Why did Christianity grow so rapidly in the first four centuries AD? How did a tiny unknown movement of a group of people grow to be one of the dominant forces in the Roman Empire? “God’s providence” and “miracles” has been the easiest way to explain such a puzzle. Yet‚ stopping at such answers deprives us from the opportunity to better understand the complexity of the early Christians growth and takes from us the lessons we can gain from the experience. Rodney Stark‚ professor of sociology and
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Review of Rodney Stark’s The Rise of Christianity The Rise of Christianity by Rodney Stark offers a sociological view of the growth of Christianity during the first four centuries A.D. The book provides a new perspective on how Christianity won the West. According to Stark‚ early church historians and the New Testament itself claimed that Christianity grew in number despite an unsuccessful plight to the Jewish population of Rome. Stark rejects many of conventional claims such as this one‚ and claims
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Stark argues that‚ contrary to popular belief‚ Christianity was a movement not of the lower classes and the oppressed‚ but of the upper and middle classes in the cities and of Hellenized Jews. Stark also discusses the exponential nature of the growth of religion‚ and why therefore the speed of the rise of Christianity is not as miraculous as might thought to be. He argues that‚ contrary to commonly-held belief‚ the Christian mission to Judaism was successful‚ and outlasted both the destruction of
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The rise of Christianity put an end to the classical age of Europe with the help of the Romans‚ Christianity spread much faster. Rome was one of the main centers of Christian development. One of the Roman emperors‚ Constantine‚ let freedom of conscience for the people‚ made Christianity on a full legal equality with any religion in Rome‚ and later it was the official religion of the empire. The Roman Empire aid the spread of Christianity in many ways. Because the Romans are tolerate of religion
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Linda Woodhead describes Christianity as a vast reservoir of resources for shaping life and death (Woodhead 1). Enduring for over two thousand years with a willingness to adapt and be diverse. Christianity in the early days considered the church more of an institution for groups to meet and understand the meaning of God’s word. Christianity was the theology governing the teaching from the church. “There may be ten thousand Churches‚ but there is only one Christ (Phelps 533).” Despite Christianity’s
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Tiffany Shionaka Christianity first started as a religious cult evolving from Judaism. Despite its Jewish origins‚ it was not long before Christianity regarded itself as something other than a new Jewish sect. The first Christian council concluded that pagan converts to Christianity did not have to follow Jewish ritual laws. Soon‚ converts to Christianity were almost exclusively pagans and Christianity moved further away from Judaism. Christians believed in one God who worked the world (monotheism)
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Rise Expansion of Christianity No one can talk about world civilization without paid a close attention to the parts that play by churches. Either Christianity or Islam they influence humanity life. To illustrate‚ centuries after‚ this dramatic incident was thought to mark the beginning of the schism between the Latin and the Greek churches‚ a division that still separates Roman Catholics and Eastern Orthodox (Greek‚ Russian‚ and so on). Now‚ however‚ no big scholar maintains that the schism
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com‚“Christianity began to spread initially from Roman Judaea without state support or endorsement.” Christianity expressed a positive social ideal to be followed in mortal life as well as a doctrine to be fulfilled in the afterlife. According to the ancient history encyclopedia‚ “Christianity is a monotheistic‚ deontological‚ grassroots‚ Jewish sectarian movement that focuses upon the life‚ teachings‚ and mission of Jesus of Nazareth (also known as Jesus the Christ)”. The Rise of Christianity affected
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souls‚ and minds to God. And by doing this‚ they inevitably sealed their fate to be persecuted. Christianity began to rise slowly‚ but began to rise rapidly after the death of Jesus. The Romans had many problems with the Christians and they showed their anger by pursuing the Christian’s faith‚ which proved to back fire because the Christian belief just grew stronger. The problem with Christianity began with the conservative Romans and how they felt violated by Christian beliefs. Their main problem
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The Catacombs of Rome and the Rise of Christianity Alexis Dinsbach Colorado Technical University Online Professor Justine James June 3‚ 2013 Abstract The early Christians buried many of their followers and leaders in a location right outside of present day Rome‚ Italy. The site is known as the Catacombs and enlisted over six million Christian burials. During the first era of Christianity‚ its religion was outlawed by the Romans. Followers of Jesus Christ were struggling
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