Persecution of pagans in the late Roman Empire religions that we now label "paganism" was seen as the result of the religious intolerance inherent in the monotheistic Christian faith. The classic expression of this view occurs in the work of Edward Gibbon, "Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire." As historian Herbert Drake puts it, "It is difficult to overestimate the influence of Gibbon's interpretation on subsequent scholarship." Herbert Drake takes issue with the historiography of Gibbon, arguing that while persecution certainly occurred for religious reasons, that the underlying motivation was consolidation of power in the Constantinian dynasty, which was offered in the form of promoting the cult
The Decline and Fall of the Roman Church hand, "National Catholic Reporter" journalist Peter Hebblethwaite found parts of the book to be "incoherent" and "dogmatic" and wrote that Martin "seems to be making it all up". The Decline and Fall of the Roman Church The Decline and Fall of the Roman Church is a 1981 non-fiction book by Catholic priest and author Malachi Martin. Martin wrote this book to analyse the sudden and rapid decline of the Roman Catholic Church in its ecclesiastical organization and doctrinal unity since the Second Vatican Council (1962–1965). The book is an account of the history of the Roman Catholic Church progressing from