Religious Rivalries in the Early Roman Empire and the Rise of Christianity
Stark (1996, 84–85) brings in Thucydides’ History of the Peloponnesian War,although from a much earlier period (the Athenian pla ...
in the temples: this image suggests that many of the sick and dying did seek the aid of the gods up until the very end. Early Ch ...
visit a jailed Christian leader. Meals, books, and money are sent to him, and the local Christians spare neither expense nor eff ...
ously to civic affairs (see Harland, chapter 2; Beck, chapter 11). The evidence from literary and inscriptional sources suggests ...
low social and economic rank, such as courtesans and slaves (e.g., Walton 1894, 58; Rouse 1902, 206–207). In a recent study, Sar ...
that religion in the ancient world was embedded in society and was not dis- crete from other areas of life. Some scholars of ear ...
Christian growth are plausible. Some scholars have noted the ephemeral foundation of this edifice (see Klutz 1998, 169; Bryant 1 ...
CONCLUSION Rodney Stark has provided us with a provocative new way to consider why Christianity grew from a small Jewish sect to ...
acts. The scope and amount of these acts varied according to the donor. On the other hand, charity was, in effect, an institutio ...
...
PAGANISM AND STARK’S MARKET MODEL OF RELIGION In the penultimate chapter of The Rise of Christianity (1997, 191–208), after expl ...
(e.g.) salvation by new firms in bigger and better brand packages, which generated the demand for it in the Greco-Roman world? B ...
other firms are recognized and you may even select, on your own mix-and- match agenda, several of the options. We should keep in ...
of the operation of certain principles of socio-economic behaviour, which are analogous in their stringency to the laws of physi ...
fully concede Christianity’s competitive edge. Its success in generating brand loyalty is undeniable, and Stark’s demonstration ...
not meet merely to carouse; their activities included a sermon, a sacrifice, and quite possibly the performance of mystery plays ...
intent of the first chapter is to demonstrate that this mode of growth, sus- tained at the rate of 40 per cent per decade, will ...
it documents an extended period (some two decades) in the life of this Mithraic community. Briefly to review the data from the a ...
cipal doctrines regarding the destiny of souls. This is not the place for the specifics.^2 Suffice it to say that the Mithraists ...
Stark virtually ignores when he treats of Christianity’s pagan rivals.^3 Pub- lic religion, as it functioned in the Roman Empire ...
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