09-12-2008, 06:35 AM
I think the opposition between conservatism and Christianity is somewhat overstated.
I think that not all Romans were conservative; it was the elite. Others quite willing to accept religious innovations - think of the rise of Mithraism and the introduction of various new cults (Elagabal, Isis, Cybele...). At the same time, the Christians could be pretty conservative. After all, they did not offer a really new religion, but merely the correct interpretation of an already ancient Judaism.
I think that not all Romans were conservative; it was the elite. Others quite willing to accept religious innovations - think of the rise of Mithraism and the introduction of various new cults (Elagabal, Isis, Cybele...). At the same time, the Christians could be pretty conservative. After all, they did not offer a really new religion, but merely the correct interpretation of an already ancient Judaism.
