When I was in seminary I did research on the Roman Emperor Julian. He became known as “Julian the Apostate.” Although he had been raised as a Christian, and was presumed to be a Christian, when he became emperor he attempted to reintroduce "paganism", or rather, traditional religion with its temples, sacrifices, priests and priestesses. In my article I explained that it would be easy for Christians to return to paganism because I wasn't sure how deeply rooted the Christian faith was. I also thought that if Julian had not been defeated in battle by the Sassanids, the Roman Empire might have returned to paganism, and modern Europe might have had the religious face of modern India with its Hinduism and many Temples with many gods . O'Donnell made a very different point than I did (and I listened to him because he's definitely done research on this topic): Julian didn't recognize how well established religious newness (Christianity?) was and how apathetic the devout tended to be traditional. If Julian had survived the Persian War and returned to assert his claims for restoration, he would have had a long and potholed road ahead of him (196). This book, obviously, is much more in-depth than my "seminar paper", yet it surprised me: paganism was on the verge of extinction when Christianity began to take its place. I was aware that many of the Greek philosophers before Christ had transformed themselves from polytheism into some kind of “impersonal” or God-like force, but this had a broader reach in ancient society than I suspected. Traditional religion was not revived in Julian's time, although he attempted to present such a vision. The one sentence in the book that clarified and haunts me was this: The gods were no longer necessary (242). Ever since the ancient gods and T...... middle of paper...... has been deeply rooted in and influenced by Christianity. This is mainly reflected in our laws which attempt to create everyone equal, even though we know this is not reality, yet it is before us; but the part of the book that haunts me: the gods were no longer necessary. We have come to a time when “God is no longer necessary”; or, as many say, “God is dead.” This was related to another book I read this year: After God by Mark C. Taylor. In the United States there is a trend with lower worship participation and those who worship tend to gravitate towards “mega-Churches” (see especially, American Trends: Contemporary Religion by Mark Chaves). However, perhaps God is dead to many people just as the ancient ways and traditions were dead to many during the last centuries of the Roman Empire. The question is before us: if this is indeed true, what will replace it?