Davide's Notes

This is one of the mini-summaries I wrote to prepare for the Church history exam. Some more detailed info may be present in other posts (see the Topical Index).

Some reasons for the diffusion of Christianity in the ancient world.

The background: pantheism in the ancient world, with creature-worship. The striking difference here is Israel. A bit less striking is Christianity (according to Celsus, Christians worship "to an extravagant degree this man who appeared recently").

See the comparisons made by Harnack between the diffusion of Mithraism and Christianity. Commonalities first:

• both were Oriental religions
• both entered the Roman empire at about the same time
• both were propagated at first among the lower classes
• both agreed in several important features

But Mithraism did not enter into the domain of Hellenism, e.g. Greece, Macedonia, Thrace, Bithynia, Asia, the central provinces of Asia Minor (apart from Cappadocia), Syria, Palestine, and Egypt (apart from Alexandria). These were the civilized countries.

On the other hand, these regions were where Christianity was immediately welcome.

Who were the supporters, or the missionaries, of the religion?

For Mithraism (in the West especially), they were soldiers, in Dacia, Moesia, Noricum, Rhaetia, and Germany (note: always on the boundary of those provinces). Then there were Syrian traders, esp. Oriental slaves. But these methods of diffusion were negligible: even if Mithraism was in the end known in most of the Western empire, it never became a universal religion. An important change happened only in 180 with emperor Commodus (said to be one of the worst Roman emperors), and later with, among others, Aurelian, Diocletian and Julian (to so-called "aposthate"). At that point the Roman emperor legitimized its rule by divine right, rather than by heredity or vote of the Senate, and Mithra became the giver of authority.

Remember that Commodus was promptly condemned, as soon as he passed away, by the Senate (through the damnatio memoriae), and the sloppy morality of his reign did not contribute to his popularity.

A serious disadvantage in Mithraism: it allowed only male initiates.

Mithraism basically disappeared after Theodosius' decree in 191 prohibiting paganism.

From the abstract of Runciman, WG, "The diffusion of Christianity in the third century AD as a case-study in the theory of cultural selection" (2004):

Recent game-theoretic research shows how a strategy of unconditional altruism such as Christianity formally enjoined can, under certain conditions, resist invasion by defectors, free-riders and cheats. It is accordingly plausible to suggest that in the particular environment of the third century Empire this uniquely distinguishing feature of Christianity accounts for much of its otherwise surprising degree of success.

Ruse, also, defends the position that ethics may be closely linked with the biological theory of evolution (ethical naturalism, or evolutionary ethics), but does not think that Christianity is compatible with evolutionary ethics. On the other hand, see Christianity and Evolutionary Ethics by Patricia A. Williams, who answers Ruse. Some notes from this article:

• early Christian theologians were aware that a message packaged for Jewish audiences would not convince Greeks because of cultural differences (cf. Paul preaching in different ways in the synagogue and before the Greeks of Athens). Such relativistic treatment of cultures and images has long been a necessary staple of successful biblical translators who must supply a cross-cultural meaning. (think e.g. Origen and perhaps more importantly Jerome).
• cf the distinction between the weak and the strong form of the Golden Rule

Then, keep in mind the factors that favored Christianity compared e.g. to gnostic thought. Once again, success at the lower strata of the population was fundamental.

So:

• evolutionary ethics (unconditional altruism, esp. linked to the "weak" form of the Golden Rule)
  
• diffusion into the centers of power (Hellenistic regions, and Rome, of course)
• not a "new" religion, at least initially (mixed with Judaism), so already partially known
  
• willingness by missionaries/religious leaders to try adaptation to different cultures. Removal of some (perhaps psychological) barrier, e.g. no demand for male circumcision.
  
• diffusion through large (initially, uneducated) strata of the population. Important influence of women. No exclusiveness (against e.g. "the selected" of the gnostics).
• simplicity of the faith taught
• Christianity initially (until times were "more mature", one could say) avoided the aversion that Mithraism generated when embraced by emperors like Commodus to justify their raise to power. Constantine only comes in the fourth century.