BE:
-One of the good things  about  Christianity  was  that  it  either
-directly  or  indirectly  (via  the Arabs) transmitted much of the
-classical tradition to the modern world.  During the  Renaissance,
-the  printing  of  classical  literature  led to the view that the
-ancient world  was  a  golden  age  from  which  Christianity  had
-descended.   We recall that Gibbon in the 18th century argued that
-the decline and  fall  of  the  Roman  Empire  was  Christianity's
-fault.   By  the  17th  century  that  descent was beginning to be
-regarded as a descent into depravity and barbarism.
>I don't get that from Gibbon at all Bob; although I haven't read
>all of him.  He notes the same danger I saw in Praetorian guards
>who began choosing Emperors with Claudius.  To me, he suggests a
>gradual evolution from monarchy to military dictatorship, how in
>several cases various emperors were killed because they lost the
>admiration of professional military classes, and how a successor
>often bribed the legions to depart to defend the frontiers.
Well, you're reading about the early  Empire  period  here,  where
Gibbon  had  less  reason  to  be  concerned with the influence of
Christianity on the civilisation which, in the 18th  century,  was
still  regarded  by  many  educated Europeans as the apex of human
development.  To find out  how  Gibbon  viewed  the  influence  of
Christianity  on  destroying  that  apex of civilisation, one must
turn to his later chapters, especially the 38th "the Last Days  of
the  Roman Empire in the West".  At about the sixth paragraph of a
relatively short section toward the end of that chapter,  entitled
'General  Observations  of  the  Fall  of  the Roman Empire in the
West', Gibbon wrote with his characteristic rolling periods,
  As the happiness of  a  future  life  is  the  great  object  of
  religion,  we  may  hear  without  surprise  or scandal that the
  introduction, or at least the abuse of  Christianity,  had  some
  influence  on  the  decline  and  fall of the Roman empire.  The
  clergy successfully  preached  the  doctrines  of  patience  and
  pusillanimity;  the  active virtues of society were discouraged;
  and the last remains of  military  spirit  were  buried  in  the
  cloister:  a  large  portion  of  public  and private wealth was
  consecrated to the specious demands  of  charity  and  devotion;
  and  the  soldiers'  pay  was lavished on the useless multitudes
  of both sexes who could only  plead  the  merits  of  abstinence
  and   chastity.    Faith,  zeal,  curiosity,  and  more  earthly
  passions  of  malice  and  ambition,  kindled   the   flame   of
  theological  discord;  the  church,  and  even  the  state, were
  distracted  by  religious   factions,   whose   conflicts   were
  sometimes  bloody  and  always  implacable; the attention of the
  emperors was diverted from camps  to  synods;  the  Roman  world
  was  oppressed  by  a new species of tyranny; and the persecuted
  sects became the secret enemies of their country.
  [Gibbon, Barbarism and the Fall of Rome, abridgment of  Part  II
   of  Decline  and Fall, C.D.  Gordon, intro.  New York: Collier,
   1966, p.377]
The  original  title  was, of course, "The Decline and Fall of the
Roman Empire".  That title is itself significant as it focuses  on
the  tragedy of the disappearance of that Empire.  A neutral title
might have been 'Rome in the Empire  Period',  or  something  like
that.   But  Gibbon  wanted  to focus on the destruction of a good
thing for which a particular cause was responsible.   He  intended
his  work to "really stick it" to the institution that represented
that cause.
And  the  paragraph  quoted above shows what he thought that cause
was.  There are also many other passages  in  the  later  chapters
which  show  Gibbon's  critical and often sardonic attitude toward
Christianity.  If you check out secondary historical literature on
the  18th  century  you  will  discover  that  historians   rather
consistently  view  Gibbon  has having blamed Christianity for the
fall of the Roman Empire.  Gibbon in his other writings, was  very
critical  of  Christianity--just  as  critical  in  England as was
Diderot,   La   Mettrie,   Helvetius,   d'Holbach,   Voltaire--les
philosophes generally--in France.
In  the  17th and 18th centuries, it was rather common to think of
the world that followed the Roman world as a  "Dark  Age"--an  age
"of  ignorance and barbarism" encouraged by the Church, which came
to an end only with the growth of science and the beginning of the
Modern Period in the 17th century.
It  was only during the middle of the 19th century that historians
gradually began to appreciate the material causes of the  fall  of
the Roman Empire.  And that appreciation led to a reduction in the
feeling that Christianity had betrayed the West.
Continued ...
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