Christianity did not spread into an empty world.

It entered a world of Roman temples, pagan gods, sacred groves, seasonal festivals, household rituals, mystery cults, persecution, empire, and forgotten traditions.

In this Thursday Journal, we explore how Christianity went from a persecuted movement to an imperial force — and how it absorbed, reshaped, renamed, and sometimes buried pieces of the ancient world along the way.

From temples becoming churches, to local gods fading into saints, to older holidays being reinterpreted through Christian meaning, this episode looks at the strange and complicated history of how Christianity became historical, layered, and powerful.

This is not about proving Christianity false. It is about asking what happens when sacred ideas move through human history.

Because if the examined li ...