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The Spread of Christianity through Europe?

Kamrian

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I as a non-Christian do have a question about this topic:

How did Christianity spread throughout Europe back when it had become Rome's official state religion, and after it's collapse?

I was under the impression it was through force, but I could be wrong. Just wanted some clarification.
 

OldWiseGuy

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AlexBP

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It is, of course, dependent on which part of Europe you're talking about. In the Roman Empire the turning point came during the reign of Constantine, as oldwiseguy said. However, it should be noted that by the fourth century the Germanic tribes were starting to conquer chunks of the Roman Empire. The continuing spread of Christianity depended on the ability to convince those tribes to convert. In other parts of Europe such as Russia and Scandinavia, missionaries didn't arrive until almost a thousand years after Christ.
 
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Kamrian

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Buzzbee

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For first 300 years after Christ Christianity spread by people going and talking about the Gospel, but not by force. The trouble started after Emperor Constantine influenced that the church become welded to the political structure of the empire. Before then Christian bishops sometimes told people who were Roman citizens and as believing Christians not to even vote in local elections because the political structure was upholding an emperor that held himself a a god. This is an affront to the one God,, Yahweh. In fact in the earliest year Christianity was greatly dispised as a praactice of cannabalism because of the commmunion ceremony of wine and bread. Christians use the wine and bread as symbols of the blood and body of Christ. However, this can get twisted around and be called the literal blood and body of Christ; thus, consumming it would be tantimount to eating the human flesh. Early pagans sometimes accused Christians of this.

Also, Christians were accused of being atheists and a danger to the state of Rome. Atheism was thought to encourage the wrath of the gods of Rome. An atheist was one who was without the presence of a god. To not have an idol of a god was to be without the presence of a god. Christians at that time and today are not to have images or idols involved in worshipping the one true God.
 
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Harry3142

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Kamrian-

Even though he supported Christianity and even went so far as to order the Council of Nicea and finance the writing of the Holy Bible, he himself was not a Christian. He worshipped the sun as his god. It was only on his deathbed that he converted to Christianity.
 
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seashale76

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Constantine did not issue the death penalty, to my knowledge. Roman Emperors, regardless of being Christian or pagan, really wanted people to believe the way they did and generally didn't like it when people didn't. The suppression of Christianity was much more violent than it ever was the other way. As a matter of fact, while the Emperor endorsed Christianity, it was usually very clear that he would have considered himself as not following the faith as it should be followed by the very fact that he was the Emperor with a military, etc. The Emperor following Julian the Apostate, Emperor Jovian, re-established Christianity to favored status in the Empire. He did issue edicts of toleration, which overturned anti-Christian acts by Julian, and though he claimed freedom of conscience for pagans- certain religious practices of theirs became subject to the death penalty- which wasn't very Christian of him at all.

So, one could say that while certain Emperors may have been Christians who supported, endorsed, and favored Christianity, that does not mean that the Church agreed or condoned everything a particular Emperor did. Quite the opposite, actually. However, the Church did support the destruction of pagan temples and exile of their priests. I agree with them on that one, myself. Despite what many people want to think, pagans were not innocent of wrongdoing by a long-shot.

Were some pagan temples destroyed and their priests exiled? Yes. Were there points in time when Emperors decreed the death penalty if pagans engaged in certain of their religious practices? Yes. Were people forced to become Christian? Not that I'm aware of. Actually, everything I've read has suggested the opposite. The faith was never spread by force. The severe persecutions and martyrdom of Christians actually helped the spread of the faith. Were the persecutions against the Christians much worse than anything against the pagans? You betcha and it is documented.

The Roman Empire is not and has never been the Church, though the Church did benefit from Emperors who became Christian.
 
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PROPHECYKID

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Yes it was by force and by keeping the people ignorant of real truth. The people were not allowed to read the bible for themselves. William tyndale was burnt alive because he translated the bible into English so that people could read for themselves. And Constantine compromised allot in order for Christianity and paganism to coexist. December 25th - Christmas day? It was originally the birthday for one of their pagan gods. Constantine also made the first sunday law, commanding corporate worship on sunday, the day when the pagans honoured the sun. So it was by force. In fact, the Amerindians who were those people that Christopher Columbus met here, were forced to become give up their religion and become catholics and also to be slaves in exchange for "protection". Most of these people were killed when they refused.
 
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seashale76

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Sketcher

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Monks spread the faith to violent barbarians, and often did so at their own peril. Other violent barbarians would come by, and other monks would have to go to those same places and preach again. It was the warlords and pretenders to the throne in the various places which later became the kingdoms of Europe who confessed the faith, and decided to spread it by doing what they did best - fighting. Much of that was politically motivated.
 
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E.C.

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winsome

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Wirraway

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as the western empire was collapsing in the 6th century, most of christian europe was of a flavor called "arian" christianity, because the germanic tribes had been christianized by that sect of unitarian christianity, which was very different from the "catholic" trinitarian christianity of the empire. catholic (and its later offshoots among the protestants) were on the verge of extinction, except for the warlord who filled the void left by rome happened to be the only catholic amongst the arian competitors. you might want to google "Clovis" or "merovingian".

christianity flourished in the urban areas for the most part, the word "pagan" means "from the country".

as for forced conversions, I don't know how accurate it would be to state that. if you were a member of a tribe, you were what your leader was.
 
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NumberOneSon

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Although you would be right in saying that most of the Germanic tribes were in favor of Arianism, I’ve never read that the Catholic population throughout the provinces was in danger of extinction. This was especially true in Italy where the Arian kingdoms of Odoacer and Theodoric protected the Catholic Church and gave it a great deal of autonomy. Certainly at times the Church was persecuted by the Vandals, Ostrogoths, and Lombards, but I never got the impression that the Arians were trying to wipe out the entire Catholic Roman population, or that the West was in any real danger of replacing Chalcedonic Christianity with Arianism. I believe Arian and Chalcedonian communities existed side by side in the West.

In Christ,

Acts6:5
 
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