Fatum Per Annorum Milia (4)

“Crassus?” asked Leonard.

 

“Yes, Marcus Licinius Crassus, a man who came from a noble
name, whose family fell into a significant financial downfall, then he became
wealthy beyond belief again by his own devices. We needn’t go into the whole
history of his life. Let’s just say he was the richest man in Rome at the time.
Once one obtains an obscene amount of wealth, what is the next thing he wants?
When ultimate wealth has been achieved, what’s next?”

 

“How would I know? I’m content not to be the wealthiest
financially. You wouldn’t know the wealth that Jesus can bring you, if you
accept him.” The words sounded a little hollow, even to Leonard.

 

“Well, that’s wonderful you have such faith, hopefully we
can get you a little more centered. Look...the thing most people throughout
time seem to want when they feel they have accrued a hugely significant amount
of wealth...is power.

 

“Crassus wasn’t so popular with the people. All his small
military victories were eclipsed by his rival, Pompey. The senate just didn’t
trust him, with good reason. The mob didn’t like him, he wasn’t as popular as
Pompey. He bought cheap, and sold dear, the mantra of any mildly successful
capitalist. The idea itself is popular today. What is not popular today is how
he went about it. You see, the man was just as brutal as he was ambitious. He
started a fire brigade that would arrive at the sites of urban fires. If the
owner of the property was there, Crassus offered to purchase the property from
him at well below the market value. If the owner refused, Crassus let it burn
and often ended up buying it anyway. If the owner agreed, then Crassus put out
the fire, and had himself some more property that he got at next to nothing. He
had almost an army of slaves to do free work for him to fix up properties, and
as people say today, to ‘flip them.’

 

“He also fulfilled proscriptions.”

 

“Proscriptions?” Leonard vaguely recognized the word, but
couldn’t quite remember exactly what it meant.

 

“Yes, a lawful order to kill someone that those in power
deem necessary to be eliminated, with a substantial reward. This wasn’t
entirely uncommon in ancient Rome. However, Crassus, while not exactly as
politically powerful as he would have liked to have been, had a certain amount
of influence. He added several proscriptions of wealthy Romans that weren’t
originally supposed to be on the list. He then had them killed and was greatly
rewarded for his efforts.

 

“He wasn’t popular either amongst the people or the senate,
but he was the only man for the job at the time. The senate was already paying
for two wars and the Roman army was stretched thin. Crassus used his own money
to raise and train soldiers, a very large number of soldiers, to face
Spartacus. He had finally bought himself the power that he had desired.
Spartacus wasn’t defeated easily, but he was defeated.

 

“Still, Pompey came back and took partial credit for the
defeat of Spartacus and Crassus had to deal with his own unpopularity. He had
purchased power, but it was very delicate. He had no support from most Romans,
but he had money and an army.”

 

“So...? So what? I have no idea what that has to do with
Christianity.”

 

“I told you it was part of a series of events. Crassus
wasn’t extremely likable, but he was a patron to another man. This man came
from a good Praetorian family, but lacked financial resources to do much with
just his clan name. He was highly ambitious and proved successful on the
battlefield. This man would become unequalled in his day in regard to military
strategy and also a highly adept politician. All this man needed to become
successful was the financial backing that he received from Crassus, and the
precedent set by Crassus to be able to raise his own army without severe
disapproval from the senate. As you may have guessed, this man’s name was Gaius
Julius Caesar.

 

“If Crassus had not risen to power with the revolt of
Spartacus and consequently defeated him, then Caesar would never have had the
opportunity that he took full advantage of, to bring about the collapse of the
Roman Republic and the start of the Roman Empire.”

 

“Okay, and?” asked Leonard.

 

“The Republic would have continued and Constantine never
would have become a Christian, paving the way for the future of that religion.
Even if he had eventually lived and become a Christian, he wouldn’t have been
in the position of power that enabled him and his successors to spread the
influence of Christianity.”

 

Leonard didn’t say anything for a few moments, thinking
about all he had been told. After some time, he did speak again: “So, you are
saying that Spartacus turning south instead of continuing north is one of the
two major influences of Christianity? Isn’t that a weak argument?”

 

The old man sighed, and then he too, paused a moment before
continuing, “I can see how you might think it a weak argument.”

 

“I understand why you mentioned Constantine, I do. But you
admitted there were multiple things happening, a series of things, I
think you said, that allowed the Roman Empire to happen. Why don’t you just say
Caesar, or even Crassus? You mentioned a Sulla. Why is the Spartacus thing so
important?”

 

“That’s a good question, and I am glad that you are thinking
about this. Your question both showed that you were paying attention and that
you understand what I have been telling you regarding the spread of
Christianity.”

 

“Well, I’m glad you noticed I was paying attention. So...I
suppose it’s my turn to talk to you now, right?”

 

“You asked a question. Don’t you want an answer? You asked
why Spartacus was so important when you feel others contributed more to the
rise of Caesar. Would you like to know why I claim that Spartacus was
important?”

 

Leonard was feeling somewhat exasperated. He was also
realizing that this old man might listen to all he had to say about Jesus, but
that he certainly wouldn’t agree to start attending his church. “Okay.”

 

“Again, I am going to have to ask you to suspend your
beliefs, as this might seem a more abnormal proposition than you are used to,
or than you might possibly expect.”

 

“Do I have a choice?”

 

“You absolutely have a choice.”

 

“I don’t think that I am going to be able to convince you of
anything at all. I think that you will let me talk until I am blue in the face,
but I won’t be able to convince you of anything I feel and know to be true
about our Lord, Jesus Christ.”

 

“I never agreed to support your beliefs, I only agreed to
listen to your rhetoric.”

 

“My rhetoric is truth, but you probably won’t see it
that way.” Leonard smiled, becoming resigned to having wasted some time. “Fine,
finish your story.”

 

“Well, what I am about to say, might push further beyond the
bounds of your beliefs than we have yet travelled. Are you ready to one more
time listen?”

 

“Yes, I said, I have listened to it so far.”

 

“Let’s say, hypothetically, that a race of beings stumbled
upon your planet. Let’s not say how they travel or why, but they came upon
Earth. They didn’t design it; they didn’t create the first life on it; they
didn’t create man; they stumbled upon it when it was already billions of years
old. They happened upon it near the dawn of mankind. These beings could grasp
things that you couldn’t understand, manipulate the physical world in ways that
you couldn’t comprehend, appear in physical form any way they wished to do so.
They could separate their physical form from their essence, their psyche, their
ka as the ancient Egyptians would have it, their soul as you would have
it. These beings are not fully immortal, they can cease to exist, but their
lifespans are far longer than anything grasped or understood by the knowledge
of man.

 

“Let’s say that they found Earth. They...liked it.
They opted to care for it not in the way a person may care for a pet, but in
the way that a person might take an interest in an ant colony. A person taking
care of dog would try not to let any harm come to the dog at all. It is
different with an ant colony. The person wouldn’t have a problem letting certain
segments of the ant colony die, but would do his or her best to make sure that
the colony continued to live and thrive.

 

“Let’s also say that these beings can see into the future,
but not exactly as you might think it. They cannot always see what will happen,
but they can see multiple possibilities, what might happen. Because these
beings took an interest in the Earth, and more particularly the humans that
inhabited the planet, they sought to not allow the humans to destroy themselves
or the planet, and have manipulated events, shaping destiny in the process, to
preserve the people and their environment.”

 

“You believe this?” asked Leonard.

 

“I’m just asking you to consider it, imagine it for a time.
I’m not saying what I believe or do not believe, I just want you to absorb this
information.

 

“So, these beings, let’s say they have been particularly
busy lately. By lately, I mean the past century or so. Humans were always
war-like creatures, but it has become increasingly difficult to manage them
once they learned to split the atom for the purpose of destruction. They’ve
become increasingly dangerous to themselves.

 

“Humans have this bizarre talent for wanting to destroy
other humans who don’t hold the same ideology. Let’s say that the beings were attempting
to convert them all to the same ideology, as they felt Christianity could do
this, slowly over time. But they have learned from their errors.”

 

“So,” said Leonard, “You are saying that these beings helped
spread Christianity?”

 

“Let’s say that they did.”

 

“So, these beings interfered with Spartacus and Constantine?
That is why you claim that those are the most important reasons Christianity
exists?”

 

“Not exists, per se, but why it spread. The fact that
it exists is another matter entirely.”

 

“Those are the most important reasons?”

 

“Those are the times when the beings interfered with the
natural course of history. There are many times that the beings didn’t need to
meddle with human affairs. You can look at the disciples: Peter and Paul, Peter
wanted all others to convert to Judaism before being allowed to be baptized
Christian, Paul thought people should be able to become Christians without
being Jewish first. Paul succeeded in pushing his views forward. If Peter had
succeeded then Christianity would have died out. You can consider that
important, and I suppose it is, but the beings knew, or were sure that it was
highly likely Paul would win out, and didn’t interfere at that time.

 

“These beings aren’t omniscient, not all seeing or all knowing,
just much more experienced with the passage of time, and by studying man, very
good at predicting future events based on occurrences.

 

“Look, Christianity is a religion designed to not fit well
with other religions, but that hasn’t always worked well. Look at the
superstition and folklore brought to Christianity by certain Latin American
peoples, or even turning Saturnalia into Christmas in ancient Rome. Still, the
design was so powerful, no false idols, all things not Christian are evil
and Satanic, that it has succeeded throughout the years, it just needed a
little tinkering here and there.”

 

“So, my turn?” asked Leonard. He knew that he probably wouldn’t
even talk to the man or attempt to bring him into the fold of his church.

 

“Let me throw out one more hypothetical,” said the old man.

 

“Go ahead.”

 

“Christianity didn’t work out so well. It helped, but it’s
time for a new world order. Centuries in the making. Let’s say that you are now
playing a role in events to come. Let’s say today is a significant day, you
meeting me was not a fortuitous occurrence, but part of a plan designed to
bring about change, that the beings hope will better the world.”

 

“Now are you done?”

 

“Yes.”

 

Leonard was not at all optimistic about recruiting the old
man. He thought that he would ask him one simple question, a question that
would determine if he should continue, but his drive and spirit were lackluster
at best, already knowing the answer he would receive. “Are you worried at all
about your immortal soul, about burning in hell?”

 

“No,” replied the old man.

 

After his conversation with the old man, Leonard continued
to go to his church...for a time. He told himself that his convictions were
right, he was right, Jesus was right. However, he couldn’t stop the incessant,
nagging feeling in his head that the old man was correct, that something bigger
and different than Christianity was lurking behind the scenes of mankind. The
world? It didn’t look to be going to well. He began to notice the fervent
zealotry and condescending attitude displayed by people who preached at him.
Politically the world was a mess, governments disagreeing, working on nuclear
weapons, something did need to change.

 

He knew that if he ever returned to the old farmhouse the
man wouldn’t be there. He had the feeling that he wouldn’t have been there the
very next day after his visit. He wished that he had asked more questions, many
more questions. What was his destiny? What was his role? What did he need to do
when the time came? It seemed that the knowledge he had gleaned from the old
man was supposedly enough. He was also sure that the old man wouldn’t have
given him much more information than he already had. Fate had decided exactly
how the conversation would play out, even the old man’s mistaken analogy with
coffee instead of alcohol. He had stated that the beings were not infallible.

 

Leonard did ask one question before he had left and he had
been given an answer. In an attempt to show a nonchalance at all he had been
told, hoping that the old man would perceive some disbelief on his part, he had
asked, “So, you must be some sort of historian, huh?’

 

The old man had then smiled. “I’m a historian of sorts. I’ve
played many roles, had many titles bestowed upon myself. Sure, you can call me
a historian. But I have been many other things. I was also a slave on more than
one occasion. However, my favorite experience was that of a carpenter.”

 

Leonard went out into the world, always waiting and
wondering when his destiny would come, when fate would call him to action, and
what that action might be.