The Rise of Christianity

1997-05-09
The Rise of Christianity

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  • Author: Rodney Stark
  • Publisher: Harper Collins
  • ISBN: 0060677015
  • Category : Religion
  • Languages : en
  • Pages : 274

This "fresh, blunt, and highly persuasive account of how the West was won—for Jesus" (Newsweek) is now available in paperback. Stark's provocative report challenges conventional wisdom and finds that Christianity's astounding dominance of the Western world arose from its offer of a better, more secure way of life. "Compelling reading" (Library Journal) that is sure to "generate spirited argument" (Publishers Weekly), this account of Christianity's remarkable growth within the Roman Empire is the subject of much fanfare. "Anyone who has puzzled over Christianity's rise to dominance...must read it." says Yale University's Wayne A. Meeks, for The Rise of Christianity makes a compelling case for startling conclusions. Combining his expertise in social science with historical evidence, and his insight into contemporary religion's appeal, Stark finds that early Christianity attracted the privileged rather than the poor, that most early converts were women or marginalized Jews—and ultimately "that Christianity was a success because it proved those who joined it with a more appealing, more assuring, happier, and perhaps longer life" (Andrew M. Greeley, University of Chicago).

The Rise of Christianity

1984-01-01
The Rise of Christianity

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  • Author: W. H. C. Frend
  • Publisher: Fortress Press
  • ISBN: 9781451419528
  • Category : Religion
  • Languages : en
  • Pages : 1048

Traces the early history of the Christian church from Jewish Palestine prior to Christ's birth to the sixth century monastic movement, and explains how Christianity survived under a variety of cultures

Jesus and the Rise of Early Christianity

2002-04-17
Jesus and the Rise of Early Christianity

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  • Author: Paul Barnett
  • Publisher: InterVarsity Press
  • ISBN: 9780830826995
  • Category : Religion
  • Languages : en
  • Pages : 452

Paul Barnett not only places the New Testament within the world of caesars and Herods, proconsuls and Pharisees, Sadducee and revolutionaries, but argues that the mainspring and driving force of early Christian history is the historical Jesus.

Religious Rivalries in the Early Roman Empire and the Rise of Christianity

2006-04-21
Religious Rivalries in the Early Roman Empire and the Rise of Christianity

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  • Author: Leif E. Vaage
  • Publisher: Wilfrid Laurier Univ. Press
  • ISBN: 0889205361
  • Category : Religion
  • Languages : en
  • Pages : 345

Religious Rivalries in the Early Roman Empire and the Rise of Christianity discusses the diverse cultural destinies of early Christianity, early Judaism, and other ancient religious groups as a question of social rivalry. The book is divided into three main sections. The first section debates the degree to which the category of rivalry adequately names the issue(s) that must be addressed when comparing and contrasting the social “success” of different religious groups in antiquity. The second is a critical assessment of the common modern category of “mission” to describe the inner dynamic of such a process; it discusses the early Christian apostle Paul, the early Jewish historian Josephus, and ancient Mithraism. The third section of the book is devoted to “the rise of Christianity,” primarily in response to the similarly titled work of the American sociologist of religion Rodney Stark. While it is not clear that any of these groups imagined its own success necessarily entailing the elimination of others, it does seem that early Christianity had certain habits, both of speech and practice, which made it particularly apt to succeed (in) the Roman Empire.

A Star in the East

2015-05-02
A Star in the East

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  • Author: Rodney Stark
  • Publisher: Templeton Foundation Press
  • ISBN: 1599474883
  • Category : Religion
  • Languages : en
  • Pages : 161

What is the state of Christianity in China? Some scholars say that China is invulnerable to religion. In contrast, others say that past efforts of missionaries have failed, writing off those converted as nothing more than “rice Christians” or cynical souls who had frequented the missions for the benefits they provided. Some wonder if the Cultural Revolution extinguished any chances of Christianity in China. Rodney Stark and Xiuhua Wang offer a different perspective, arguing that Christianity is alive, well, and on the rise. Stark approaches the topic from an extensive research background in Christianity and Chinese history, and Wang provides an inside look at Christianity and its place in her home country of China. Both authors cover the history of religion in China, disproving older theories concerning the number of Christians and the kinds of Christians that have emerged in the past 155 years. Stark and Wang claim that when just considering the visible Christians—those not part of underground churches—thousands of Chinese are still converted to Christianity daily, and forty new churches are opening each week. A Star in the East draws on two major national surveys to sketch a close-up of religion in China. A reliable estimate is that by 2007 there were approximately 60 million Christians in China. If the current growth rate were to hold until 2030, there would be more Christians in China—about 295 million—than in any other nation. This trend has significant implications, not just for China but for the greater world order. It is probable that Chinese Christianity will splinter into denominations, likely leading to the same political, social, and economic ramifications seen in the West today. Whether you’re new to studying Christianity in China or whether this has been your area of interest for years, A Star in the East provides a reliable, thought-provoking, and engaging account of the resilience of the Christian faith in China and the implications it has for the future.

The Rise of Christianity Through the Eyes of Gibbon, Harnack and Rodney Stark

2010
The Rise of Christianity Through the Eyes of Gibbon, Harnack and Rodney Stark

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  • Author: Jan N. Bremmer
  • Publisher: Barkhuis
  • ISBN: 9077922709
  • Category : Biography & Autobiography
  • Languages : en
  • Pages : 98

The rise of Christianity up to the victory of Constantine has often been studied and remains a puzzling phenomenon. In this valedictory lecture Jan N. Bremmer concentrates on the explanations adduced, focusing in particular on the works of three iconic figures from the last two hundred and fifty years: The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire of Edward Gibbon, the most famous ancient historian of all time, at the end of the eighteenth century; Die Mission und Ausbreitung des Christentums of Adolf von Harnack, the greatest historian of early Christianity of all time, around 1900, and The Rise of Christianity of Rodney Stark, the most adventurous sociologist of religion of our times, at the end of the twentieth century.Bremmer locates their concerns and explanations within their own times, but also takes them seriously as scholars, discussing their analyses and approaches. In this way he shows both the continuities and the innovations in the evolving view which scholarship presents of early Christianity. Bremmer's exceptional knowledge of the huge range of scholarship and his humane and balanced judgment make this lecture the ideal introduction to the many problems raised by Christianity's displacement of paganism

Christianity

2014
Christianity

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  • Author: Linda Woodhead
  • Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA
  • ISBN: 0199687749
  • Category : Religion
  • Languages : en
  • Pages : 145

This is a short, accessible analysis of Christianity that focuses on its social and cultural diversity as well as its historical dimensions.

The Rise of Network Christianity

2017-02-01
The Rise of Network Christianity

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  • Author: Brad Christerson
  • Publisher: Oxford University Press
  • ISBN: 019063569X
  • Category : Religion
  • Languages : en
  • Pages : 201

Why, when traditionally organized religious groups are seeing declining membership and participation, are networks of independent churches growing so explosively? Drawing on in-depth interviews with leaders and participants, The Rise of Network Christianity explains the social forces behind the fastest-growing form of Christianity in the U.S., which Brad Christerson and Richard Flory have labeled "Independent Network Charismatic." This form of Christianity emphasizes aggressive engagement with the supernatural-including healing, direct prophecies from God, engaging in "spiritual warfare" against demonic spirits--and social transformation. Christerson and Flory argue that macro-level social changes since the 1970s, including globalization and the digital revolution, have given competitive advantages to religious groups organized as networks rather than traditionally organized congregations and denominations. Network forms of governance allow for experimentation with controversial supernatural practices, innovative finances and marketing, and a highly participatory, unorthodox, and experiential faith, which is attractive in today's unstable religious marketplace. Christerson and Flory hypothesize that as more religious groups imitate this type of governance, religious belief and practice will become more experimental, more orientated around practice than theology, more shaped by the individual religious "consumer," and authority will become more highly concentrated in the hands of individuals rather than institutions. Network Christianity, they argue, is the future of Christianity in America.

The Emergence of Christianity

2010-10-01
The Emergence of Christianity

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  • Author: Cynthia White
  • Publisher: Fortress Press
  • ISBN: 0800697472
  • Category : Religion
  • Languages : en
  • Pages : 238

This brief survey text tells the story of early Christianity. Cynthia White explores the emergence of Christianity in Rome during the first four centuries of the Greco-Roman empire, from the first followers of Jesus Christ, to conflicts between Christians and Jewish kings under Roman occupation, to the torture of Christian followers, Diocletian's reforms, and Constantine's eventual conversion to monotheism, which cemented Christianity's status as the official religion of Rome. The text's chapters will integrate key pedagogy, including introductions, study questions, textboxes, photos, maps, suggested readings, and a glossary and timeline.

Christianity in Ancient Rome

2010-04-15
Christianity in Ancient Rome

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  • Author: Bernard Green
  • Publisher: A&C Black
  • ISBN: 0567032507
  • Category : Religion
  • Languages : en
  • Pages : 270

of the Pope." --Book Jacket.