Josh Hawley Tells A False History Of The Destruction Of The Temple Of Serapis
Last week, United States Senator Josh Hawley gave an alarming speech at the National Conservatism conference. You may have heard the sound bite from his speech in which he declared that America is nothing without the bible. The speech was much more than just a sound bite, however. It was an incitement to violence.
In the speech, Josh Hawley told a story that sounded as if it was taken from a Sunday School curriculum.
As Hawley told it, the story was about brave Christians who defied the Christian-hating Roman Emperor Julian by gathering at the pagan Temple of Serapis (the Serapeum) to destroy a statue there.
The problem with the story is that it wasn't historically inaccurate.
It's true that a Christian mob did gather to attack the Temple of Serapis in Alexandria, Egypt, but they did so 27 years after the reign of Emperor Julian.
Julian was Emperor for only 2 years, and every emperor after him was Christian.
By the time the Temple of Serapis was destroyed in 390 CE, the Roman Empire had been persecuting non-Christians, and subsidizing the growth of Christianity, for many years.
So, that crowd of Christians who gathered in Alexandria to demolish the Temple of Serapis wasn't a courageous group of dissidents standing against the Roman Empire. They were acting with the support of the Roman Empire in its efforts to suppress all religious practices other than Christianity.
The destruction of the Temple of Serapis was supported by Emperor Theodosius, who followed up the initial violence by ordering the destruction of pagan religious objects and directing a Christian church to be built atop the ruins of the pagan temple.
This encouragement of the attack against the Temple of Serapis by the Roman emperor results in a wave of further violence by Christians against non-Christians in Roman Egypt and elsewhere across the empire.
Josh Hawley used his false history of the Christian attack against the Temple of Serapis as example of the kind of Christian Nationalist violence he'd like his followers to engage in.
Senator Hawley compared the "Woke Left" to the Roman Empire, and suggested that his followers will have to stand up and repeat the attack against non-Christians in order to restore the true path of Christianity in the United States.
This article is adapted from a podcast episode and a longer article exploring the actual history of the destruction of the Temple of Serapis at Stop Christian Nationalism.) and a longer article exploring the actual history of the destruction of the Temple of Serapis at Stop Christian Nationalism.
5
Enjoy being online again!
Welcome to the community of good people who base their values on evidence and appreciate civil discourse - the social network you will enjoy.Create your free account
3 comments
Feel free to reply to any comment by clicking the "Reply" button.When you do not tax churches, and in fact, give them federal funding, you are only feeding the beast.
Archeus_Lore
Level 7
Sep 20, 2022
1
The people of Missouri should be reconsidering their decision to elect this tool for the Senate! The man ran away like a scared little puppy dog on January 6, yet when he emerged, from a safe distance he gave the insurrectionists a fist salute of support. WTF?
p-nullifidian
Level 8
Sep 20, 2022
1
Josh Hawley is a white supremacist that we do not need.
DenoPenno
Level 9
Sep 20, 2022
1
I agree! Josh Hawley is a white supremacist... but he's by no means alone. Part of our work needs to be to trace the networks that enable his Christian racism to be elevated to a seat in the US Senate.
Recent Visitors 17
Captain_Feelgood
NC, USA
Archeus_Lore
Stanton, Texas,
TimeOutForMe
Johannesburg,
CliffordCook
NY, USA
racocn8
Culver City,
Photos 791 More
Posted by DruviusTrump sinks to a new low.
Posted by CliffordCookIf you're going to punch, punch up, don't punch down. [app.suno.ai]
Posted by CorvisloverI drive a naked car since I live in a dark red state...
Posted by CliffordCook What Counts As A Trump Faith Leader In Iowa For The 2024 Caucuses There are 99 counties in Iowa, and Donald Trump would like to claim that he has support from a religious leader from every one of ...
Posted by CliffordCook Donald Trump's Political Ally in Iowa Believes She Is Fighting Evil Sorcerers of Baal and Promises Genocide To get a sense of how dangerously unhinged the Republican Party has become, let's look ...
Posted by CorvisloverBorrowed from my cousin.
Posted by ButtercupClever turn
Posted by johnnyrobishDeSantis Borrows a Page from Hitler - Vows to ‘Destroy Leftists’ When Elected So, it seems Donald Trump isn't the only Republican candidate for president who spent Memorial Day vowing to crush ...
Posted by johnnyrobishFascist Oath Keepers’ Leader Stewart Rhodes Gets 18 Years for ‘Seditious Conspiracy’ Oath Keepers founder Stewart Rhodes was sentenced to 18 years in prison Thursday in the first punishment ...
Posted by johnnyrobishLauren Boebert Claims She Quit Taking Birth Control Because It's Cheaper to Have a Kid At a recent House Oversight hearing on drug prices, Boebert told a personal story about her access to ...
Posted by johnnyrobishRepublicans Moving on From Book Banning to Jailing Librarians The Washington Post reports that while Republicans claim they only want to keep “harmful” material away from children, new state ...
Posted by CliffordCook Beware The Satanic Mermaids A pro-Trump Christian Nationalist rally down, endorsed by Donald Trump, on Trump's property in Doral, Florida featured Amanda Grace, a Christian prophet who declared ...
Posted by johnnyrobishNew Florida Law Allows Providers To Deny People Healthcare Based On ‘Moral Objections’ Florida Gov.
Posted by johnnyrobishTexas Republican Angry that Folks Want More than ‘Thoughts and Prayers’ The Washington Post reports that investigators say the gunman who opened fire on an outlet mall in a Dallas suburb on ...
Posted by johnnyrobishMarjorie Taylor Greene Wants to Ban Adult Websites Like Pornhub The Daily Beast reports that Marjorie Taylor Greene is disgusted that websites like “Pornhub” exist and even more “horrified”...
Posted by johnnyrobishNewsmax Wants Tucker Carlson to Run Their Entire Network TMZ is reporting that right-wing cable news channel Newsmax is working hard to land former Fox News anchor and White Nationalist Tucker ...