Destroyer of the gods: Early Christian Distinctiveness in the Roman World
Digital Logos Edition
Overview
“Silly,” “stupid,” “irrational,” “simple.” “Wicked,” “hateful,” “obstinate,” “anti-social.” “Extravagant,” “perverse.” The Roman world rendered harsh judgments upon early Christianity—including branding Christianity “new.” Novelty was no Roman religious virtue.
Nevertheless, as Larry W. Hurtado shows in Destroyer of the gods, Christianity thrived despite its new and distinctive features and opposition to them. Unlike nearly all other religious groups, Christianity utterly rejected the traditional gods of the Roman world. Christianity also offered a new and different kind of religious identity, one not based on ethnicity. Christianity was distinctively a “bookish” religion, with the production, copying, distribution, and reading of texts as central to its faith, even preferring a distinctive book-form, the codex. Christianity insisted that its adherents behave differently: unlike the simple ritual observances characteristic of the pagan religious environment, embracing Christian faith meant a behavioral transformation, with particular and novel ethical demands for men. Unquestionably, to the Roman world, Christianity was both new and different, and, to a good many, it threatened social and religious conventions of the day.
In the rejection of the gods and in the centrality of texts, early Christianity obviously reflected commitments inherited from its Jewish origins. But these particular features were no longer identified with Jewish ethnicity and early Christianity quickly became aggressively trans-ethnic—a novel kind of religious movement. Its ethical teaching, too, bore some resemblance to the philosophers of the day, yet in contrast with these great teachers and their small circles of dedicated students, early Christianity laid its hard demands upon all adherents from the moment of conversion, producing a novel social project.
Christianity’s novelty was no badge of honor. Called atheists and suspected of political subversion, Christians earned Roman disdain and suspicion in equal amounts. Yet, as Destroyer of the gods demonstrates, in an irony of history the very features of early Christianity that rendered it distinctive and objectionable in Roman eyes have now become so commonplace in Western culture as to go unnoticed. Christianity helped destroy one world and create another.
This is a Logos Reader Edition. Learn more.
- Explores how the church interacted with the social and religious conventions of the day
- Examines the distinctives of the early church
- Discusses the history and evolution of early Christian practices
- Preface
- Introduction
- Early Christians and Christianity in the Eyes of Non-Christians
- A New Kind of Faith
- A Different Identity
- A “Bookish” Religion
- A New Way to Live
- Conclusion
Top Highlights
“By calling early Christianity ‘bookish,’ I simply assert that reading, writing, copying, and dissemination of texts had a major place—indeed, a prominence—in early Christianity that, except for ancient Jewish circles, was unusual for religious groups of the Roman era.” (Pages 105–106)
“So, the practice of reading sacred texts as a regular part of communal worship was shared by synagogues and the early churches, and in this they were distinctive in the Roman world of religious practice.” (Page 110)
“Instead, in this very early period, we are dealing with a new religious movement that emerged initially within the ancient Jewish tradition and as a distinctive form of that tradition.” (Page 67)
“Islam spread with remarkable success also. But, from its earliest moments, Islam’s successes were often at the point of the sword. By contrast, the growth of Christianity in its first three centuries, the most crucial period, was largely by a combination of the power of persuasion, whether in preaching, intellectual argument, ‘miracles’ exhibiting the power of Jesus’ name, and simply the moral suasion of Christian behavior, including martyrdom.” (Page 5)
“There was a virtual cafeteria of Roman-era deities from the many nations. And, as in a cafeteria, you did not have to restrict yourself to any one or any number of the gods. Indeed, any such exclusivity was deemed utterly bizarre.” (Page 45)
This is a fascinating survey of the features that made Christianity distinctive in antiquity and so—ultimately—successful. Hurtado discusses the Christian concept of an exclusive veneration of God, the trans-ethnic and trans-local religious identity, the central role of books and learning and distinctive and challenging forms of behavior within their ancient context. The glimpses into the first three centuries may even inspire contemporary Christians to find their identity and negotiate between social assimilation and difference.
—Jörg Frey, Chair of New Testament Studies, University of Zürich
Whether one applauds or disdains the values of contemporary Western culture, what we assume to be good, true, and normal has been shaped to a surprising degree by early Christianity. Demolishing taken-for-granted assumptions about what religion was, is, and can be, Hurtado’s provocative exploration deserves a broad audience.
—Matthew W. Bates, Quincy University, OnScript
- Title: Destroyer of the Gods: Early Christian Distinctiveness in the Roman World
- Author: Larry Hurtado
- Publisher: Baylor University Press
- Print Publication Date: 2016
- Logos Release Date: 2022
- Era: era:contemporary
- Language: English
- Resources: 1
- Format: Digital › Logos Research Edition
- Subjects: Church history › Primitive and early church, ca. 30-600; Church history › Primitive and early church
- ISBNs: 9781481304733, 9781481304757, 9781481305389, 9781481305396, 1481304739, 1481304755, 1481305387, 1481305395
- Resource ID: LLS:WS_72253D54B62F40C8A636049B322080A6
- Resource Type: Monograph
- Metadata Last Updated: 2022-09-30T04:13:35Z
