Christianity and Paganism in the Fourth to Eighth Centuries by Ramsay Macmullen

Christianity and Paganism in the Fourth to Eighth Centuries by Ramsay Macmullen

The slaughter of animals for religious feasts, the tinkling of bells to ward off evil during holy rites, the custom of dancing in religious services - these and many other pagan practices persisted in the Christian church for hundreds of years after Constantine proclaimed Christianity the one official religion of Rome. In this book, Ramsay MacMullen investigates the transition from paganism to Christianity between the fourth and eighth centuries. He reassesses the triumph of Christianity, contending that it was neither tidy nor quick, and he shows that the two religious systems were both vital during an interactive period that lasted far longer than historians have previously believed. MacMullen explores the influences of paganism and Christianity upon each other. In a discussion of the different strengths of the two systems, he demonstrates that pagan beliefs were not eclipse or displaced by Christianity but persisted or were transformed. The victory of the Christian church, he explains, was one not of obliteration but of widening embrace and assimilation. This book also includes material on the Christian persecution of pagans over the centuries through methods that ranged from fines to crucifixion; the mixture of motives in conversion; the stubbornness of pagan resistance; the difficulty of satisfying the demands and expectations of new converts; and the degree of assimilation of Christianity to paganism.

MacMullen, Ramsay: -

Ramsay MacMullen is Dunham Professor of Classics and History at Yale University. Among his several influential works is Paganism in the Roman Empire (1981).

SKU	Unavailable
ISBN 13	9780300071481
ISBN 10	0300071485
Title	Christianity and Paganism in the Fourth to Eighth Centuries
Author	Ramsay Macmullen
Condition	Unavailable
Binding Type	Hardback
Publisher	Yale University Press
Year published	1997-09-23
Number of pages	288
Cover note	Book picture is for illustrative purposes only, actual binding, cover or edition may vary.