Celebration of the female body was also partially supported in Constatinople, though radical Christians back then were known to desecrate any art that depicted nudity.
Some of the battles that the Byzantine Empire fought were with Christians who subscribed to a more militant form of Christianity led by religious leaders sympathetic to Gnostic teachings which claimed that worldliness was evil and that godliness was good.
Due to militancy among the Christians, a pagan mathematician was assassinated by radical Christians in Alexandria for preferring the pagan sciences over the conservatism of Christianity.
IMO militant elements of Islam cater to this same kind of conservatism. Even though the Roman Empire was corrupt before Constantine the Great made Christianity a state religion, its art was did not lead to the excesses of pornography in America.
Although the decadence of Caligula is well known, only writings by authors who were not fond of him are known as it was common to destroy any literature praising him after that emperor's death along with statues of him and his god-horse.
Today, the fans of celebrities sometimes tend to worship almost like gods. Even when they act like drug addicts and never-do-wells, their fans still support them when they go into rehab.
However, American mass media is keen to display the bodies of celebrities as though it is a social good i.e. the right to freedom of expression.
To Muslim conservatives, it is obscenity mainly due to hardliners who fear that such obscenity will corrupt the morals of their youths, especially the men.
What they do not admit is that such obscenity was condemned by Muhammad because he too feared being corrupted by the idols of Mecca.
When a good man who fears corruption lashes out by killing people, that is the root of militancy. It matters not if it was 1500 years ago or last year.
As long as a religion protects its core values with militancy and the threat of death of unbelievers, it is an intolerant religion. This is what American Christians are trying to say.
Yet in more primitive areas of Asia, Christians are not less militant and intolerant as their Muslim brothers and sisters e.g. Brazil after an amateur football game, clashes between Christians and Buddhists in rural areas of Burma, India and Thailand, the overthrow of the Kingdom of Hawaii, etc.
Religion promote conservative values, many of which are becoming increasingly outdated. This is why people apostate and leave religion.
As long as religion holds onto traditional values without tolerance of modern values, the violence will continue.
For any religion that allows for killing and other violent forms of repression has lost the core values of non-violence and peace that was integral to its founding.
Hypatia murdered by Christian mob: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HypatiaTo conservatives such as the Muslims, it is obscenity.
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