"Silly," "stupid," "irrational," "simple." "Wicked," "hateful,"
"obstinate," "anti-social." "Extravagant," "perverse." The Roman
world rendered harsh judgments upon early Christianityaincluding
branding Christianity "new." Novelty was no Roman religious virtue.
Nevertheless,as Larry W. Hurtado shows in Destroyer of the gods ,
Christianity thrived despite its new and distinctive features and
opposition to them. Unlike nearly all other religious groups,
Christianity utterly rejected the traditional gods of the Roman
world. Christianity also offered a new and different kind of
religious identity, one not based on ethnicity. Christianity was
distinctively a "bookish" religion, with the production, copying,
distribution, and reading of texts as central to its faith, even
preferring a distinctive book-form, the codex. Christianity
insisted that its adherents behave differently: unlike the simple
ritual observances characteristic of the pagan religious
environment, embracing Christian faith meant a behavioral
transformation, with particular and novel ethical demands for men.
Unquestionably, to the Roman world, Christianity was both new and
different, and, to a good many, it threatened social and religious
conventions of the day. In the rejection of the gods and in the
centrality of texts, early Christianity obviously reflected
commitments inherited from its Jewish origins. But these particular
features were no longer identified with Jewish ethnicity and early
Christianity quickly became aggressively trans-ethnicaa novel kind
of religious movement. Its ethical teaching, too, bore some
resemblance to the philosophers of the day, yet in contrast with
these great teachers and their small circles of dedicated students,
early Christianity laid its hard demands upon all adherents from
the moment of conversion, producing a novel social project.
Christianity's novelty was no badge of honor. Called atheists and
suspected ofpolitical subversion, Christiansearned Roman disdain
and suspicion in equal amounts. Yet, as Destroyer of the gods
demonstrates, inan irony of history the very features of early
Christianity that rendered it distinctive and objectionable in
Roman eyes have now become so commonplace in Western culture as to
go unnoticed. Christianity helped destroy one world and create
another.
General
Is the information for this product incomplete, wrong or inappropriate?
Let us know about it.
Does this product have an incorrect or missing image?
Send us a new image.
Is this product missing categories?
Add more categories.
Review This Product
No reviews yet - be the first to create one!
Welcome to Loot.co.za!
Sign in / Register |Wishlists & Gift Vouchers |Help | Advanced search
(2)
