How do you know this except by your interpretation of the New Testament writings? In any case, you are treating that story cavalierly. Christian preachers clashed with the LEADERSHIP of the Jews, just as Jesus had. Among the people, some rejected Christ, some accepted him.
They then began preaching to the people in the streets walking by the Synagogue. But even then Christianity didn’t rise. A lot of the Gentiles didn’t want to follow the Jewish law (which was obeyed by the early Christians.) Remember Jesus was a Jew and followed the laws of the Hebrews. It was only after the Council of Jerusalem when Paul argued that Jesus had heralded a “New covenent” with God (meaning that Jewish law no longer had to be followed especially circumcision) that the Church really exploded.
Here you are totally befuddled. And as in the case of Paul proclaiming anything at the "Council of Jerusalem," he did no such thing.
It was then bolstered by city dwellers who considered the new religion fashionable. Early Christians also tended to blend their religion with older pagan beliefs - pagan temples were converted to Christian Churches, many pagan dieties became “Saints” and pagan practices like the Easter Bunny and Christmas trees were adopted. After the Emperor Constantine was baptised on his death bed (after saying prayers to ALL gods, lest he go to hell) that Church leaders took over declaring that Christianity was the official religion of the Empire. Thus getting rid of pagans became the order of the day. Many peasants suddenly found themselves forcefully converted by their governors and aristocratic overlords.
You have managed to telescope the experience of centuries into a few sentance and to mix fact and fancy promiscuously. Yes. by making Christianity the public religion of the empire, Constantine and other princes opened the Church to all sorts of trimmers and opportunists, for people do tend to bow to the dictates of power. But the fact is that by Constantine's time Christianity, despite a savage persecution lasting for more than 50 years was propabaly the most powerful private institution in the Roman Empire, which is why Constantine if only on purely natural grounds alone, became the champion of the Christians.
>How do you know this except by your interpretation of the New Testament writings?<
Well as the Church began to grow, other people began writing things - things that didn’t necessarily go in the Bible.
>In any case, you are treating that story cavalierly. Christian preachers clashed with the LEADERSHIP of the Jews, just as Jesus had. Among the people, some rejected Christ, some accepted him.<
...well gee, I thought that would go without saying...
>Here you are totally befuddled. And as in the case of Paul proclaiming anything at the “Council of Jerusalem,” he did no such thing.<
“But there rose up certain of the sect of the Pharisees which believed, saying, That it was needful to circumcise them, and to command [them] to keep the law of Moses.” (Acts 15:5)
“Wherefore my sentence is, that we trouble not them, which from among the Gentiles are turned to God: But that we write unto them, that they abstain from pollutions of idols, and [from] fornication, and [from] things strangled, and [from] blood.4 For Moses of old time hath in every city them that preach him, being read in the synagogues every sabbath day.” (Acts 15:19-21)
>You have managed to telescope the experience of centuries into a few sentance and to mix fact and fancy promiscuously. Yes. by making Christianity the public religion of the empire, Constantine and other princes opened the Church to all sorts of trimmers and opportunists, for people do tend to bow to the dictates of power. But the fact is that by Constantine’s time Christianity, despite a savage persecution lasting for more than 50 years was propabaly the most powerful private institution in the Roman Empire, which is why Constantine if only on purely natural grounds alone, became the champion of the Christians.<
So you’re denying that Christians prosecuted the Pagans?