The Empire Strikes Back at Christianity

I’m reading a book about the New Testament, called Encountering The Manuscripts, by Phillip Comfort. There is a passage describing what Diocletian did on this day:

What we do know is that by the time we get to the Diocletian persecution, Roman authorities were well aware that there were many copies of New Testament Scriptures throughout the empire. Thus, Diocletian attempted to rid his empire of Christian sacred books and thereby rid the empire of Christianity. Diocletian believed the old Roman religion would help to reinforce imperial unity. His policy formed the background to the persecution against the Christians. An edict issued at Nicodemia on February 23, 303, enjoined the demolition of churches and the burning of Christian books. This was the first Roman persecution that was designed not only to destroy Christians but to eradicate their sacred text, the New Testament.

Comfort, Phillip. Encountering the Manuscripts (Kindle Locations 1411-1416). B&H Publishing Group. Kindle Edition.

Here’s what the chart looks like:

Notice the Mars/Pluto conjunction @ 26 Capricorn, both inconjunct to the Midheaven. That, my friends, is what Fascism looks like. The last time Mars and Pluto were this close in Capricorn was on March 26, 2020. OK, have I got your attention, now?

The COVID-19 pandemic has allowed even ‘gentle’ governments like Canada to take heavy-handed actions, all in the name of the health and welfare of the people.

So, what have we learned from history?

Nicomedia is now called Iznik, today.