Armstong Chapters 8-9

Well, chapter eight was pretty hard for me to get through but I enjoyed chapter nine very much. The main themes I saw in these chapters were just the overthrowing of religions from Jewish to Pagan to Christianity. I did find it interesting how they banned Jewish people from entering their "Holy City" or let them only enter on certain religious times of the year.
Now the part I found most interesting was the Christian transformation. At the start they had no affiliation with Jerusalem because they said it was an unholy city and Jesus said it would be ruined. Yet, as soon as Constantine came to power and declared Christianity the religion now all of a sudden Jerusalem was very much theirs. Another thing was how, at first, Christians were told to respect other religions and that "God" was with them wherever they went. Also, it was better to be pilgrims and poor and think beyond this realm. Yet, as soon as a little power and backing entered the picture it was all about discovering relics and building temples that were earlier not even a thought. Just thought it was interesting on how no matter what the belief system is somehow as soon as power and money is available things just seem to change extremely rapidly.