What happened to the Roman Empire? I am aware of very many attempts to answer this question. More than 200 years ago, Edward Gibbon memorably blamed the barbarians and the Christians for what he termed “the decline and fall of the Roman Empire.” My high school gym teacher blamed a lack of physical fitness among the Romans. But in decades of study, I have yet to see any serious scholar blame something called “the homosexual lifestyle.” — David Lupher, Tacoma