Religious Rivalries in the Early Roman Empire and the Rise of Christianity

Religious Rivalries in the Early Roman Empire and the Rise of Christianity discusses the diverse cultural destinies of early Christianity, early Judaism, and other ancient religious groups as a question of social rivalry. The book is divided into three main sections. The first section debates the degree to which the category of rivalry adequately names the issue(s) that must be addressed when comparing and contrasting the social "success" of different religious groups in antiquity. The second is a critical assessment of the common modern category of "mission" to describe the inner dynamic of such a process; it discusses the early Christian apostle Paul, the early Jewish historian Josephus, and ancient Mithraism. The third section of the book is devoted to "the rise of Christianity," primarily in response to the similarly titled work of the American sociologist of religion Rodney Stark. While it is not clear that any of these groups imagined its own success necessarily entailing the elimination of others, it does seem that early Christianity had certain habits, both of speech and practice, which made it particularly apt to succeed (in) the Roman Empire.

Table of Contents:
Table of Contents for Religious Rivalries in the Early Roman Empire and the Rise of Christianity , edited by Leif E. Vaage Acknowledgments Preface Part I: Rivalries? Ancient Religious Rivalries and the Struggle for Success: Christians, Jews, and Others in the Early Roman Empire | Leif E. Vaage The Declining Polis ? Religious Rivalries in Ancient Civic Context | Philip Harland Rivalry and Defection | Stephen Wilson Is the Pagan Fair Fairly Dangerous? Jewish-Pagan Relations in Antiquity Rena Basser My Rival, My Fellow: Conceptual and Methodological Prolegomena to Mapping Inter-religious Relations in 2nd and 3rd Century ce Levantine Society Using the Evidence of Early Rabbinic Texts | Jack Lightstone Part II: Mission? âThe Field God Has Assignedâ: Geography and Mission in Paul | Terence Donaldson The Contra Apionem in Social and Literary Context: An Invitation to Judean Philosophy | Steve Mason On Becoming a Mithraist: New Evidence for the Propagation of the Mysteries | Roger Beck Part III: Rise? Rodney Stark and âThe Mission to the Jewsâ | Adele Reinhartz âLook How They Love One Anotherâ: Early Christian and Pagan Care for the Sick and Other Charity | Steven C. Muir The Religious Market of the Roman Empire: Rodney Stark and Christianityâs Pagan Competition | Roger Beck Why Christianity Succeeded (in) the Roman Empire | Leif E. Vaage Works Cited Ancient Sources Index Ancient Names Index Modern Names Index

About the Author :
Leif E. Vaage teaches New Testament literature and exegesis at Emmanuel College and the Toronto School of Theology, both in Toronto, Canada. He is the author of Galilean Upstarts: Jesusâ First Followers According to Q and, most recently, a book of verse, Schooled in Salt .

Review :
``This is a fine volume that reveals the complexities of the rise of Christianity, challenges long-held positions on its expansion, and proposes new ways forward to explain Christianity's eventual emergence as a religion of empire.'' -- Dietmar Neufeld -- University of Toronto Quarterly, Letters in Canada 2006, Volume 77, Number 1, Winter 2008 ``Ultimately, the essays in the book are interesting and succeed in challenging many long held scholarly assmptions. As a corrective to the work of Stark, the final section of the book is particularly useful.'' -- Jennifer Zilm, McMaster University -- Journal of Religion and Culture, Vol. 20, 2008 ``Vaage ... states that `earliest Christianity's intrinsic will to rule is most evident, albeit paradoxically, in its initial modes of resistance to this regime'.... In conclusion, this is a stimulating hypothesis at the end of a fine contribution to an ongoing discussion.'' -- Gerbern S. Oegema, McGill University -- Toronto Journal of Theology, 23: 1, Spring 2007