Creating Christ
How Roman Emperors Invented Christianity
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Narrated by:
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Chris MacDonnell
About this listen
This explosive work of history unearths clues that finally demonstrate the truth about one of the world's great religions: that it was born out of the conflict between the Romans and messianic Jews who fought a bitter war with each other during the first century. The Romans employed a tactic they routinely used to conquer and absorb other nations: they grafted their imperial rule onto the religion of the conquered. After 30 years of research, authors James S. Valliant and C.W. Fahy present irrefutable archaeological and textual evidence that proves Christianity was created by Roman Caesars in this book that breaks new ground in Christian scholarship and is destined to change the way the world looks at ancient religions forever.
Inherited from a long-past era of tyranny, war and deliberate religious fraud, could Christianity have been created for an entirely different purpose than we have been lead to believe? Praised by scholars like Dead Sea Scrolls translator Robert Eisenman (James the Brother of Jesus), this exhaustive synthesis of historical detective work integrates all of the ancient sources about the earliest Christians and reveals new archaeological evidence for the first time. And, despite the fable presented in current best sellers like Bill O'Reilly's Killing Jesus, the evidence presented in Creating Christ is irrefutable: Christianity was invented by Roman Emperors.
PLEASE NOTE: When you purchase this title, the accompanying reference material will be available in your Library section along with the audio.
©2016 James S. Valliant & C. W. Fahy (P)2016 David N. WilsonListeners also enjoyed...
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decent survey of the topic
- By bookouri on 02-02-14
By: Kenneth C. Davis
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When Christians Were Jews
- The First Generation
- By: Paula Fredriksen
- Narrated by: Matthew Lloyd Davies
- Length: 6 hrs and 59 mins
- Unabridged
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In this electrifying social and intellectual history, Paula Fredriksen answers the question of how Jewish missionaries ended up inaugurating a movement that would grow into the gentile church by reconstructing the life of the earliest Jerusalem community. As her account arcs from this group’s hopeful celebration of Passover with Jesus, through their bitter controversies that fragmented the movement’s midcentury missions, to the city’s fiery end in the Roman destruction of Jerusalem, she brings this vibrant apostolic community to life.
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nothing to see here, nothing to read here
- By Anonymous User on 12-10-18
By: Paula Fredriksen
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Zealot
- The Life and Times of Jesus of Nazareth
- By: Reza Aslan
- Narrated by: Reza Aslan
- Length: 8 hrs and 8 mins
- Unabridged
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From the internationally bestselling author of No god but God comes a fascinating, provocative, and meticulously researched biography that challenges long-held assumptions about the man we know as Jesus of Nazareth. Sifting through centuries of mythmaking, Reza Aslan sheds new light on one of history's most influential and enigmatic characters by examining Jesus through the lens of the tumultuous era in which he lived: first-century Palestine, an age awash in apocalyptic fervor.
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Vivid and well-researched
- By Tad Davis on 07-21-13
By: Reza Aslan
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Paul and Jesus
- How the Apostle Transformed Christianity
- By: James D. Tabor
- Narrated by: Robertson Dean
- Length: 9 hrs and 1 min
- Unabridged
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Historians know virtually nothing about the two decades following the crucifixion of Jesus, when his followers regrouped and began to spread his message. During this time the man we know as the apostle Paul joined the movement and began to preach to the gentiles. Using the oldest Christian documents that we have - the letters of Paul - as well as other early Christian sources, historian and scholar James Tabor reconstructs the origins of Christianity.
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Paul or Jesus?
- By James on 01-29-13
By: James D. Tabor
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The First Paul
- Reclaiming the Radical Visionary Behind the Church's Conservative Icon
- By: Marcus J. Borg, John Dominic Crossan
- Narrated by: Mel Foster
- Length: 8 hrs and 20 mins
- Unabridged
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Paul is second only to Jesus as the most important person in the birth of Christianity, and yet he continues to be controversial, even among Christians. How could the letters of Paul be used both to inspire radical grace and to endorse systems of oppression - condoning slavery, subordinating women, condemning homosexual behavior? Borg and Crossan use the best of biblical and historical scholarship to explain the reasons for Paul's mixed reputation and reveal to us what scholars have known for decades: The later letters of Paul were created by the early church to dilute Paul's message.
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A Liberal Paul
- By Kayla on 05-12-20
By: Marcus J. Borg, and others
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David Lynch
- The Man from Another Place (Icons)
- By: Dennis Lim
- Narrated by: Jeff Cummings
- Length: 6 hrs and 45 mins
- Unabridged
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At once a pop culture icon, cult figure, and film industry outsider, master filmmaker David Lynch and his work defy easy definition. Dredged from his subconscious mind, Lynch's work is primed to act on our own subconscious, combining heightened, contradictory emotions into something familiar but inscrutable. No less than his art, Lynch's life also evades simple categorization, encompassing pursuits as a musician, painter, photographer, carpenter, entrepreneur, and vocal proponent of Transcendental Meditation.
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Essential listening for Lunch fans
- By Michael P. Mesaros on 08-14-18
By: Dennis Lim
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The Evolution of God
- By: Robert Wright
- Narrated by: Arthur Morey
- Length: 18 hrs and 25 mins
- Unabridged
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In this sweeping narrative, which takes us from the Stone Age to the Information Age, Robert Wright unveils an astonishing discovery: there is a hidden pattern that the great monotheistic faiths have followed as they have evolved. Through the prisms of archeology, theology, and evolutionary psychology, Wright's findings overturn basic assumptions about Judaism, Christianity, and Islam, and are sure to cause controversy.
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Very heavy reading
- By Stephen on 08-07-09
By: Robert Wright
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Not the Impossible Faith
- By: Richard Carrier
- Narrated by: Richard Carrier
- Length: 12 hrs and 49 mins
- Unabridged
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Written with occasional humor and an easy style, and thoroughly referenced, with many entertaining "gotcha!" moments, Not the Impossible Faith is a must-listen for anyone interested in the origins of Christianity. Richard Carrier, PhD, is an expert in the history of the ancient world and a critic of Christian attempts to distort history in defense of their faith.
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Bloody awful audiobook...
- By Amazon Customer on 10-23-13
By: Richard Carrier
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How God Became God
- What Scholars Are Really Saying About God and the Bible
- By: Richard M. Smoley
- Narrated by: Richard M. Smoley
- Length: 9 hrs and 50 mins
- Unabridged
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This epic, thrilling journey through Bible scholarship and ancient religion shows how much of Scripture is historically false - yet the ancient writings also resound with theologies that crisscrossed the primeval world and that direct us today toward a deep, authentic inner experience of the truly sacred.
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Just Okay.
- By Thom on 10-28-21
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Decoding Nicea
- Constantine Changed Christianity and Christianity Changed the World
- By: Paul Pavao
- Narrated by: Alan Sisto
- Length: 5 hrs and 32 mins
- Unabridged
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The Council of Nicea was not clerics in a dark and ornate hall. It was brawls in churchyards; it was emperors and governors fighting to save the empire; it was political intrigue as the governments of church and state blended into a volatile stew. It was the way a fringe group of peace-loving communal worshipers of a crucified Palestinian prophet conquered the Roman Empire.
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Who mixes fact with fiction?
- By 3allvalve on 12-28-17
By: Paul Pavao
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The Bible's Cutting Room Floor
- The Holy Scriptures Missing from Your Bible
- By: Joel M. Hoffman
- Narrated by: Jonathan Todd Ross
- Length: 10 hrs and 33 mins
- Unabridged
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In The Bible’s Cutting Room Floor, acclaimed author and translator Dr. Joel M. Hoffman gives us the stories and other texts that didn’t make it into the Bible even though they offer penetrating insight into the Bible and its teachings. The Book of Genesis tells us about Adam and Eve’s time in the Garden of Eden, but not their saga after they get kicked out or the lessons they have for us about good and evil.
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Good content, rather poor presentation by narrator
- By J_T on 12-28-16
By: Joel M. Hoffman
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Amusing treatment, but narration problems
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Nothing is new or original in Christianity. That is the important thesis demonstrated in Christianity Before Christ. The least important features, as well as the most important components, were all well developed in cultures that flourished before the time that Christ is alleged to have walked the parched paths of Roman Palestine.
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A disappointing book based on a misquote
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In a book that took eight years to research and write, leading Bible scholar Bart D. Ehrman explores how an apocalyptic prophet from the backwaters of rural Galilee crucified for crimes against the state came to be thought of as equal with the one God Almighty Creator of all things. Ehrman sketches Jesus's transformation from a human prophet to the Son of God exalted to divine status at his resurrection. Only when some of Jesus's followers had visions of him after his death - alive again - did anyone come to think that he, the prophet from Galilee, had become God.
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Wishing for a bit more meat on the bones
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James was a vegetarian, wore only linen clothing, bathed daily at dawn in cold water, and was a life-long Nazirite. In this profound and provocative work of scholarly detection, eminent biblical scholar Robert Eisenman introduces a startling theory about the identity of James - the brother of Jesus - who was almost entirely marginalized in the New Testament.
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Regretable. Hard to follow. Repetitive.
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For centuries the gospels have been cherished devotional literature, and under the guidance of preachers and priests, they’ve been understood as reliable depictions of Jesus. But even the most devout Christians stumble across sayings of Jesus that don’t sound quite right. In fact - if we’re honest - some of them are alarming. But the problem won’t go away, even if many of the faithful file these troublesome texts in a mental drawer marked “Too uncomfortable to think about”. In fact, the problem is much larger than many people suppose.
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How dare you!
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Traditional interpretations of the creatures of the Bible have sanded down their sharp, unsavory edges, transforming them into celestial beings of glory and light—or chubby, happy cherubs. Those cherubs? They're actually hybrid guardian monsters, more closely associated with the Egyptian sphinx than with flying babies. And the seraphim? Winged serpents sent to mete out God's vengeance. Demons aren't at war with angels; they're a distinct supernatural species used by Satan and by God. The pattern is chilling. Most of these monsters aren't God's opponents—they're God's entourage.
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Drawing on modern scholarship, the authors of the international best-seller The Jesus Mysteries decode the secret teachings of the original Christians for the first time in almost two millennia and theorize about who the original Christians really were and what they actually taught. In addition, the book explores the many myths of Jesus and the Goddess and unlocks the lost secret teachings of Christian mysticism, which promise happiness and immortality to those who attain the state of Gnosis, or enlightenment.
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Great information, however now outdated
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Large numbers of atheists, humanists, and conspiracy theorists are raising one of the most pressing questions in the history of religion: "Did Jesus exist at all?" Was he invented out of whole cloth for nefarious purposes by those seeking to control the masses? Or was Jesus such a shadowy figure - far removed from any credible historical evidence - that he bears no meaningful resemblance to the person described in the Bible?
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Vintage Ehrman
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Based on a careful analysis of the earliest Christian documents and recent archaeological discoveries, The Jesus Dynasty offers a bold new interpretation of the life of Jesus and the origins of Christianity. The story is surprising, controversial, and exciting as only a long-lost history can be when it is at last recovered.
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Provocative book
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Why I Am Not a Christian: Four Conclusive Reasons to Reject the Faith
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Dr. Richard Carrier, world-renowned philosopher and historian, explains the four reasons he does not accept the Christian religion, describing four facts of the world that, had they been different, he would believe. Those four reasons are God's silence, God's inaction, the lack of evidence, and the way the universe looks exactly like a godless universe would, and not at all like a Christian universe would, even down to its very structure. Dr. Carrier addresses all the usual replies to these claims.
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Four Foundational Pillars Demolished
- By Winston D. Jen on 05-26-13
By: Richard Carrier
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Lost Christianities
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The early Christian Church was a chaos of contending beliefs. Some groups of Christians claimed that there was not one God but two or twelve or thirty. Some believed that the world had not been created by God but by a lesser, ignorant deity. Certain sects maintained that Jesus was human but not divine, while others said he was divine but not human.
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The Early Church(es)
- By Margaret on 01-06-14
By: Bart D. Ehrman
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Jesus
- Apocalyptic Prophet of the New Millennium
- By: Bart D. Ehrman
- Narrated by: Tom Parks
- Length: 12 hrs and 40 mins
- Unabridged
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In this highly accessible discussion, Bart Ehrman examines the most recent textual and archaeological sources for the life of Jesus, along with the history of first-century Palestine, drawing a fascinating portrait of the man and his teachings. Ehrman shows us what historians have long known about the Gospels and the man who stands behind them. Through a careful evaluation of the New Testament (and other surviving sources, including the more recently discovered Gospels of Thomas and Peter), Ehrman proposes that Jesus can be best understood as an apocalyptic prophet.
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I must read for those whose wanting to expand their insight from a single perspective (devotional) to include historical
- By RGO on 11-25-19
By: Bart D. Ehrman
What listeners say about Creating Christ
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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- J. Nielsen
- 08-05-24
logical and relevant
Objectively argued is what I liked about this material. Critical thinking with an open mind and focus on provable points is well articulated.
I just wished I could have seen the illustrations of the various artifacts what are in the physical book.
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- Debra Deschamps
- 07-24-18
A scholarly analysis of Judeo Christian and Roman history
Analyzing the fragmented bits of history that have been destroyed, hidden, re-written, and obfuscated over thousands of years is a daunting task for anyone, and this book discusses the convoluted aspects of this in a scholarly manner. The most profoundly honest look at religious history I have yet to find.
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4 people found this helpful
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- David M. LeBlanc
- 08-03-19
Very scholarly
Many times, when dealing with unpopular, or not widely-accepted ideas, authors become shrill and somewhat hysterical in their defense of their ideas against attack. This book is not like that. The authors maintain a balanced, scholarly approach throughout, and only occasionally launch criticisms against the pushback to the theory. Instead there is a refreshing adherence to the plain evidence, which is overwhelming and convincing on its own. Excellent work.
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5 people found this helpful
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- Greg
- 06-25-23
Shocking.
We know so little about the 1st century of Christianity. Hearing researched ideas about it is exciting. Great job.
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- Xavier
- 10-11-21
Excelent book
I enjoyed very much this book. I had read before Ceassar’s Messiah by Joseph Atwill, and this book is also on the same side of the story as Atwil’s. It is vey convincing and has references. I do recommend if you like me, feel there has always bern something fishy about religion, particularly christian religions.
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2 people found this helpful
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- Anonymous User
- 12-27-22
Revelatory
Answers questions I’ve had since childhood, such as why church hierarchy resembles Roman hierarchy. And why Romans look so good in the New Testament. Every literate person should read this.
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- Ian Huntington
- 07-22-23
Fascinating! Compelling to an extent, but not convincing.
As a lay person with a Bachelors in Ancient History and a Masters in Church History, I was fascinated by the evidence put forward in the authors’ hypothesis that the authors of the New Testament were directly associated with the Flavian emperors. I am compelled by the evidence given that the authors of the gospels, and the various epistles were highly influenced by Platonic, Stoic and societal attitudes common in the Hellenic/Roman culture of their day. I am even well aware that Christianity is at least as much influenced by Platonic thought as it is by the Jewish teachings Christ himself but the authors of this book fail to convince me of their huge leap in logic that agents of the Flavian emperors fabricated the gospels. I suspect that the truth is much more subtle.
The first Christians were Jewish and gentile God fearers who were associated with synagogues. It is well known that these early believers were closely associated with the diverse Jewish community up until the rebellion and destruction of the temple in Jerusalem by the Flavian emperors. That Jewish community included the more rebellious messianic Jewish elements. An immediate result of the conflict is that both Jewish groups and Christian believers needed to delineate themselves from the troublesome, rebellious Jewish element that would get them killed, enslaved and/or exiled. Christians needed a symbol to distinguish themselves from Jews and to demonstrate their loyalty to the empire. What better than to adopt an imperial insignia? It would not draw negative reaction from society at large. Further, it is easily understood that Christian practices and attitudes would increasingly include cultural elements from the Greco Roman world they are part of. I have no trouble believing that much of scripture, both Old and New Testament is fictional written to convey spiritual meaning. The gospels and the Book of Acts, with the possible exception of St. John, were probably written during the Flavian dynasty, 69AD to 96AD, and they certainly reflect stories and attitudes of that time more than the actual lifetime of Christ. They understandably distinguish Jewish as distinguished from Christian elements which reflect the need to separate themselves from potentially dangerous Jewish relationships they had formerly been identified with in order to live peacefully in the empire. However, for me, the authors of this book insinuate unproven connections and leapfrog to a final conclusion which, although interesting, is too much conjecture.
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- Paul Lemke
- 03-14-17
Surely The Truth will set you free.
Objectivity and a careful consideration does not begin to describe this book. The astounding conclusions are so obvious, in retrospect, and so unknown in common parlance, that one can see their daily effect on world events but before reading this they are invisible. This is great literature of the highest intellectual tradition, a solid integration that makes new discovery possible whilst carefully considering ALL the facts.
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- cinji
- 11-22-22
Compelling arguments
I’ve always thought it weird that the xtian lore says that the Romans hated xtians but then suddenly the Catholic Church was headquartered there. Also, the fact that the gospels and epistles were written later in time than many people believe, and what was happening in Judea at those times, the Jewish Wars, is interesting. The theory propounded in this book makes sense of these things I’ve wondered about. So many rabid believers do not even read the Bible fully or early church history. The Roman use of syncretism and propaganda makes the most sense to me, particularly regarding Paul’s various travels and supposed adventures. The Josephus link is really telling as well, as is the involvement of the Flavian characters who appear in Acts.
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- Cheryl Cash
- 07-31-24
A MUST LISTEN & READ
I am not a historian or astute. I did find this a bit hard to follow as I am neither of the two. So I downloaded the Kindle version of this book so I can read it to better digest the information. What I really appreciate about this book is the thoroughness of the research that went into coming to such a conclusion.
As a pre- teen and through my adolescence and adult years my questions of the history and the aftermath of Jesus death confounded me actually moving me away from Christianity. I think few people, Christians will come to read this book because it will challenge and more likely abolish their belief in Jesus. This book is both liberating and transformative. It will take you, the listener into the depths of your own beliefs. It will give you opportunities to understand how even early governments, such as the Roman Empire, were able to use a groups belief system, Judaism, and other religions to create a subordinate people, particularly slaves. It is the root in my opinion of Anti-semitism, Jim-Crow law.
When you look beyond the Roman Empire to the Roman Catholic Church in its early days, you will see that it continued the same tactics as method of harnessing conquered lands, obtaining subordinate governments, making Kings-God ordained rulers. Very interesting and so this continues into our modern world. Blasphemy to condradict! I think just about all Christianity bends this way and I imagine this to be for all religions.
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