Main Points

1. Julian's Early Life and Apostasy: Julian was born in Constantinople, Constantine's new capital, and was raised Christian under the guardianship of Christian bishops. He was well-versed in the Bible and served as a lector in the church. However, around age 18, he rejected Christianity for Neoplatonism, influenced by classical texts introduced by his Christian teacher. He studied Neoplatonism and was initiated into the Eleusinian mysteries.
2. Philosophical Paganism: Julian's paganism was highly reformed and philosophical. He understood traditional gods as manifestations of the one God, the Neoplatonic "one source" from which everything emanates. He interpreted traditional myths allegorically, not literally, seeing them as stories with deeper allegorical meanings relating to Platonic ideals. He was interested in worshipping the true, spiritual, invisible source, often analogized through Helios (the sun).
3. Julian's Interest in Magic: By the 4th century, philosophy became intertwined with a belief in magic. Neoplatonist philosophers often practiced theurgy, divine working rituals to evoke deities and achieve unity with the divine through reason. Despite warnings from some philosophers against "impostures of witchcraft and magic," Julian was intrigued and brought theurgist practitioners into his circle.
4. Julian's Rise to Emperor: After the death of his brothers, Julian's cousin, Emperor Constantius II, summoned Julian to Milan and made him a Caesar to prevent rival emperors from emerging in the West. Julian was left to govern the Rhine frontier in Gaul and Germany. In 360, when Constantius II ordered half of Julian's legions to the East to fight the Persians, the legions refused and declared Julian Augustus. Constantius II's death later that year allowed Julian to become the sole emperor in 361.
5. Julian's Reforms as Emperor: As sole emperor, Julian sought to remove imperial patronage for Christianity and restore the old gods' worship. In 362, he Julian Issued an Edict of Religious Tolerance, making all religions equal before the law, including Julian ended persecution of "heretics" and Jews. He observed that Christian authorities, who had enjoyed patronage, were unhappy with his tolerance, as it could cause schism within the church.
6. Julian's Attempts to Revitalize Paganism: Julian aimed to compete with Christian charities by creating new pagan charities, noting that Christians supported both their own poor and pagan beggars. He wrote to pagan high priests, urging them to contribute to public service and offer first fruits to the gods, acknowledging that pagans lacked aid for their poor. He believed that to win hearts and minds, pagans needed to imitate Christian charity, framing it as a restoration of ancient practices.
7. Challenges to Julian's Reforms: Julian's plan faced difficulties because paganism lacked the unified institutional form of the Christian church. Reorganizing paganism to resemble the defunded Christian church proved challenging. The old financial base for vast civic festivals was gone, and efforts to restore them were divisive, as Christians would sit out explicitly pagan events.
8. Potential "Neopagan" Roman Empire: If Julian had succeeded, the old gods might have continued as intercessors between humanity and the "one," similar to angels and saints in the Christian church. Greco-Roman mythology might have been allegorically interpreted to replace the Bible. This new state religion would likely not have abandoned supernaturalism or magic, contradicting Enlightenment ideas that Christianity was the source of superstition. Julian, as an ascetic vegetarian, would also not have promoted "free love," despite modern associations of paganism with being sex-positive.
9. Intolerance and Counterfactuals: Julian's program began with toleration, similar to Constantine's. However, had a neopagan church become Rome's state religion, it likely would have become intolerant by the 5th century, stamping out remaining Christianity and Judaism. Such a shift would have had cascading effects, potentially preventing the rise of Islam, which emerged partly as a reaction to a strong Christian Roman Empire.
10. Why Julian Failed: Julian's failure to stop Christianity is attributed to his very brief reign (361-363). He died from a mortal wound in battle against the Persians in 363. His reforms were ultimately undone by his Christian successors. For Julian to have succeeded, he would have needed a long reign, similar to Constantine's, and produced a successor who continued his policies, which did not happen.
11. Q&E TLPE
    1. Discussion on Christian Charity: Christian charity played a significant role in its success, as Julian himself recognized and attempted to replicate. He noted that Christians supported their own poor and pagan beggars, which was embarrassing for pagans.
    2. Julian's Lifespan and Impact: Julian's short reign (361-363) was insufficient to reverse the Christianization of the Roman Empire, which had been steadily advancing under Constantine and his sons. A much longer reign and a sympathetic successor would have been necessary for any significant change.
    3. Constantine's Influence on Christianity: Constantine's patronage influenced the direction of Christianity, but it wasn't a static "brand." While the Council of Nicaea condemned Arianism, Constantine himself later became attracted to the Arian position, and some of his sons were semi-Arians. The debate between Trinitarianism and Arianism continued beyond Julian's reign.
    4. "People of the Book": Muslims consider Jews and Christians "people of the book" due to their common origin and shared reverence for holy texts. Figures like Abraham, Mary, and Jesus are important prophets in Islam. This designation sometimes extended to Zoroastrians due to their ancient holy texts and historical influence on Second Temple Judaism.
    5. Roman vs. Byzantine Empire: The period of Julian's reign is still considered the Roman Empire, albeit a reformed one after the 3rd-century crisis. The division into East and West became permanent after Theodosius the Great, and the Western Empire eventually collapsed. The Eastern Empire, with its capital in Byzantium (Constantinople), is later referred to as the Byzantine Empire, though its inhabitants still considered themselves Romans.
    6. Neoplatonism and Scholasticism: It is difficult to predict if increased Neoplatonic influence, had Julian succeeded, would have countered Aristotelian scholasticism and fundamentalism in later history. Elements of Platonism were absorbed into Christianity, especially through Augustine. The historical context, including the fall of the West and the rediscovery of Aristotle, makes such counterfactuals highly speculative.
    7. Julian's Influence on Christians: Julian's reign did not necessarily unite Christians or stop their internal theological debates (e.g., Arianism vs. Athanasianism). While they may have become more anti-pagan, internal schisms continued.
    8. Roman Persecution of Pagan Religions: The Romans, even when "pagan," did persecute some foreign pagan practices they deemed unacceptable, such as human sacrifice (e.g., Carthaginian infant sacrifice) and polygamy. Accusations of cannibalism were generally propaganda against "inhuman" foreigners.
    9. Civil War Potential: Julian's reforms could have led to a civil war, as a Christian Roman general might have been acclaimed as a rival Augustus by his pro-Christian legions, leading to conflict with Julian's anti-Christian forces.

Modern Syncretic Religions: The idea of unifying world religions under one framework, like Neoplatonism, has been explored in modern times (e.g., Baha'i faith), but such attempts have not achieved widespread unification, as the tendency toward schism and fragmentation persists.