The Emergence of Christianity

(Hardback)

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The ancient Romans believed that only proper polytheistic worship could maintain the pax Romana, or Roman Peace. In the first century A.D., a splinter sect of Judaism began to crack this wall, bringing upheaval, persecution, and conversion into the lives of Romans, Jews, Christians, and pagans. This exciting volume 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. Supplemented by photos, primary document excerpts, biographies of key figures, a glossary, an annotated bibliography and an index, this volume is an ideal reference source for students and general readers alike.

Reviews

[T]here are several aspects of this work that distinguish it and the careful collection development librarian would do well to consider them.Each chapter is divided into short sections for easy comprehension. There is a chronology at the front of the book, a series of short biographical sketches of important figures at the end of the text, selections from relevant primary sources that are easily citable, and an annotated bibliography.This book is very well written and is recommended for academic libraries that support programs in Classical History and/or Classical Languages. * Catholic Library World *
There are many attractive features that make this text an ideal supplement to a course covering the origins of Christianity: the text is well supplemented by photographs; each chapter is divided into short sections, which fosters comprehension; there is a chronology at the beginning of the book; there are a number of short biographical sketches of important figures at the end of the text; there are selections from primary sources; and there is an annotated bibliography. And she does all that in 209 pages! All in all, this is a worthy text for introductory religion courses. * Studies in Religion *

Author Bio

Cynthia White is Associate Professor of Classics at the University of Arizona. She is author of several articles on classical and medieval Latin texts and on Latin pedagogy, and is currently working on The Northumberland Bestiary: An Edition with Translation and Commentary, forthcoming.