According to historians, toward the close of the third century, the ruling Roman Emperor, Diocletian, became concerned over the growing strength and numbers of the then early Christian Church. He faced two choices: oppose the Church to eliminate it as a power, or join it to assume power over it. History records that he chose the former and severely persecuted and oppressed the Christians of his day, even destroying many early writings that could be of inestimable value today.
Early in the following century, the Emperor Constantine rose to power. Constantine was less unfriendly to the Christians, recognizing them as a segment of his empire to be favorably dealt with; he wanted to gain their support against an opponent who, among other things, was very anti-Christian. Constantine promoted a policy for Christians of full legal equality with any religious entity in his domain.
The original Christians were Jews, but as Christianity spread through the Roman Empire, most of its converts came from a heathen world. How quickly these newcomers dropped their previous paganistic beliefs—including the belief in many gods, in gods coming down to earth as men, and of men of outstanding valor and accomplishment becoming gods themselves—is open to conjecture.
