So Why Did Christianity Succeed?
Chutney of MyIrony.net parses an essay on the PBS web site about the Early Christian Church. He comes up with a six-point list from the essay on why Christians succeeded in the Roman Empire.
1. The bewildering array of new gods and cults available to Romans could be radically simplified by converting to Christianity.
2. Conversion, rather than mere adherence, to one exclusive religious community gave that community interpersonal strength.
3. Unlike pagan priests, the chief function of Christian leadership was to deliver personal wisdom, not esoteric for-pay rites.
4. Christianity’s leaders were chosen from among the people for their gifts of leadership, thus having a personal credibility that pagan priests could not.
5. Christianity was funded by small, voluntary donations made by converts. Pagan cults were largely funded by the state and wealthy donors, making them easy to de-fund.
6. Because it was a mass movement, Christianity could not be stopped simply by executing its leaders. Leaders could be easily replaced.
I suspect Constantine’s patronage and Julian’s untimely death didn’t hurt either. What do you think? Is this why Christianity spread so well and so fast? Is any of this a biased look at ancient pagan religion?
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