Christianity and Paganism in the Fourth to Eighth Centuries

Ramsay MacMullen investigates the transition from paganism to Christianity between the 4th & 8th centuries. He reassesses the triumph of Christianity, contending that it was neither tidy nor quick. He shows that the two religious systems were both vital during an interactive period that lasted far longer than historians have previously believed. He explores the influences of paganism & Christianity upon each other. In a discussion of the different strengths of the two systems, he demonstrates that pagan beliefs were not eclipsed or displaced by Christianity but persisted or were transformed. The victory of the church was one not of obliteration but of widening embrace & assimilation. This book also includes new material on the Christian persecution of pagans over the centuries thru methods that ranged from fines to crucifixion; the mixture of motives in conversion; the stubbornness of pagan resistance; the difficulty of satisfying the demands & expectations of new converts & the degree of assimilation of Christianity to paganism.