My sense of history is the same. The Catholic Church was as much of a political institution as a religious one. I find it strange that most evangelical theologians regard this catholic formation as a cleansing of Christianity yet still habor resentment of the Catholic Church.

The messiahs I am referring to are the supposed prophets that arose during the time of Jesus. Roman historians recorded about 30 of these prophets, which is an important reason why Jesus of Nazarath seldom gets a mention in the chronicles. Jewish prophets roaming and preaching the countryside were common. As long as they did not advocate insurrection, the Romans left them alone.

But one of these prophets' words has withstood the passage of time.