The Destruction and re-creation of History is nothing new. Neither is the destruction and re-creation of religion .
"Virgil is traditionally ranked as one of Rome's greatest poets. His Aeneid has been considered the national epic of ancient Rome from the time of its composition to the present day. Modeled after Homer's Iliad and Odyssey, the Aeneid follows the Trojan refugee Aeneas as he struggles to fulfill his destiny and arrive on the shores of Italy—in Roman mythology the founding act of Rome." (Link)
In Virgil's case, the Roman Emperors could not afford to let Greece, with its Iliad and the Odyssey claim to be the heart and soul of the empire. Rome needed its own epic history and religious foundations.
Jesus Christ and his Christianity was a threat to the political leaders of his day. Pharisees and Sadducees used their corrupted form of Judaism to plunder their subjects without fear of reprisal. They killed Jesus and spread lies about his History, Death and Resurrection. Then they waged war on his followers. In spite of their best efforts, Christianity flourished and became a major religion.
The Emperors of Rome relied on their subjects worshiping them as gods. Emperor worship was one of the tools of the State to keep Rome's subjects from criticizing the political leader of Rome. The merging of Church and State allowed the Emperor to threaten both physical harm, and spiritual damnation to any disloyal subjects.
For over 300 years, Christianity was targeted by Rome as a subversive religion. Jesus Christ's followers were the victims of State sponsored genocide, and the possession of Christian documents was a Capital Crime punished with death. Those historical and religious documents that were found, were destroyed.
In spite of the intense state-sponsored persecution, some documents remained. Again, under the auspices of Rome and its Emperor, Constantine (who never did embrace Christianity), a council of Bishops was called to Rome to assemble a Christian Church that was palatable and under the control of the Roman Emperor.
The few documents that did survive were assembled into our Old and New Testament, or discarded for purely political reasons.
All of the Prophets and Apostles in the Bible were persecuted, or ultimately murdered by the political leaders of their day. In fact, many of them wore out their days trying the correct the excesses and perversions of those that controlled the reins of the State. After all, absolute power corrupts absolutely.
The Catholic Church, with its total control over the remnants of Rome, also played the role of both persecutor and destroyer of history. In fact, it was considered a Capital Crime, punishable by death, to permit the masses to possess the Bible. The Protestant leadership proved to be no different, with their persecution of Catholics, Quakers and others they viewed as a threat to their State Religions.
America was founded by those that sought to enjoye liberation from the State, in the enjoyment of their religion. The Puritans came. The Quakers came. The Baptists emerged, along with hundreds of other religions. With the exception of the Anglican South, loyal to the Church of England, no Church was able to claim a hegemony for very long. America was just too attractive for too many religious minorities.
Furthermore, those that had escaped religious persecution in the old world, sought to make sure that religious guarantees were established in their new one. It started with the Mayflower Compact and religious freedom was adopted by most State Legislators. No state religion was approved and no financial support for any religion by the state was tolerated in many of the colonies.
More in the next article....
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