> On 14 May, 10:26, Phoenix yahoo.com.au> wrote:
>

>> On May 14, 11:12 am, "Chuck Stamford" cox.net> wrote:

>

>>> Forget it. Snow wants Constantine to be the one who "corrupted" the
>>> Christian faith and dragged paganism into it, and that's the way it's
>>> going
>>> to be. Throwing facts at him just makes it worse.

>

>> Constantine and Sol Invictus

>
> This is a topic on which a great deal of nonsense has been written.
> We should believe *nothing* unless we can see an ancient reference.
>
> The origin of the nonsense is interesting. Most will suppose it to be
> from Christian-bashing, but apparently not! It actually arose from
> hostility to the Hapsburg emperors in the 1840's, according to Cameron
> and Hall in their translation of Eusebius "Life of Constantine". The
> Hapsburg empire drew its ideological legitimacy from the concept of
> Christian empire, beginning with Constantine, so rubbishing the latter
> as a pagan was a way to attack them.
>

>> "The struggle for deathlessness must be free." These are the words of
>> Constantine, the first Roman emperor to legalize Christianity...

>
> Are they? Reference?
>

>> .... With Roman assistance Christianity began the battle to wipe out the
>> old pagan gods....

>
> This seems anachronistic for the reign of Constantine.
>

>> ... Mithras, another sun god whose birthday is
>> December 25th (Emperor's State of Grace).

>
> There is no association of Mithras with 25 Dec recorded in antiquity.
> Whatever the last bit in brackets is supposed to mean I do not know.
>

>> Another example of the influence of this official sun worship on
>> Christianity is:

>

>> Constantine's law of