Throughout the ages, people have looked back on their “golden age” of faith, be it ten years or a thousand years earlier, and idealize it as a better time—a more pure and true time.  If ever there was a golden age for Christianity it occurred during the Middle Ages, in a time where the heart of Western mankind was religion.  But the Middle Ages did not start out hospitable to new religions.  As was done in the past and continues up to this day, people blame others disregard of the “official” gods for the woes of the state.  During theRoman Empire’s long decline, the religious were often persecuted, with Christianity most vehemently oppressed.  On and off for over a hundred years, persecution of Christians was used to divert attention away from mismanagement of government and its depressive practices.  Christians were easy targets for blame because they refused to worship the Roman gods or to attend the state games.  Rumors abounded regarding Christian cannibalism and incest—misconceptions of the Eucharist and private worship services.  Christian persecution at the hand of the Romans ranged from political discrimination to torture and death.  Such persecution tended to increase the commitment of the faithful, but not all persecution was unavoidable.  Christians believed that a person who died as a martyr at the hands of the Romans would go straight to heaven, a teaching that encouraged little resistance and often deliberate provocation to martyrdom.

This is only a short summary of this topic.  To find out more, please get Why Adam and Eve Created God.