The affect of Roman Catholicism on Christianity
Three times Jesus prayed in his High Priestly prayer (John chapter 17) that the Church be one even as "we are one" referring to the Father and himself. The old adage "divide and conquer" is a truism on how to defeat an enemy. And while Jesus conquered death and ushered in the New Covenant in his blood there were and are still many who have yet to come to faith in Christ who are destined to make that choice. So the fallen world lives on till that last decision is made.
In the course of that time, Christianity was under the heavy heel of persecution first from the Jews then from the Gentiles. Divide and conquer was in play even then. The first Church council (Acts 15) must have sent horror through the Jewish Sanhedrin, how what we know was the Spirit-led Apostles and Church fathers rightly divided the scriptures and Jewish history and cited the course of God's plan away from where the traditions of man had so corrupted Judaism that it rejected its own prophesied Messiah.
Even if this were not the case, Christianity which they deemed a cult, was not going away and was gaining strength by gaining followers in Judaica and now the Nations. So the persecution was turned way up and the ***embling of them to form councils was made impossible preventing any further major biblical discoveries for doctrine, and unbeknownst to them, New Covenant Bible canonization. Most concur the Old Testament was not yet fully canonized (until the council of Jamnia). Those who disagree have no evidence to the contrary but in time only reveal their true reason to challenge this is to a oppose anything Christian.
For the next three centuries Christianity was in evangelism mode only. It was driven further underground when the Romans took up the Jew's fight against God and at times made sport of its brutal persecution of believers in Jesus. But as Tertullian (160 CE - 220 CE) said "the blood of the martyrs is the seed of Christianity." And despite Rome's every effort to put down this defiant sect, Christianity only spread and grew.
A thing that above all else caught the attention of the Roman Emperor Constantine. His great empire was fractured and crumbling. It was necessary to establish a second Capital city (Constantinople). And there was this thorn in his side (Christianity) which despite the procession of Roman government to put it down commanded a fierce loyalty and cohesiveness his crumbling empire sorely lacked. So a plan was hatched to create a new religion of State to hold the Roman Empire together. Perhaps the plan even included the eventual outcome where the government of Rome morphed into the Roman Catholic Church.
From a strategy viewpoint, it is a brilliant plan. What better way to invoke the loyalty of the citizens of the empire that to make it a religion? What outlives kings and kingdoms, but religion? What else but religion invokes the fiercest of loyalties of its members even to the death... even to the betraying of family members?
From earliest stages, Constantine and Mommy began building a religion for the State and slapped a Christian label on it and concocted the cover story of having found Christian faith himself. Constantine who died professing his life long faith in the pagan sun god worship (which was the real reason Sabbath worship was officially changed to SUNday in Roman Catholicism)**.
**For those who may be concerned by this, don't be. Everyday is the sabbath day in this the Church age of sabbath rest. Any day of the week can be the actual day of rest. Point being have at least one day a week to worship and rest. Walter Martin once said that the literal 7th day sabbath was in memorial to the old creation that fell. And that the 1st day (or 8th day) "sabbath" (so to speak) is a prophetic celebration to the new creation... while any day of the week is blessed under the new covenant.
