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~1-2 century AD: The family unit is destroyed. Men refuse to marry and the government tries to revive marriage with a “bachelor tax”, to no avail. Children are growing up without fathers, Roman women show little interest in raising their own children and frequently use nannies. The wealth and power of women grows very fast, while men become increasingly demotivated and engage in prostitution and vice. Prostitution and homosexuality become widespread.
originally posted by: Klassified
a reply to: Blue_Jay33
The problem is that your source(for which there is no link) is a highly subjective view. "Traditional" to whom? Romans. Traditional to other cultures would be entirely different. Also note that prostitution and homosexuality were accepted as part of Roman society long before the fall of Rome. I also notice that women being wealthy and powerful is mentioned like it's a bad thing, and partly to blame.
The argument doesn't stand up to scrutiny.
originally posted by: Blue_Jay33
a reply to: windword
Interesting that you picked up on the femisnsim aspect, mentioned. But men becoming de-motivated is equaling troubling. Men playing video games, instead of doing other productive things is just one example.
There are many complex variables contributing to the total situation.
Interesting that you picked up on the femisnsim aspect
originally posted by: the2ofusr1
a reply to: Blue_Jay33
I think there were more then a few contributing factors to the fall of Rome . The family unit probably being one and the other's also can be seen in the US as well .Earnest L Martin's book The People History Forgot www.askelm.com... is a great read and follows the slaves from the middle east back to Rome and explains what probably happened .in short a Roman could have 1000 slaves .Romans who couldn't afford slaves were at a disadvantage in competing and so moved to different provinces .Once a slave owner died his slaves got their freedom and became Roman citizens .The original slaves were too old to move back to their mother land and their kids knew nothing but the place they grew up . They didn't speak Latin but Greek that they got from their parents . Any way it is a good read . There is a audio file on the book as well
The book was written for a reason not connected to the subject matter of the OP but it does give a glimpse into some of day and the society .
As for the population of the Samaritans, recent studies suggest that there were as many as half a million Samaritans in central Palestine in the 1st century and about three times that many in the other areas of the Roman Empire and other areas mentioned above (Alan, Crown, The Samaritans [Tubingen: J.C.B. Mohr, 1989], p. 201). Two million Samaritans in the 1st century represented a large group of people to the Romans and they would have been politically important to the government of Rome as well as to their neighbors who lived near them or among them.
What happened to that population of Samaritans which numbered up to two million people in the time of the apostles and for the next six hundred years that followed? This is one of the things I hope to show in the remainder of this book. This vast number of people have simply disappeared from history. That is, they have vanished as far as being denominated as "Samaritans."
Today the number of identifiable Samaritans is drastically reduced to a small community (about 600) still living in two locations in Israel in Nablus and near Tel Aviv (some in Nablus I have come to know personally during the many times I have been to the area). They have told me that they have early records of their forefathers showing at one time that there were Samaritans all over Europe as well as Egypt, North Africa and even India. They once represented a large population of the Roman world and they became influential among the Romans.
This dispersion of Samaritan peoples to many areas of Europe (and even Asia) has been known by the remnant Samaritans who still live in Palestine. As long ago as 1865, Robert Mimpriss in his Gospel Treasury, Expository Harmony of the Four Evangelists (New York: M. W. Dodd, 1868), stated:
"In ages past we find them [the Samaritans] inhabiting various cities in Palestine, and extending even to Constantinople. There was a tradition among them that large numbers of their brethren were dwelling in various parts of the world ― in England, France, India, and elsewhere and they have written concerning them from time to time, in the hope of becoming acquainted with these their brethren.”
• p.545
God knew the family unit would be important for a stable society
originally posted by: Edumakated
originally posted by: the2ofusr1
a reply to: Blue_Jay33
I think there were more then a few contributing factors to the fall of Rome . The family unit probably being one and the other's also can be seen in the US as well .Earnest L Martin's book The People History Forgot www.askelm.com... is a great read and follows the slaves from the middle east back to Rome and explains what probably happened .in short a Roman could have 1000 slaves .Romans who couldn't afford slaves were at a disadvantage in competing and so moved to different provinces .Once a slave owner died his slaves got their freedom and became Roman citizens .The original slaves were too old to move back to their mother land and their kids knew nothing but the place they grew up . They didn't speak Latin but Greek that they got from their parents . Any way it is a good read . There is a audio file on the book as well
In other words, unchecked immigration and lack of assimilation by said immigrants contributed to the down fall. Gee, where do we see that occurring now?
There are many factors that are blamed for the Fall of Rome. On this page, the factors considered are
Decay,
Vandals, and
Religion, including Christianity.
originally posted by: HD3DSURROUNDSOUND
a reply to: Blue_Jay33
Those who still fear God will fight to defent the family unit unfortunately the deception has become so great that there are few who can still resist. Those who are fighting for the family unit are fighting a losing battle and the same will happen to us as happened to Rome. Rome also fell because it embrased sexual deviency as a lifestyle.