Quote:
Originally Posted by LeatherTrumpet
No
Just that they promoted it as it was advantageous to them
the jews hankered after a warrior messiah who would return and kill the romans so they wanted to promote Jesus (a jew) as he posed no threat
older jews would probably have had none of it but younger ones may have
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I'd have to read up on details of the political situation around the time Christianity became official religion (end of 4th century). But I'd still disagree. The main reason it was adopted was that it was inevitable (its existing spread and influence). Other things like political advantages I'd see as additional bonuses. Judea was always a rowdy province, but I doubt the Empire would have made such a radical step for the sake of one province (relatively small and poor in resources). It would have been outweighed by disadvantages of converting vast sways of pagan provinces in the West and elsewhere.