paganism
The consensus among many historians has been that the transition from paganism to Christianity in the Mediterranean world was effortlessly accomplished by the end of the fourth century. In Christianity and Paganism in the Fourth to Eighth Centuries, Ramsay MacMullen sets out to disprove the consensus, which he maintains is an understandable misinterpretation considering the "corrupt foundation" of historical records it rested upon. He makes his case by covering a wide range of material to show that Christianity did not destroy paganism as much as merge with it. Through his brilliant and original display of primary and secondary source material it becomes evident that paganism remained alive and deep-rooted long after Constantine. Many factors appear to have caused this, most prominently the vast extent of the empire and consequent diversity of tribal and local customs, which met people's daily needs. Christianity replaced paganism only when the people believed it could do! more for them what paganism had done (1). This was especially true of protection and of healing, primarily physical but also psychological. People flocked to the shrines of Asclepius and others; Could the Christian god, or more likely, the Christian sa
It was only under the new religion that Rome had become vulnerable. With the creation of the cults of the relics and patrons to watch over them, converts had to give very little up. It is easy to understand how such a miraculous display of divine intervention would seem attractive to pagans and invoke such a strong sense of loyalty to the empire. This point is clearly illustrated by their distinctly different accounts of the fifth-century crisis of the Roman system. This explains the expedient success Christianity had. Eighth ------------------------------------------------------------------------**Bibliography** The consensus among many historians has been that the transition from paganism to Christianity in the Mediterranean world was effortlessly accomplished by the end of the fourth century. This explains the expedient success Christianity had. It was only under the new religion that Rome had become vulnerable. " When one reflects on such incident, it is easy to understand how the city churches of the Roman Empire sent down deep roots in the fifth century. According to Eusebius, a contemporary Christian historian, this was the result: And while he was thus praying with fervent entreaty, a most marvelous sign appeared to him from heaven. The validity of an interpretation of a particular history is fundamentally dependent on the existence of a sufficient amount of quality narratives or records of historical events to provide a skeletal structure to assist in pinpointing relationships between people, time and space (2). Constantine felt he needed the help of divine intervention to defeat emperor Maxentius. Looking at the pagan view of the sack of Rome, we can see how such strong opinions can distort a historical account. The great persecutions of Diocletian had been a traumatic ordeal.
Common topics in this essay:
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City God,
Late Antiquity,
God Christians,
Ramsay MacMullen,
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Robin Fox,
According Eusebius,
Illyricum Thrace,
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Acceptance Essays
