[Zathras]

Actually the assessment is wrong.
The high point of the Roman Empire was before there ever was Christianity.
It was a true Republic where Roman Citizens were valued and the Senate and Emperor paid attention to those who they administered.

Eventually the cost of fighting wars all thru the Empire became the first dent in the armor of Rome.
Paying off the debt while trying to placate the Plebes (also known as the mob) with things and trinkets from far off lands only increased the need for more wars.

All this happened before Christianity.

[Antoninus]

Actually the assessment is wrong.

What assessment? I think you are assessing something quite different from what this article is talking about.

[kearnyirish2]

Celts sacked Rome almost 400 years before Christ (and 800 years before the Goths); the high point definitely preceded Christianity. Even the destruction of 1/10 of Rome’s total forces in Germany occurred when Christ was a child.