did Christian beliefs gut the Roman empire ?

Question

saving the greeks writinga more like destroying all the finds in the temples of the new world as heresy and the burning of witches at salem.

Answer 1

No, it would have happened whatever was the religion. The Roman Empire was 'gutted' or fell because it became to big and unwieldy. Effectively it was economic because it became difficult, if not impossible, to collect taxes, that were needed to pay the army, in sufficient amounts. Don't forget, also, that when we talk about the fall we are only talking about the western Empire. By the 4th century AD it had split into western and eastern parts. After Rome fell, the Eastern Empire based in Byzantium and christianised lasted for a further 1000 years.

Answer 2

No, not at all! This is a popular conception that was spread by Edward Gibbon in his book, The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire. His book was widely praised but his treatment of Christianity was not. This idea was not invented by Gibbon, as it existed even as the Empire was falling in the West. St. Augustine, writing shortly after the sack of Rome in 410 AD, wrote his famous book City of God as a response to this argument (among other things). Augustine (writing to the pagans of Rome) goes over the number of times Rome's pagan gods failed, and he also mentioned Greece and Carthage's pagan gods who also failed.

There are also events such as Attila the Hun in 452 AD who invaded Italy looking to sack Rome again, but turned back very suddenly and surprisingly after meeting with Pope Leo I.

But the best evidence that Christianity did not cause the fall of the Roman Empire is that the Eastern Roman Empire, which was even more Christian then the West (since Christianity started there) lasted nearly 1,000 years after the fall of the Western Empire!

I think that it is much more accurate to see Christianity in the West as saving much of the written treasures of the classical world. Monks copied many books from ancient Greece and Rome that otherwise would have been lost.

Answer 3

Little after initiated, Christianity became the official religion of the roman empire and it helped a lot for to spread along Europe. And it is in throgth the Roman Empire that The Holly Church becomes an institution installing many specific dogmas and teology.
Even Atila the Hun was called God's Scourge and a pope became a saint succeding in the negociting with him of the non-entrance to Rome.
Constatino Ceasar installed christianity as the official religion of the Roman empire some say as a political move.

Answer 4

Like many events in history, we'll never know. Both sides of the argument have been stated-

a) Christianity was the downfall of Rome
b) Christianity bought the "Roman" (Byzantine) Empire 1000 more years of existence.

Would the Western, or classic, Roman Empire have lasted if they had held on to their ancient traditions? Or were they already doomed. It's like asking how many licks it takes to get to the center of a Tootsie Roll Pop.

Answer 5

No.
It was the Roman Empire in the West that fell in the Fifth century - where Christianity was less highly developed than in the East, where the Roman empire survived for several centuries.
That seems pretty conclusive to me.

Answer 6

No, It was not the Christians. The deterioration of the family unit.

Answer 7

I believe it was a big part of it.