Christianity Exists to Control

Prior to my proof of my theory, I first state that Christianity was founded based on a religious belief. This is indubitable truth. Jesus, whatever one may believe about his holiness or lack thereof, lived with the purpose in mind of spreading knowledge and wisdom. The only thing that I state here is that the Christian Bible, and therefore belief, contains within it passages that dissuade any citizen from rising up against an authority. From . http://www.biblegateway.com...; the passage of Romans 13 states: Submission to the Authorities 1Everyone must submit himself to the governing authorities, for there is no authority except that which God has established. The authorities that exist have been established by God. 2Consequently, he who rebels against the authority is rebelling against what God has instituted, and those who do so will bring judgment on themselves. 3For rulers hold no terror for those who do right, but for those who do wrong. Do you want to be free from fear of the one in authority? Then do what is right and he will commend you. 4For he is God's servant to do you good. But if you do wrong, be afraid, for he does not bear the sword for nothing. He is God's servant, an agent of wrath to bring punishment on the wrongdoer. 5Therefore, it is necessary to submit to the authorities, not only because of possible punishment but also because of conscience. 6This is also why you pay taxes, for the authorities are God's servants, who give their full time to governing. 7Give everyone what you owe him: If you owe taxes, pay taxes; if revenue, then revenue; if respect, then respect; if honor, then honor. I do not cite any specific usages or citations of this, because any given usage of this passage is tainted by the ruler or governing body's other motives. I only state that, in Church, any congregation will have heard this passage. Even without the Church's influence, most respectable Christians will have read this passage. Whoever wrote this particular segment clearly meant to convince any potential threats or uprisings that their planned actions would go against God's will. As the governing body of any public is not omniscient, they instead bring religion into play to counter any unknown menace. Must not this scenario have occurred many times: A man thinks of killing an unjust ruler, for it would bring peace to his people. However, he recalls that the Bible forbids him from going against the wishes of any ruler, for, if a ruler is in power, then God wants him in power. And so another threat is eliminated before it takes shape. As for the Romans, who are notorious for the subjugation and persecution of Christians, I have only this to say. Nero and the subsequent rulers who persecuted the Christians becasue it was "in fashion" to do so. While Emperors would have had their reigns made easier by welcoming Christianity, doing so would have been extraordinarily dangerous. Many people vied for the position of Emperor, and many were waiting for a chance to assassinate their Emperor on a pretext of saving the people. Therefore no ruler until Constantine had the motivation to enforce any new religion that went against the official state religion. As for Constantine, his story is that, as he was fighting a battle and losing, a giant cross appeared in the sky. Rallying his troops under this symbol of power, he won the battle, and subsequently enforced Christianity as the new official state religion. What may have happened however, was that he realized the ability of a religion that offered a choice of afterlives as a powerful tool. I harbor no ill will towards Christianity. This is not to say that Christians are in any way stupid or manipulative. My only assertion is that Christianity, with its concept of the punishment of Hell and the eternal reward of heaven, was pushed so heavily because of its ability to control people and dissuade them from being problems to a ruler. I express my admiration at my opponent's writing ability and style. I very much look forward to reading the forthcoming rebuttals, which I am sure will be well thought out and difficult to counter.