03-01-2013, 10:48 AM
Early Christianity was very diverse, so much so that some researchers have used the term Christianities in the plural. However, from the very beginning, and including under the consolidation phase(s), I think Christianity stood out for two main reasons:
1) They offered extremely visible and tangible benefits to its adherents in this world through charity. This was not a simple promise for help, but a reality. Early Christians helped the poor publicly, in front of everyone, and the entire community of Christians and pagans watched the starving be given food and the naked be clothed. Julian realised this was a major reason for Christianity’s popularity and tried to get pagan cults to do the same. Peter Brown’s new Through the Eye of a Needle discusses wealth and charity and is absolutely fascinating.
2) Christianity also offered salvation in the next world. Although some pagan cults or philosophies did the same thing, theirs was a confused affair. Christianity was also confusing – if you consider the route to salvation from the Gnostic or “orthodox” perspective – but all flavours of Christianity offered it in some form or another.
If you think about these two very powerful promises – “We will help you in this world, and you will go to paradise in the next” – you can see why joining Christianity must have been very tempting. This promise was unique in the ancient world, until some tried to copy it. After Constantine there were more benefits, because being a Christian could help one’s imperial career.
1) They offered extremely visible and tangible benefits to its adherents in this world through charity. This was not a simple promise for help, but a reality. Early Christians helped the poor publicly, in front of everyone, and the entire community of Christians and pagans watched the starving be given food and the naked be clothed. Julian realised this was a major reason for Christianity’s popularity and tried to get pagan cults to do the same. Peter Brown’s new Through the Eye of a Needle discusses wealth and charity and is absolutely fascinating.
2) Christianity also offered salvation in the next world. Although some pagan cults or philosophies did the same thing, theirs was a confused affair. Christianity was also confusing – if you consider the route to salvation from the Gnostic or “orthodox” perspective – but all flavours of Christianity offered it in some form or another.
If you think about these two very powerful promises – “We will help you in this world, and you will go to paradise in the next” – you can see why joining Christianity must have been very tempting. This promise was unique in the ancient world, until some tried to copy it. After Constantine there were more benefits, because being a Christian could help one’s imperial career.
David J. Cord
www.davidcord.com
www.davidcord.com
