reference that Paul himself gives to Titus in the very same epistle (2 Cor. 8:16-
24).^2
TheDidacheallows us a glimpse into the problem of itinerancy towards
the end of thefirst century. As a rule of the thumb,Didache11 prescribes
that only guests whose teaching agrees with the contents of that document
(allegedly summarizing the teaching of the twelve apostles) should be
received by the communities. What is more surprising is the serious rules
about the entertainment of visitors. Guests recognized as“apostles”and
“prophets” were expected to stay for only one day (!), which could be
extended by another day, if necessary. Someone who remained for three
days was identified as a false prophet. Apostles and prophets could take
bread with them as needed until they found new accommodation, but one
who took money was regarded as a false prophet. Ordinary travelers were
permitted to stay for up to three days. There were also rules for officials and
travelers who wished to settle in a community, but there was no medium-
term visiting status. Apostles could not settle at all in the community:
“a settled-down apostle is an ex-apostle,”as John Dominic Crossan put it
(1998, p. 376).
The reliance on weak social ties in the spread of the Christian movement
had many important consequences. First, reaching out to distant social
groups added efficiency in terms of the social and geographical expansion
of the movement. Second, weak links facilitated the interconnection of
diverse cultural and socioeconomic groups, without forcing a uniform set
of values, beliefs and attitudes on them. Third, as a consequence of its
socioeconomic and cultural diversity, the movement was able to incorporate
various points of view. Fourth, the interaction of various cognitive styles
and cultural traditions helped the development of inclusive thinking (as in
Paul’s epistles) and the formation of new ideas. For the sake of simplicity,
our model will especially concentrate on the speed of the expansion of
the movement.
9.3 MODELING THE SPREAD OF CHRISTIANITYLet us now create a model that addresses some of the historical issues
discussed in the previous section. Agent-based modeling is widely seen as
one of the most promising future research tools in social sciences (e.g.,
Hedström & Ylikoski, 2010, pp. 63–5). In agent-based models, artificial actors
are made to interact with each other and with their environment. We can
(^2) I do not go into details about the possibility that 2 Corinthians might contain two or more
letters (Thrall, 1994, pp. 47–50).
Social Networks and Computer Models 191