Gregory Aldrete

And that's not necessarily the image we get of early Christianity. But you can see how for people in this social structure, that would be very appealing to them. And in some ways, yeah, it is sort of a threat to the Roman system because they're challenging it. Now, the irony is, of course, 300 years after the life of Christ – the emperor converts to Christianity.

And another 100 years later under Theodosius, it becomes the official religion of the Roman Empire. So all of a sudden you have this flip-flop where now the state itself is not just converted to Christianity, but actively promoting it and now persecuting pagans. And The reason the emperors do that is one of the biggest problems for emperors at that point in time is legitimacy.

And another 100 years later under Theodosius, it becomes the official religion of the Roman Empire. So all of a sudden you have this flip-flop where now the state itself is not just converted to Christianity, but actively promoting it and now persecuting pagans. And The reason the emperors do that is one of the biggest problems for emperors at that point in time is legitimacy.

And another 100 years later under Theodosius, it becomes the official religion of the Roman Empire. So all of a sudden you have this flip-flop where now the state itself is not just converted to Christianity, but actively promoting it and now persecuting pagans. And The reason the emperors do that is one of the biggest problems for emperors at that point in time is legitimacy.

That there's tons of civil wars where you have lots of different people saying, I'm emperor. So lots of generals declaring themselves emperor. Now, under a polytheistic religion, you're all just fighting. It doesn't matter. But if you say there is only one god – Then if that god picks someone to be his emperor, they're the only legitimate emperor, right?

That there's tons of civil wars where you have lots of different people saying, I'm emperor. So lots of generals declaring themselves emperor. Now, under a polytheistic religion, you're all just fighting. It doesn't matter. But if you say there is only one god – Then if that god picks someone to be his emperor, they're the only legitimate emperor, right?

That there's tons of civil wars where you have lots of different people saying, I'm emperor. So lots of generals declaring themselves emperor. Now, under a polytheistic religion, you're all just fighting. It doesn't matter. But if you say there is only one god – Then if that god picks someone to be his emperor, they're the only legitimate emperor, right?

So there is a real advantage to emperors now becoming Christian because if they can say – We're now a Christian empire, and there's only one God, and I'm the guy that God picked to be emperor. That means all these other people claiming to be emperors are illegitimate.

So there is a real advantage to emperors now becoming Christian because if they can say – We're now a Christian empire, and there's only one God, and I'm the guy that God picked to be emperor. That means all these other people claiming to be emperors are illegitimate.

So there is a real advantage to emperors now becoming Christian because if they can say – We're now a Christian empire, and there's only one God, and I'm the guy that God picked to be emperor. That means all these other people claiming to be emperors are illegitimate.

Well, I mean, that's why it's appealing to the emperors. And we're talking here – I mean, the religious answer is people see the light, right? It's a faith-based thing. I'm looking at this as a historian. So putting aside religious feeling and saying, okay, if I'm doing an analysis of this as a social phenomenon, what would be appealing to people?

Well, I mean, that's why it's appealing to the emperors. And we're talking here – I mean, the religious answer is people see the light, right? It's a faith-based thing. I'm looking at this as a historian. So putting aside religious feeling and saying, okay, if I'm doing an analysis of this as a social phenomenon, what would be appealing to people?

Well, I mean, that's why it's appealing to the emperors. And we're talking here – I mean, the religious answer is people see the light, right? It's a faith-based thing. I'm looking at this as a historian. So putting aside religious feeling and saying, okay, if I'm doing an analysis of this as a social phenomenon, what would be appealing to people?

And there is that very compelling reason for emperors to want to go to Christianity because it helps them with their biggest problem, which is legitimacy. Now, if you're an ordinary person, what is the appeal of Christianity? Well, we already looked at a couple of them. One of them is that it promises you a reward in the afterlife. Yeah.

And there is that very compelling reason for emperors to want to go to Christianity because it helps them with their biggest problem, which is legitimacy. Now, if you're an ordinary person, what is the appeal of Christianity? Well, we already looked at a couple of them. One of them is that it promises you a reward in the afterlife. Yeah.

And there is that very compelling reason for emperors to want to go to Christianity because it helps them with their biggest problem, which is legitimacy. Now, if you're an ordinary person, what is the appeal of Christianity? Well, we already looked at a couple of them. One of them is that it promises you a reward in the afterlife. Yeah.

I mean, the Roman and Greek notions of the afterlife aren't that appealing. Either you just sort of turn into dust or at best you turn into this kind of ghost thing that floats around something that looks like a Greek gymnasium, which is like a bunch of grassy fields. It's not so hot. So here you're offered the idea of like, oh, you go to paradise forever. That sounds really good.

I mean, the Roman and Greek notions of the afterlife aren't that appealing. Either you just sort of turn into dust or at best you turn into this kind of ghost thing that floats around something that looks like a Greek gymnasium, which is like a bunch of grassy fields. It's not so hot. So here you're offered the idea of like, oh, you go to paradise forever. That sounds really good.

I mean, the Roman and Greek notions of the afterlife aren't that appealing. Either you just sort of turn into dust or at best you turn into this kind of ghost thing that floats around something that looks like a Greek gymnasium, which is like a bunch of grassy fields. It's not so hot. So here you're offered the idea of like, oh, you go to paradise forever. That sounds really good.

And secondly, for a lot of people in Roman society, that notion of Here's something that says I'm valuable as a human being. It doesn't matter whether I'm free or slave. It doesn't matter whether I'm Roman or non-Roman. It doesn't matter if I'm a man or woman. Here's something that says I have equal value. That's enormously appealing.