lively interest in Christianity even in supposedly secular societies
in the industrialized world.^7 Against such a background some
scholars have been talking about a process of ‘desecularization’,
as religions reassert themselves in various arenas, not least poli-
tics. It has been argued – even before the events of 11 September
2001 suddenly put religion back at the centre of political debate
- that ‘[t]hose who neglect religion in their analyses of contem-
porary affairs do so at great peril’ (Berger 1999: 18).
Religion, then, is by no means as defunct as its detractors
would have us believe, and remains a vital force in both western
and global society. There can be no denying that it presents
modern humanity with many problems, but refusing to under-
stand it is not an effective means of answering such challenges:
that is simply to follow the example of an endangered ostrich and
stick one’s head in the sand. To return to a point of contention
raised earlier, it is not an adequate response to the Jehovah’s
Witnesses to ridicule their views on blood transfusion as back-
ward and superstitious. Those who wish to argue against them
may find that countering them on their own ground may be as
effective a response as seeking to impose on them scientific
reasoning. Indeed, the Witnesses have proved themselves adept
at countering such scientific attacks: part of their strategy for
dealing with criticism of their opposition to blood transfusion has
been to present medical evidence which they believe supports
their case (Jehovah’s Witnesses 1990/2000). Anyone seeking to
debate with the Witnesses would be best advised to do so on all
levels, not just one. To argue, then, for the suppression of reli-
gious education and study is based on misleading assumptions
about the place of religion in modern global society and the
ability of scientific explanations to displace religious ones. Thus
the study of early Christianity belongs as much to the repertoire
of modern intellectual disciplines as any scientific subject. But
enough of this negative, defensive posture! What are the positive
arguments that can be advanced for the study of religion in general
and early Christianity in particular?
WHAT IS EARLY CHRISTIANITY?1
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