Religious Rivalries in the Early Roman Empire and the Rise of Christianity
Leif E. Vaage
Published for the Canadian Corporation for Studies in Religion/Corporation canadienne des sciences r
Religious Rivalries In The Early Roman Empire And The Rise Of Christianity is a unique analysis of the diverging destinies of Christianity, Judaism, and other ancient religious groups as an issue of social rivalry. Divided into three main sections, Religious Rivalries scrutinizes whether "rivalry" is an adequate category to contain, compare, and contrast various issues concerning the social "success" of different religious groups; an in-depth discussion of whether the modern category of "mission" sufficiently captures the process by which faiths spread and maintain their identity; and the so-called "rise of Christianity", particularly in direct response to a book of the same title by Rodney Stark. Did any of these groups envision their own success directly at the expense and elimination of other faiths? What habits or practices of Christianity made it well-disposed toward success in the Roman Empire? New Testament literature teacher Leif E. Vaage explores these and other questions at length, in this fascinating scholarly text.