Alfred T. Mahan supported the building of a strong navy because they wanted "China to protect shipping lanes."
Although it is often claimed that Christians were persecuted for their refusal to worship the emperor, general dislike for Christians likely arose from their refusal to worship the gods or take part in sacrifice, which was expected of those living in the Roman Empire.
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The counterpoint- from the french contrepoint that has it`s origins in the latin punctus contra punctum ( point against point).
