Rise of the Church and Fall of Rome
The rise of the Christian church and the fall of the Roman Empire are linked through various events. As the Christian church grew, so did the amount of Roman citizens who despised secular rule. Christian views clashed in every way with what was the social standard for upper Roman and Greek society. In order for a Roman or Greek to accept Christianity they must renounce the ways of classical science in order to believe in the reincarnation of Christ.
This made for exponential growth of an uneducated poor class with distaste for ruling that is not coming from the church itself. When given a decree from the emperor that conflicted with what the people believed to be the will of god, the people would always choose the will of god over the emperor. In the early beginnings of Christianity, the religion was thought to be just a new interpretation of Judaism. When the news of this new Jewish interpretation spread, many began to prefer it over the normal Jewish church. Christianity promised eternal life and salvation to everyone if they live a good honest life. The Christian church also promoted the giving up of worldly possessions and contemplating what it means to be a good Christian.
After some time the Jewish people began to resent the Christians and see them as heretics and the Christians began to see the Jews as people against their views. Christianity spread like a wild fire through the Mediterranean. This was because of the excellent Roman road system and the vast amounts of bi-lingual people in Greece who were able to translate the New Testament into many different languages making it available to people unable to read just Latin or Greek. Many people preferred Christianity over Judaism because of these loose rules of being part of the religion and the easy ways of worship. As a result of these differences many poorer people chose Christianity because it promised a better life after death.
Those who suffered believed they were going to be rewarded if they lived a good life. Rome fell with the help of Christianity. The followers of Christianity did not like secular rule, and Rome was based on beau racy and the rule of the emperor. When the emperor gave a decree, the Roman people obeyed. When Christians were given a law to obey they did not always listen.
If the emperor’s rules conflicted with the ideals of Christianity and the will of god, the Christians would not follow the will of the emperor. This is caused for dissonance throughout the empire. Throughout the remaining years of the Roman Empire after the rise of Christianity the Romans are in a slow decline. When the Romans are trying to correct the decline Christians are always there not following the rule of law. As the Roman Empire fell Christianity not only aided in the decline but reveled in it. The more the Empire declined the more poor, and middle class citizens Rome had to offer.
This made to a rapid increase in both the amount of Christians and consequently resistance to government and a steeper decline. Christianity will eventually indirectly led to the collapse of the Western Roman Empire and the Dark Ages which ensued the many centuries after the collapse.
