I read another Rodney Stark book called Cities of God. Much like in his other work, he does a statistical and social analysis of the thirty-two largest Roman cities around the time of Christ focusing on their religious climate. In this book he seeks to see the relationship between Christianity and other religions of the time. He starts with the Cybele and Isis cults. These eastern cults spread along the same lines as Christianity did, confirming social trends of the day, such as new religions coming from the east, as well as more broad trends, such as the fact that port cities and large cities were more open to new religious influence.
He refutes the flimsy arguments that Christianity is just one of many “similar” religions of the time; the one that happened to win out. This view has been popularized in such books as The Da Vinci Code. While certain doctrinal elements of these Greek cults may have made Greek ears more open to the idea of resurrection or humans being divine, Christianity remains fundamentally an offshoot of Judaism.
Another focus is Christianity’s relationship to Gnosticism, a term which Stark feels has become so inclusive as to become meaningless. In specific, he separates out Marcionism, Manichaeism, and Valentinianism. Marcionism is a spin off of Christianity (following only a modified version of the Pauline books) and not really Gnostic. Marcion rejected the Old Testament and its God and integrated Greek ascetic philosophies. His basis of truth was more of a Hellenized version of the New Testament than the mystical secret knowledge that the Gnostics favored. According to Wikipedia, “as the Oxford Dictionary of the Christian Church puts it, ‘it is clear that he would have had little sympathy with [Gnostics] mythological speculations.’” A view of the doctrines and a statistical analysis of their growth leads Stark to conclude that Gnosticism, far from being an ancient competitor and “alternative” to Christianity, is instead a pagan reaction to the teachings of Jesus. He says, “they were not Christians with some pagan leanings; they were pagans attempting to incorporate Christianity”. There is no sociological support to the argument that these movements were a significant threat to Christianity’s way of life.
Also, of note is the fact that his social analysis supports the exponential growth theory.This seems to be the way the early church operated.
It is almost time for summer "break". Emily is going to be out of classes and we'll be working. We're not sure what our vacation plans will be at this point. We continue to keep an eye on houses in the area. Unfortunately, we got out bid on the only one we put an offer on so far.
