK]

7. Whoa, cool down. NOT persecuting pagans would have meant a "War on Christianity".

[AlbertCat]

8. the Vestal Virgins were disbanded

Can't you just see all the Roman men out in front of the to-be-destroyed temple....


"Hey there Pretty Mama.... you need a ride?"