Paganism and Christianity, 100-425 C.E.: A Sourcebook

Rating:
Summary: History Brought to Life..........
Review: ............ with these genuine texts from the early Christian era. The documents contained within this sourcebook were written primarily by saints, emperors and philosophers and help us clearly envision life during the early Christian period (100-425 C.E.) as it was truly experienced by Christians and Pagans alike. There are texts describing the management of temples and shrines, cults, hymns, religious attitudes, missionizing (non-Christian), and perception by outsiders of Jews, Christians and Gnostics. The most fascinating sources are those pertaining to personal accounts of conversion and various edicts that persecute, at different points in history, Jews, Christians, and Pagans. Also interesting are the sources describing the impact of Constantine's conversion on the spread of Christianity. I highly recommend this sourcebook to anyone interested in early Christianity.

Rating:
Summary: The other side of the religious coin
Review: Macmullen and Lane have done a service by presenting a treasure of texts revealing primarily the religious attitudes and experience of non-Christians during the formative years of Christianity. Christians today often assume that the language of faith in the early church was the exclusive domain of Christianity. The authors prove otherwise. The titles of some of the chapters demonstrate the range of experience and language of "pagans." For example: "Magic, Dreams, Astrology, Superstition," "Healing Shrines," "Hymns," "Cult Groups," "Holy Men and Women," and "Hermetism and Gnosticism." The sentiments contained in these texts are mirrored in early Christian churches, naturally, since these attitudes and languages were part of the religious atmosphere breathed by all peoples of the time. The unbiased reader is helped to easily appreciate the cultural and religious kinship between followers of Christ and those of either the Mysteries, philosophy, and mythologizing theologies such as those of the Gnostics.The last six chapters of the book are especially helpful in appreciating the dynamics of conversion and persecution. While I generally do not favor of history-of-religions approach to the study of historical phenomena, I make a strong exception regarding this book. I recommend that the reader use this book as a companion to Keith Hopkins' "A World Full of Gods."