stark mountain
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Will Stark
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2nd part: Rodney Stark: 'Cities of God'. Another excellent book
Emotional liturgies generally do appeal to people who desire something 'spiritual'.
Along with these emotive ideals, Christianity also was easy to access, and understand. It developed a coherent and vibrant moral code centered around the Book of Matthew and the Golden Rule. It demanded that the individual help his or her fellow human, attend to the poor, aid the suffering, and develop in essence a welfare state:
"The truly revolutionary aspect of Christianity lay in moral imperatives such as 'Love one's neighbor as oneself', 'Do unto others as you would have them do unto you', 'It is more blessed to give than to receive'....these were not just slogans. Members did nurse the sick, even during epidemics; they did support orphans, widows, the elderly, and the poor; they did concern themselves with the lot of slaves. In short Christians created 'a miniature welfare state' in an empire which for the most part lacked social services."
There is much which is attractive in such a program. As the Christian message spread, and as more of the privileged adopted the theological constructs of Christ; so too did word of mouth advertising generate an expansive diaspora of believers, converts and missionaries:
"...conversion is primarily about bringing one's religious behavior into alignment with that of one's friends and relatives, not about encountering attractive doctrines."
If all your friends, business relations, family and visitors are Christian, it is highly likely that you will join the same group. Cultural dynamics were certainly at work in the spread of the early Christian church.
Stark also conclusively proves that Christianity first spread to the port cities of the Roman empire. Contrary to myth Roman roads were bad; there were few bridges and carts did not have brakes or axles making passage up and down hilly or mountainous terrain for such vehicles impossible. Trade, commerce and war were largely ship borne. Thus the church spread rapidly into urban centers situated along the coastal areas of the Mediterranean; especially amongst the Jewish diaspora who were in the main, the first large group to convert to a simplified version of what they already knew and worshipped.
The spread of the message of Christ was constant, gradual and determined. On page 67 Stark shows a table listing the number of Christians in relationship to the empire's total population. In year 40 AD there were maybe 1.000 followers of Christ's message. By 350 AD the number was 32 million or 52% of the Roman Empire's total population. This is an increase of 3.4% per year. A gradual and almost remorseless advance.
Stark is not a general apologist for Christianity. The Christian church did of course mutate and greatly change over time. Stark in this book and elsewhere in his writings, brings to light the demerits and disadvantages of certain periods and episodes of Christianity, even highlighting the polytheistic nature of this monotheism. There is no doubt however, that Christianity has been one of the great blessings of man's development. The direct link between medieval Christianity and the modern world is clear to anyone with an open enough mind to view the facts, including the obvious rise of Europe to dominate world affairs. Something was different in Europe than in any other so-named 'civilization'. It is rather clear that without Christianity, Europe's ascension to world domination would never have occurred.
In our disfigured politically-correct world we are told that apparently only celestial cults like Islamism, or proponents of statism including its variants Marxism and Fascism are 'moderates', sophisticated, or those who impart the critical aspects of the modern world – not Christianity or Western legacies. This is mental bunk and a form of cognitive derangement. Reading this book will help any and all who possess an open mind to come to the opposite conclusions accepted by the mainstream 'as facts'. In any event, this book is a very 'moderate', important and true depiction of how Christianity rose from being a small theological-back-to-basics Jewish sect, to control and then replace the Roman empire.
About the Author
Islam is a failure, unlike Christianity, which is a thriving religion. To know more about why Islam is not a religion, go to http://www.western-civilisation.com
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