This attitude made the Roman a very tolerant man. The
government insisted that all people, Romans, foreigners,
Greeks, Babylonians, Jews, should pay a certain outward respect
to the image of the Emperor which was supposed to stand
in every temple, just as a picture of the President of the
United States is apt to hang in an American Post Office. But
this was a formality without any deeper meaning. Generally
speaking everybody could honour, revere and adore whatever
gods he pleased, and as a result, Rome was filled with all
sorts of queer little temples and synagogues, dedicated to the
worship of Egyptian and African and Asiatic divinities.
When the first disciples of Jesus reached Rome and began
to preach their new doctrine of a universal brotherhood of man,
nobody objected. The man in the street stopped and listened
Rome, the capital of the world, had always been full of wandering
preachers, each proclaiming his own ``mystery.'' Most of
the self-appointed priests appealed to the senses--promised
golden rewards and endless pleasure to the followers of their
own particular god. Soon the crowd in the street noticed
that the so-called Christians (the followers of the Christ or
``anointed'') spoke a very different language. They did not
appear to be impressed by great riches or a noble position.
They extolled the beauties of poverty and humility and meekness.
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