History of the Roman Catholic Church

Most  people have been taught that the Roman Catholic Church was the first Christian Church (or at least the heir of that church). This is far from the truth as you will learn below

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THE PHILOSOPHERS UNITE THE RELIGIONS

     For hundred of years, perhaps since the beginning of the Roman Empire, the philosophers and political thinkers of Rome were trying to unite all the religions of the Empire into a single 'Roman' religion which would bind together as one the various religions and nations that composed the Empire. The theologians and philosophers were in constant communication with one another, discussing and debating the various theologies, taking elements from one religion and comparing them with similar elements from other religions. They claimed that all the religions in the Empire were much alike, simply using different names for their gods. This syncretisic process went on for centuries. No religion or cult remained untouched.

       A factor that facilitated their efforts were the teachings of Plato which postulated a philosophy in which man was organically related to God, not just a fabrication. This philosophy became so popular with the masses that most religions had to adopt some aspect of it as their own.

       Unfortunately for the Roman Empire, even as the various religions grew closer and closer, a new religious movement arose. One hostile to Rome. It was sometimes known as Christianity. Its adherents were known as the "haters of mankind" because they claimed to be the only right religion and would not compromise with any other. For the first 280 years AD, Christianity was banned by the Roman empire, and Christians were prosecuted for treason because, in their arrogance, they would not accept the Roman Emperor as thier supreme head. 

      There were many different kinds  of Christian churches. There were the Gnostics, the Jerusalem Church, the various Greek churches, the Egyptian churches. and more.  They did not believe exactly the same things about Jesus,  God or his relationship with man.

THE EMPEROR UNITES THE RELIGIONS

      As Rome entered the fourth century, efforts were begun to unite all religions. in April 311 the Emperor Galerius issued an edict of toleration for all religious creeds, including Christianity. Both toleration and restitution had already been granted by Constantine in Gaul, Spain and Britain in 306, and by Maxentius in Italy and Africa in 306 [toleration] and 310 [restitution of seized properties]).The wording of the Edict, in the form of a joint letter circulated among the governors of the East where various forms of Christianity held sway, declared that the Empire would be neutral with regard to religious worship, officially removing all obstacles to the practice of any religion. It declared unequivocally that the co-authors of the regulations wanted no action taken against the non-Christian groups. The letter gives detailed instructions to the governor for the restitution of sequestered Christian property. 

      A previous edict of toleration had been recently issued by the Emperor and posted up at Nicomediae  on 30 April, 311. By its provisions, the Christians, who had "followed such a caprice and had fallen into such a folly that they would not obey the institutes of antiquity", were granted an indulgence.

      Constantine was sympathetic to the religion of his Christian mother, Helena,  But like most Roman emperors, Constantine was a henotheist. Henotheist is devoted to a single God but accepts the existence of other gods. Constantine envisioned a Catholic (universal) church which would reflect these ideas and which would unify the entire empire, which at that time was beginning to fragment and divide.

      Somewhere between 313AD and 325 AD, most of the Christians accepted Constantine's supremacy and accepted his invitation to the Council of Nicea. At this council 50 bishops of the major churches of the Empire began the process of unification. Constantine's financial support of those who worked with him made compromise possible. There were some hard-noses who would not compromise, and they were exiled and their writings burned. 

       From this and subsequent councils Constantine's Catholic church began to emerge. It was a Catholic Church and was never referred to as Christian until late in the fourth century.

       Some of the religions that contributed most to the Catholic Church were:

       (1) The Jewish Zealot movement which provided the historical framework for the story.
The origin of the Catholic Church is the tragic compromise of Christianity with the pagan religions that surrounded it. Instead of proclaiming the Gospel and converting the pagans, the Catholic Church “Christianized” the pagan religions, and “paganized” Christianity. By blurring the differences and erasing the distinctions, yes, the Catholic Church made itself attractive to the people of the Roman empire. One result was the Catholic Church becoming the supreme religion in the “Roman world” for centuries. However, another result was the most dominant form of Christianity apostatizing from the true Gospel of Jesus Christ and the true proclamation of God’s Word.
      (2) Mithraism, a prominent religion in the Roman Empire. ItIt was very popular among the Romans, especially among Roman soldiers, and was possibly the religion of several Roman emperors. Never given “official” status in the Roman empire, Mithraism was the de-facto official religion. One of the key features of Mithraism was a sacramental meal, which involved eating the flesh and drinking the blood of the sacred bull. the god Mithras was “present” in the flesh and blood, and when consumed, granted salvation to those who partook of it. It was called Mazd, which became Mass and was became part of the Church. Mithraism had the original seven “sacraments,” of Roman Catholicism: Anointing of the Sick, Baptism, Communion, Confirmation, Eucharist, the Holy Orders, and Marriage.

       (3) The religion of Isis, an Egyptian mother-goddess religion, was absorbed into Catholocism. Isis has many titles, such as “Queen of Heaven,” “Mother of God,” and “theotokos” (God-bearer). She was given the name Mary out of respect to the ancient Sea Goddess.  Her priestesses were taken from the worship of Juno or Vesta, where they were known as Vestal Virgins. The first clear hints of this comnpromise occur in the writings of Origen, who lived in Alexandria, Egypt, which happened to be the focal point of Isis worship.

      (4) Most Roman emperors (and citizens) were henotheists. Thus the Roman god Jupiter was supreme over the Roman pantheon of gods. Roman sailors were often worshippers of Neptune, the god of the oceans. These secondary gods were later known as saints. There was a Saint Venus, a Saint Mercury and so on. Which is why the Catholic Church has a saint who is “in charge” of these various attributes. The ancient practice of having a god specific to a particular city was continued by the Catholic Church. Only these gods were known as “patron saints.” Jupiter the god of Rome, had his name shortened to Peter and he became the patron saint of Rome and the head of the Roman Church.
      (5) The supremacy of the Bishop of Rome (the Pope) was based on the idea that, since  the Bishop of Rome attended to the Emperor, he was greater than the other bishops. When the Emperor moved his headquarters to Constantinople, the Patriarch of that city made the same claim to eminence. This led to a conflict between the two leaders and eventually into the division of the Catholic church into two: Roman and Greek. 

     The Bishop of Rome acquired more and more power and influence.  When the Roman empire collapsed, the Pope assumed the spiritual title that had previously belonged to the Roman emperors – Pontificus Maximus.