Romans + Christianity

[JRSCline]

Reference to the spread of Christianity as a force in the Empire, try Robin Lane Fox, Pagans and Christians, ISBN 0-394-55495-7. It's 1989 vintage but still a definitive work on the subject.

A review from Library Journal:

Fox, a lecturer in Ancient History at Oxford, presents a detailed and scholarly account of Christianity and paganism prior to Constantine. He decribes pagan oracles, festivals, and cultic practices as they related to civic and community life in third-century Roman Empire; then, comparing these with Christian practices, he discusses the possible reasons for Christianity's ultimate triumph. Along the way, certain misconceptions are dispelled: Roman paganism was not dying out, as is sometimes supposed, nor was early Christianity primarily a religion of slaves. In fact, the Church had elements that made it unexpectedly attractive to all classes. The chapter on Constantine gives new insight into the reasons for his conversion. An excellent and readable account of a fascinating subject. Highly recommended.

Also found an excellently detailed review from Amazon.com:

Fox has written a definitive, if not THE definitive, study of the transition from Greco-Roman paganism to a Christian Empire. Fox paints a picture of a thriving pagan worldview, and debunks the view that paganism in late antiquity was already on its deathbed when Christianity came onto the scene. The book is divided into three major sections. The first examines the the nature of paganism in the Hellenistic World, and explores what it meant to "practice pagan religion" in the 3rd century Roman Empire. Fox pays considerable attention to the role of oracles in expounding pagan theology, and provides a more concrete study of how the ancients viewed the gods than I have seen elsewhere. In the second section of the book, Fox turns to the early Christians. He fleshes out the social and economic situation under which Christianity developed. The concerns and attitudes of 3rd century Christians are seen to be very different from those of their modern counterparts. Early Christians are seen to have had an obsessive, perhaps pathological, concern with sexuality and martydom that to modern sensibilities will seem extreme, even to a committed Christian. Fox considers such questions as to how quickly Christianity spread, how widespread it was in the generation before Constantine (not very), and who was likely to become Christian. Fox also considers why Christians were persecuted, while other groups (Jews, for instance) were not. In the final section of the book, Fox turns to the figure who proves to be most responsible for the triumph of Christianity--the emperor Constantine. Constantine is seen to have played a pivotal role in organizing the church, settling doctrinal disputes, and aggressively promoting the new religion, at the expense of the established paganism. Fox's answer to why Christianity triumphed seems in the end to be Constantine himself. The chance rise to power of a Christian emperor, who then put all the power of an emperor behind his religion, made all the difference. The rise of Christianity is then seen not as a result of any inherent superiority in that faith, or any fatal weakness in paganism, but rather as the result of what was essentially a historical accident. The biggest drawback of this book is that it ends with the death of Constantine. At the time of his death, the Empire was by no means Christian, nor was the end of paganism assured. Fox sets the stage for the rise of Christianity as a major religious force, but does not cover the endgame, which was to play out over the next two centuries.

Fascinating subject.