Actually - ignorance and revisionist history of the Inquisitions is what is damnable.
Speaking of history, the assimilation of Christianity in Pagan Political & Papal Rome is as follows:
The year 753 BC is the traditional date for the founding of Rome and the beginning of the 243 year period of the
Roman Kingdom
This founding of Rome by
Romulus , who reigned as its king for the next 37 years, was accompanied by
augury to ascertain the will of the gods and settle the bitter rivalry between him and his twin brother Remus. Apparently Romulus saw six vultures and Remus saw twelve, but whether the omen was auspicious for either of them is immaterial, as Romulus took the initiative and went ahead with his plans which included Remus consequently being killed.
Stepped in paganism the Roman Kingdom took its religion most seriously in order to achieve success as a dominant power, honouring a great number of deities in a daily collective piety to maintain good relations with them.
Quote:
The king alone possessed the right to the
auspice on behalf of Rome as its chief
augur, and no public business could be performed without the will of the gods made known through auspices. The people knew the king as a mediator between them and the gods (cf. Latin
pontifex, "bridge-builder", in this sense, between men and the gods) and thus viewed the king with religious awe. This made the king the head of the
national religion and its chief executive. Having the power to control the
Roman calendar, he conducted all religious ceremonies and appointed lower religious offices and officers.
It is said that Romulus himself instituted the augurs and was believed to have been the best augur of all. Likewise, King
Numa Pompilius instituted the
pontiffs and through them developed the foundations of the
religious dogma of Rome. (
Wkpd "Roman Kingdom")
The Roman Kingdom was replaced by the
Roman Republic in 509 BC and although the monarchy was abolished, pagan deities and religious practices remained, and as before their
miscellany increased as Roman control over surrounding regions spread:
Quote:
The official recognition, adoption and supervision of foreign deities and practices, whether
Etruscan,
Sabine,
Latin or
colonial Greek, had been an important unitary feature in Rome's territorial expansion and dominance since the days of the kings. For example, king
Servius Tullius had established an Aventine temple to
Diana as a Roman focus for the
Latin League.(
Wkpd "Roman Republic")
Through civil wars and political conflict the Roman Republic became extremely unstable and ended with the establishment of the
Roman Empire in 27 BC. Although Julius Caesar had been proclaimed "perpetual dictator" prior to his assassination in 44 BC, it was his adopted nephew Octavian who was the first Roman Emperor following his rise to power and his being named Augustus by the Senate and People of Rome. It wasn't long before "emperor worship" became mandatory and those rejecting it were charged with treason, particularly when Christianity began to spread.
Quotes: (Wkpd)
Rejection of the state religion became tantamount to treason against the emperor.
This was the context for Rome's conflict with Christianity, which Romans variously regarded as a form of atheism and novel superstitio.
Superstitio was excessive devotion and enthusiasm in religious observance, in the sense of "doing or believing more than was necessary",
[537] or "irregular" religious practice that conflicted with Roman custom.
Glossary of ancient Roman religion - Wikipedia
Despite three centuries of supression, Christianity was adopted as the state religion of the Roman Empire at the beginning of the 4th century AD. The turning point occurred in the first decade of 4th century with the resignation of Diocletian (305 AD). A power struggle followed. A first political, open hostilities broke out between Maxentius and Constantine (310). Constanine was not a Christian, but a devotee of god of war Mars and the Sun god Apollo--Sol Invictus. He was, however, favorably disposed toward the Christians because his mother, later consecrated as St. Helena, was a Chritian.
Roman Empire adopts Christianity (histclo.com)
While the Church received official sanction and support, the Church now was less independent and had to submpit to imperial political control.
One of the first actions of the Church once it obtained imperial sanction was was to begin the prosecutions of other Christians who did not conform to state approved theology.
