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The
official state religion was Paganism, with the most popular pagan
deity being Sol Invictus, the Sun god, also known as Mithra; His
worship was known as Mithraism.
The
Christian religion endured an uneasy existence; but it was not just
one form of Christianity, there were many varying forms, both
allegorical and literal.
Maxentius, Licinius and Maximinus Daia were all pagans and promoted
the worship of Mithra; Constantine was also a pagan, but his mother
- Helena - was a literalist Christian who worship a god known as
Jesus, in one of its many forms.
Post 310 CE a four way civil war broke out, Constantine defeated
Maxentius in the West, and Licinius defeated Maximinus Daia in the
East. |
Constantine |
Licinius |
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The two victors then went to war for full control of the Roman
Empire, and in 324 CE Constantine defeated Licinius to become the
sole emperor of the known world. |
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Constantine |
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Warming to his mother’s religious views, he made Christianity the
state religion in place of paganism, and in 325 CE, at the Council
of Nicea, he stated exactly what his version of Christianity was to
be.
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Subsequent emperors ordered the eradication of all forms of pagan
worship, and all alternate forms of Christianity, and so gave birth
to Catholic Christianity.
Ask
any person today, religious or not, “who is Jesus?”, and they
will be able to tell you.
Ask
them “who is Mithra?”, and most people would say “Mithra
who?” |
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Maxentius |
Licinius |
Maximinus Daia |
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If Maxentius, Licinius or Maximinus Daia had emerged the victor
via the chance outcome of battle, We would say today
“Jesus who?”
and be able to give chapter and verse
on Mithra!
However; it was Constantine who won the four
way civil; and because of this - and only because of this -
we worship a god called Jesus, in a building called a church, with
an icon of a cross, (or Jesus on a cross) as the centre piece at the
altar. |
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Had Constantine been one of the three defeated contenders: Today
we would worship a god called Mithra, in a building called a
Mithraeum – a building constructed to imitate a cave - with a centre
piece statue known as a Tauroctony, which depicts Mithra slaying the
bull. |
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We would not know the name Jesus, have any perception of a
concept of sacrificial death on a cross, or have ever seen a church! |
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These ancient temples known as Mithraeum have been
found all over the Roman Empire, they are no longer used. They are
no longer used because Constantine won the civil war.
The largest Mithraic temple in Europe lies
underneath St Peter’s Basilica in Vatican City.
Constantine placed St Peter’s Basilica in this
particular location in order to drown out Mithraism, and replace it
with his new religion of Catholic Christianity, post 325 CE. |
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