Christianity

Traveling to Italy started me thinking about the fall of the Roman Empire. A multitude of reasons have been put forth as factors in causing this calamity. It's always seemed to me that people pick their favorite reason based on how well it fits as an allegory for modern times. Lead pipes is a favorite with environmentalists, unrestrained immigration fits well for white supremacists, decline in military capability suits hawks, too much reliance on slave labor warms the heart of a trade unionist, moral decay is a perfect fit for evangelical Christians, falling behind in technology is a favorite for engineers, even high taxation has been posited as a reason for the decline which I'm sure is a favorite for Reaganites.

The Roman ruins are impressive when you consider that you are viewing only the leftovers of the imperial capital. One thing really struck me though, there are churches everywhere. Some were built right amongst the earlier ruins, others are scattered throughout the city. There are supposedly 900 churches in the city of Rome having been built from the earliest Christian times right up through modern times.

Here's a brief timeline of the rise and fall of the Roman empire. Things got under way under the rule of Julius Caesar, he was assassinated in 44BC. The empire reached it's peak under Trajan who died in 117AD. At that time Roman rule stretched from England to Iran. The emperor Constantine ruled until 337AD. He had established an eastern capital at Constantinople (Istanbul) and the empire was split in 364AD. Roman was sacked by the Visigoths in 410AD.

So what happened? How did it get so bad so fast and for so long? After all the fall of Rome ushered in the Dark Ages that lasted until the Renaissance got going in the 14th century. Almost a thousand years lost. There was a very significant event that happened just in the middle of the Roman might. His name was Jesus. He taught the worth of the individual. A person has intrinsic value, can have a personal relationship with God and most importantly should follow a moral code of living as handed down from that God.

This guide for living really wasn't going to work very well in an empire. Empires need masses of obedient soldiers, workers, farmers, slaves, and entertainers. The inevitable clash is well documented. I had wondered while looking at miles of paintings and sculpture just where all those martyrs came from? It was so easy, just say the wrong thing, something a missionary had taught you and bang you're another martyr. They turned them out by the hundreds.

In 312AD Constantine converted to Christianity and a year later made it legal throughout the empire. It was a recognition of the inevitability of the appeal of the new religion. And the death sentence for the empire.

Looking at the art from this period the change is striking. At the height of the empire the images are of heroic glory, natural beauty, and architectural wonders, displaying an ambitious optimistic view of the world. What images did Christianity bring? Martyrdom, crucifixion, angels, and tortures of hell. The stolid barrel vaulted Basilica replaced the sophisticated Roman forms.

The organizations that the Christians created were definitely not suitable for an Empire. St. Benedict laid down the rules for a christian monastery in around 500AD. It dictated an aesthetic life with few belongings and fewer pleasures, the focus of all activity was to be achieving an inner purity of soul. Others at around that time were promoting other forms of living totally dedicated to God. Life turned inward. Roman (and Greek) achievements were fossilized and at best kept as unquestionable truths or more often discarded as heretic and forgotten. Any new thoughts were simply ignored or quashed as offering no progress towards the goal of salvation.

There was no room for an empire in this environment. It simply evaporated because no one cared anymore. There were lots of martyrs, no fun, no science, but plenty of death and war. The new religion had destroyed the empire. A thousand years later some light peeked in and maybe by that time the Christians were tired out so the light got a foothold and then bloomed into the Renaissance. After a last burst of artistic agony mankind was released to try to build a new world.