“The historical church never was quite the same since it flew into the arms of Caesar.”
I am confused by your statement. Ceasar died 44 B.C.
If you do not know what Caesar means in the context of Christianity, I suggest you read in the gospels.
The original Julius Caesar did die in 44 BC. But from the time of the first emperor, Augustus, onward, the title "Caesar" was adopted by all Roman emperors. Thus what was originally a man's name became a symbol for supreme power in Rome and, by extension, anywhere in the world. The phrase "render unto Caesar..." simply means to grant to the government those powers which rightfully belong to government.
The Roman Empire had existed with a minimum of 300 different religions, with a wide-open view of allowing people to practice different faiths. Around the period of Caesar, Christianity gained a stronger number of followers in Rome and picked up popularity with the rich/elite.
Over the course of roughly 100-odd years, the term ‘pagan’ was created and used as a slam against any faith other than Christianity. Temples, statues and fests for other faiths were frowned upon and the leadership apparatus that existed was continually challenged to put down non-Christian fests.
As the power grew, the Catholic Church theme took off and sanctioned Christianity as a state-sponsored religion. Vatican City was created as the ‘headquarters’ of the faith and they marketed the concept across all of the Roman Empire.....using Roman soldiers to influence and put down pagan faiths across all Europe. Non-Catholic temples, statues and texts were destroyed as the Roman Catholic Church worked to ensure....they were the only faith left standing.
Everywhere they went....they got into the power circle and were part of the taxation schemes of every community. When you go back to 1619 and look at the Thirty Years War....it amounted to a thousand years of frustration by the public against the Catholic Church. You can toss on the hostility of public against their local Lords, Dukes and Kings as a secondary issue (taking up the last eleven years of the Thirty Years War).
Once the Roman Empire adapted Christianity into the Roman Catholic Church....it screwed up the whole message.