The Christians as the Romans Saw Them

Rating:
Summary: Burn them at the stake.
Review: An excellent book on the early days of Christians. An interesting
look at where Christianity came from, and how the Romans
thought about monotheism. I did purchase several other
books mentioned in this one. It is good and I do recommend
it. I often buy or don't buy books based upon these kind of
reports, so let me say, you will not be disappointed in buying
this one.

Rating:
Summary: Views from the Outside Looking In
Review: Early Christian folklore is permeated with the idea that the
"saints" merely had to tell the story of Jesus and all who heard it believed. The story made perfect sense and all that was required was someone to tell the story and all of a sudden all the clouded thinking of the listener was cleared away. The rapid growth of Christianity during the first four centuries of the Common Era confirm this.

For readers who have such an idea of early Christianity, this book may be an eye-opener, perhaps one of the most significant books one ever reads. Robert Wilken does an excellent job of describing the attitudes of the Romans toward Christianity as it grew. Pliny the Younger, Tacitus, and Seutonius saw Christianity as a "superstition," a foreign cult whose practices stood outside the accepted standards of religion in the Greco-Roman world. Galen saw Christianity as a philosophical way of life but found its members dogmatic and uncritical in their thinking. Celsus saw Jesus as a magician and accused Christians of magic. (See _Ancient Christian Magic_ by Marvin Meyer) Celsus was also concerned about Christians becoming a counterculture that
"drained their energies away from the larger society." Porphyry was considered by Augustine the "most learned of scholars" yet when Porphyry heard Origen attempt to reconcile Christianity with the Greek intellectual tradition, he thought it an
"absurdity." The last Roman persecution of Christians took place under the reign of Maximin Daia, an emperor who took piety seriously. A later emperor, Julian, earned the name "apostate" for being raised as a Christian and then rejecting Christianity.

Since it first began, Christianity has not only been championed by intelligent people but questioned seriously by some as well. Adolf von Harnack once wrote that Porphyry's objections had not yet been answered in his own day. Christianity did spread rapidly, but that the message of Christianity was readily accepted at face value is not the reason for this growth. For that one must look elsewhere.

Rating:
Summary: Views from the Outside Looking In
Review: Early Christian folklore is permeated with the idea that the
"saints" merely had to tell the story of Jesus and all who heard it believed. The story made perfect sense and all that was required was someone to tell the story and all of a sudden all the clouded thinking of the listener was cleared away. The rapid growth of Christianity during the first four centuries of the Common Era confirm this.

For readers who have such an idea of early Christianity, this book may be an eye-opener, perhaps one of the most significant books one ever reads. Robert Wilken does an excellent job of describing the attitudes of the Romans toward Christianity as it grew. Pliny the Younger, Tacitus, and Seutonius saw Christianity as a "superstition," a foreign cult whose practices stood outside the accepted standards of religion in the Greco-Roman world. Galen saw Christianity as a philosophical way of life but found its members dogmatic and uncritical in their thinking. Celsus saw Jesus as a magician and accused Christians of magic. (See _Ancient Christian Magic_ by Marvin Meyer) Celsus was also concerned about Christians becoming a counterculture that
"drained their energies away from the larger society." Porphyry was considered by Augustine the "most learned of scholars" yet when Porphyry heard Origen attempt to reconcile Christianity with the Greek intellectual tradition, he thought it an
"absurdity." The last Roman persecution of Christians took place under the reign of Maximin Daia, an emperor who took piety seriously. A later emperor, Julian, earned the name "apostate" for being raised as a Christian and then rejecting Christianity.

Since it first began, Christianity has not only been championed by intelligent people but questioned seriously by some as well. Adolf von Harnack once wrote that Porphyry's objections had not yet been answered in his own day. Christianity did spread rapidly, but that the message of Christianity was readily accepted at face value is not the reason for this growth. For that one must look elsewhere.

Rating:
Summary: A wonderful book!!
Review: I bought this book because of a deep and abiding interest in all things Roman (an exception - Roman Catholicism) and I could not put it down. Mr. Wilken is, first of all, an engaging writer who makes each page a delight. The amount of information he includes in this book is tremendous - Galen, Julian, Porphyry, Celsus = they're all here in living color! Most of us are used to the Christian side of the story concerning the church's origins and the pagans never come out unscathed. This book shows that the Roman pagans were not superstitious twits but philosophers who delved into their religion with as much depth and passion as any church father ever did. Mr. Wilken lays out in detail the weaknesses in Christian theology that the pagans used against them. The chapter on Roman burial societies, which served as social clubs, gave a new perspective on the church as a fellowship group that was often seen as no different from other societies. It is also nice to know that the Christians then acted as arrogantly and obnoxiously as they do now toward those who disagree with them. Every student of western religion and every Christian who thinks they know the history of their church should read this book.

Rating:
Summary: Couldn't put it down
Review: I see I'm hardly in the minority rating this book five stars; as much as I like to be different, there IS no other rating this one can deserve. Wilken makes his subject, which is rather esoteric, accessible and interesting -- I would call it absolutely fascinating -- to the lay reader. I read this book with virtually no prior knowledge of the very early history of the Christian Church, and it quickly became the catalyst for a million new paths of thought and things to research.

Wilken divides the book into sections, each headed with the name of a well-known and influential pagan critic of Christianity. There are four sections -- Pliny, Celsus, Porphyry, Julian (the Apostate)-- plus 2 chapters not focused on a particular critic. They are chronological, and each builds upon the revelations of those before it. This format makes the book wonderfully easy to follow.

My only criticism of Wilken is that he tends to repeat himself (it gets worse toward the end, when he is tying together the various critics interpretations), but I think he does it on purpose, to make sure the reader will understand the point. All in all, the reiteration does not detract from the pleasure of reading the book, and it DOES impress important points in your mind as you read.

THE CHRISTIANS AS THE ROMANS SAW THEM presents a fresh view of Christianity (one that began as very different from the Church of today) in a relatively short, clearly and even humorously written, well-researched volume that is surprisingly difficult to put down. Based solely on this book, I intend to read Wilken's other work soon.

Rating:
Summary: From Outlawed Political Club to State Religion
Review: Imperial Rome didn't like clubs. They almost invariably got themselves involved in politics and stirred up trouble. You had to have the Emperor's permission to form a club. When the Roman governor Pliny the Younger got complaints about an outlaw political club calling themselves Christians, he wrote to the Emperor Trajan seeking guidance as to how to deal with them.

When Pliny found that they were engaged in nothing more sinister than worship and instruction in right living, he wanted to be as kind as possible. He told Trajan he had decided not to condemn anyone on the basis of rumor and not to put anyone to death who renounced Christianity. Trajan approved.

Pliny's perspective is the first of five 'outside looking in' perspectives of ancient Christianity presented in this book. The physician Galen, the philosophers Celsus and Porphyry, and the Emperor Julian the Apostate also wrote about this upstart religion, and it is instructive to see how Roman attitudes changed over the years.

Galen thought of Christianity as a second-rate philosophy which had many admirable characteristics, but was ultimately based on fallacious reasoning. Celsus, the first pagan thinker to study Christianity in depth, took Christians to task for what he saw as all sorts of lunatic ideas. Porphyry penned what is probably the most incisive critique of Christianity ever written. Julian attacked Christianity with the fervor characteristic of many former Christians. He not only sought to discredit it with literature, he sought to destroy it with legislation. Interestingly, one of the laws with which Julian sought to undermine Christianity dealt with public education. Apparently Julian didn't like prayer in schools any more than the modern Supreme Court.

Wilken gives an engaging study of the hostile world into which Christianity was born, and in which it matured. This book does little to explain the miracle of how Christianity survived and thrived in the face of such opposition, but that is not its purpose. It admirably achieves its purpose of describing that hostile world.

Rating:
Summary: Fascinating, highly recommended
Review: Over the years I have read many books that examine the early Christian church, as it existed within the milieu of the pagan Roman Empire. This book turns that on its head, and focuses on how the Roman pagans viewed the early Christians in their midst. Covering the writings of Pliny the Younger, Galen, Celsus, Porphyry and Julian the Apostate, the author uses the actual writings to show how the perception of the Christian church changed among the pagan Romans in the years prior to the advent of Constantine.

Though it is written in a dry tone, I still found this book to be absolutely fascinating. Not only did it cover Roman perceptions, but also the book gave me a real feeling for certain aspects of Roman religion and associations. If you are interested in the Roman Empire, or in the early Christian church, then I highly recommend that you get this book.

Rating:
Summary: Roman Christianity
Review: Robert Wilken takes a somewhat slightly different tack with this book of Roman history. He examines Christianity in the Roman Empire by looking at it through the eyes of pagan critics. Wilken states in his introduction that his goal in this book is to bring Roman history into closer conjunction with early Christianity. He argues that by studying the context of pagan critics, one can understand how the early Church shaped its theology and doctrines.

Wilken examines five pagan critics, starting with Pliny the Younger's letters to the emperor Trajan circa 112 C.E. Galen, Celsus, Porphyry and the Roman emperor Julian round out the cast of characters. As the accounts unfold, the development of Christianity can be seen clearly: from a small, almost unknown sect in Pliny's day to the powerful apparatus it became by the time Julian launched his reactionary attacks in the late 4th century. The attacks on Christians become more theological as time progresses, showing an increasing sophistication as knowledge about Christianity became better known. Pliny mentioned the Christians in passing, one event among many in his role as a provincial governor. By the time of Celsus, Porphyry and Julian, whole books are being written to refute Christian ideas.

Wilken points out that Pliny's concerns with the Christians mirror his function as a politician. With Galen, a concern for philosophical schools is reflected in his attack on Christianity, namely the creation doctrine and how it compares with the Greek conception of creation as Plato defined it in his work, Timaeus. Celsus attacks Christianity on several fronts, most importantly that Christianity is an apostasy from Judaism and that Jesus was a magician. Porphyry, a philosopher and literary scholar, demolishes the Christian view of the Book of Daniel and criticizes the Christian worship of Jesus on an equal footing with God. Julian takes criticism of Christianity much further, first by banning Christians from traditional Greek and Latin schools and an attempt to rebuild the Jewish Temple in Jerusalem. The idea of rebuilding the temple was an attempt to isolate Christians who believed that they were the legitimate successors to the Jewish traditions. By reconstructing the Temple, the Jews would be restored to their traditional role as defined in the Old Testament, relegating Christians to their rightful place: apostates of Judaism. The Temple project failed when Julian died on campaign in Persia and Christian emperors once again assumed power.

This is an excellent book that inspires the reader to pursue further reading on this fascinating topic. What is most relevant is that the same questions we ask about Christianity today have been around for almost two thousand years. This is recommended reading for Roman buffs and Christian scholars alike.

Rating:
Summary: What the Christians won't tell you in Sunday School.
Review: This is an excellent book explaining how the early Christians were viewed by the Romans of that period. Many Roman scholars and philosophers did sit up and take notice when this strange, new "superstitious cult" first appeared on the scene. Needless to say, opinions were not all very favorble. The Roman philosoger Galen, for example, admired the Christians' philantropy and day-to-day living attitudes(love thy neigbor, do unto others...etc.) but he did not have much use for the Christian teachings in so far as they tried to explain the nature of the universe, Genesis, the nature of God, and thought that the Greco-Roman model of cosmology made much more sense. Because as author Robert Wilken points out, most learned people of the time thought Christianity was "without an intellectual basis." While the philosopher Celsus, who studied Christian writings and the Gospels very intensely, rejected Christianity entirely. He could never come to terms with the Christian doctrine of relying everything on faith, and instead lambasted the Christians for thier almost complete and fanatical rejection of reason and scientific argument. This book presents the overall and concise arguments that were taking place around Christianity at the time and one can, for the first time, take a look through the eyes of the 'other side' at Christianity.

Rating:
Summary: What the Christians won't tell you in Sunday School.
Review: This is an excellent book explaining how the early Christians were viewed by the Romans of that period. Many Roman scholars and philosophers did sit up and take notice when this strange, new "superstitious cult" first appeared on the scene. Needless to say, opinions were not all very favorble. The Roman philosoger Galen, for example, admired the Christians' philantropy and day-to-day living attitudes(love thy neigbor, do unto others...etc.) but he did not have much use for the Christian teachings in so far as they tried to explain the nature of the universe, Genesis, the nature of God, and thought that the Greco-Roman model of cosmology made much more sense. Because as author Robert Wilken points out, most learned people of the time thought Christianity was "without an intellectual basis." While the philosopher Celsus, who studied Christian writings and the Gospels very intensely, rejected Christianity entirely. He could never come to terms with the Christian doctrine of relying everything on faith, and instead lambasted the Christians for thier almost complete and fanatical rejection of reason and scientific argument. This book presents the overall and concise arguments that were taking place around Christianity at the time and one can, for the first time, take a look through the eyes of the 'other side' at Christianity.