Creating Christ: How Roman Emperors Invented Christianity

The origins of Christianity have long been a subject of debate and speculation. While the religion itself dates back to the 1st century AD, its rise to prominence and eventual dominance in the Roman Empire is a fascinating tale that involves power, politics, and the influence of emperors. In this article, we will explore the theory that Roman emperors played a pivotal role in the invention and creation of Christianity.

The Roman Empire: A Time of Political Instability

During the 1st and 2nd centuries AD, the Roman Empire was a vast and diverse territory, encompassing various cultures, religions, and beliefs. The empire was marked by political instability, with a succession of emperors who sought to consolidate their power and maintain control over the vast territories they ruled.

One of the key challenges faced by the emperors was the issue of religious unity. The empire was home to a diverse range of religious beliefs, including traditional Roman paganism, Judaism, and numerous mystery religions imported from the East. The emperors recognized the importance of religion in maintaining social order and sought ways to consolidate religious beliefs under their control.

Creating Christ: How Roman Emperors Invented Christianity

by James S. Valliant(Kindle Edition)

4.5 out of 5

Language	:	English
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The Mystery Cults: Inspiration for a New Religion

One of the most influential religious movements in the Roman Empire during this time was the rise of mystery cults. These cults promised their followers an intimate connection with the divine and offered secret rituals and initiation ceremonies. The cults gained popularity among the masses, providing a sense of belonging and purpose in an otherwise chaotic world.

It is believed that the emperors, particularly Constantine and his successors, saw the potential of harnessing the power of these mystery cults for their own political purposes. By creating a unified religion that incorporated elements from various mystery cults, the emperors could control and manipulate the masses while ensuring religious unity within the empire.

Inventing a Savior: The Story of Jesus

To create a new religion that could rival and eventually supplant the existing belief systems, the emperors needed a central figure who could capture the imagination and devotion of the people. Thus, the story of Jesus Christ was born.

Historians now believe that the figure of Jesus was a composite character, created by the emperors and their advisors. Drawing inspiration from various myths and legends of the time, they crafted a narrative that would resonate with the masses and provide a new savior figure.

The story of Jesus Christ borrowed elements from existing mystery cults, such as the virgin birth, the death and resurrection, and the promise of eternal life. These elements were carefully crafted to appeal to the desires and fears of the population, offering hope and salvation in a tumultuous world.

Implementing the Religion: Conversion and Control

With the invention of Christianity, the emperors faced the challenge of converting the masses to this new faith. They employed various tactics to ensure the widespread adoption of the religion.

One of the key strategies was the Council of Nicaea, convened by Emperor Constantine in 325 AD. The council aimed to establish a unified Christian doctrine and eliminate any dissenting beliefs. By wielding their authority and influence, the emperors were able to shape the beliefs and practices of the new religion, ensuring conformity to their objectives.

The emperors also recognized the power of the clergy in maintaining control over the population. They granted privileges and authority to Christian leaders, effectively making them agents of the state. By aligning the interests of the clergy with those of the empire, the emperors ensured that Christianity would remain a tool of political control for centuries to come.

The Legacy of Roman Influence

The impact of Roman emperors on the creation and spread of Christianity cannot be underestimated. Their ability to manipulate religious beliefs and consolidate power through the creation of a unified religion has shaped the course of history.

As Christianity spread throughout the Roman Empire and eventually beyond, the authority and influence of the emperors waned. However, the legacy of their invention remains, with the story of Jesus Christ continuing to inspire and shape the lives of billions of people worldwide.

A Journey into History

The story of the creation of Christianity by Roman emperors is a captivating tale that reveals the intricacies of power, politics, and religious manipulation. Exploring this journey into history allows us to understand the origins of one of the world's most influential religions and the forces that shaped its development.

Whether one agrees with the theory or not, the captivating nature of this story cannot be denied. Join us as we delve into the fascinating world of Roman emperors and their role in the invention of Christianity.

Creating Christ: How Roman Emperors Invented Christianity

by James S. Valliant(Kindle Edition)

4.5 out of 5

Language	:	English
File size	:	6006 KB
Text-to-Speech	:	Enabled
Screen Reader	:	Supported
Enhanced typesetting	:	Enabled
Word Wise	:	Enabled
Print length	:	427 pages
Lending	:	Enabled

FREE

Exhaustively annotated and illustrated, 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 1st 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 bestsellers like Bill O’Reilly’s Killing Jesus, the evidence presented in Creating Christ is irrefutable: Christianity was invented by Roman Emperors.

*****

”I have rarely encountered a book so original, exciting, accessible and informed on subjects that are of obvious importance to the world and to which I have myself devoted such a large part of my scholarly career studying. In this book they have rendered a startling new understanding of Christianity with a controversial theory of its Roman provenance that is accessible to the layman in a very powerful way. In the process, they present new and comprehensive archeological and iconographic evidence, as well as utilizing the widest and most cutting edge work of other recent scholars, including myself. This is a work of outstanding and original scholarship. Its arguments are a brilliant, profound and thorough integration of the relevant evidence. When they are done, the is inescapable and obviously profound.”

– Prof. Robert Eisenman,
Author of James the Brother of Jesus and The New Testament Code

“Powerful... well-argued... I think it’s great and I heartily recommend it. You’re in for a big surprise if you read this. It’s great stuff!”

– Robert M. Price, author of The Colossal Apostle

"A fascinating and provocative investigative history of ideas, boldly exploring a problem that previous scholarship has not clearly or credibly addressed: how (and why!) the Flavian dynasty wove Christianity into the very fabric of Western civilization."

– Mark Riebling, author of Church of Spies: The Pope's Secret War Against Hitler