How did the early Christian church manage to win its dominant place in the Roman world? In his newest book, an eminent historian of ancient Rome examines this question from a secular―rather than an ecclesiastical―viewpoint. MacMullen’s provocative conclusion is that mass conversions to Christianity were based more on the appeal of miracle or the opportunity for worldly advantages than simply on a “rising tide of Christian piety.” “Provocative to the Christian religious scholar and the nonreligious historian alike. . . . MacMullen’s style is lucid, and the story of a period with its own innate interest is narrated with compelling feeling. . . . It is an important book, and highly recommended for the general reader of history as well as the Christian who wonders how the ‘Jesus movement’ came, by Constantine’s time, to be the church we know―Choice “Written in a fresh and vigorous style, . . . [this book] offers an admirable survey of some major aspects of the history [of the early Christian church].”―Robert M. Grant, New York Times Book Review “Gently provocative. . . . MacMullen has written an instructive and enjoyable book on a great theme.”―Henry Chadwick, Times Literary Supplement “A carefully argued and well-written study.”―Jackson P. Hershbell, Library Journal

Christianizing the Roman Empire: A.D. 100-400

History

Ramsay MacMullen

Ancient Civilizations

Yale University Press

Prominent historian Ramsay MacMullen here offers a new perspective on the decline and fall of Rome. MacMullen argues that a key factor in Rome’s fall was the steady loss of focus and control over government as its aims were thwarted for private gain by high-ranking bureaucrats and military leaders. Written in an informal and lively style, his book―the culmination of years of research and thoughtful analysis―provides a fascinating, fresh line of investigation and shows convincingly that the decline of Rome was a gradual, insidious process rather than a climactic event. “An important book which will initiate a long debate. . . . What is new in MacMullen’s argument is not the existence of this corruption but its sheer scale and long-term global effects. . . . A vivid and frightening picture of how a great state and civilization, the construction of centuries of painfully acquired political culture, can be cripplingly undermined.”―Stephen Williams, History Today “A powerful account of the vices of late Roman society, which certainly helps us to understand some aspects of its partial fall.”―Jasper Griffin, New York Review of Books “All students of history must welcome this wide-ranging book from so eminent an authority. MacMullen’s knowledge of the ancient evidence is encyclopedic and his deceptively casual style and deliberate avoidance of technical terms make this an accessible and stimulating book for the general reader as well as for the specialist.”―Jill Harries, International History Review “MacMullen’s book is excellent: rich and learned in detail, lively in style, and in argument and insights highly stimulating.”―S. J. B. Barnish, Times Higher Education Supplement

Corruption and the Decline of Rome

In this book, MacMullen investigates the transition from paganism to Christianity between the fourth and eighth centuries. He reassesses the triumph of Christianity, contending that it was neither tidy nor quick, and he shows that the two religious systems were both vital during an interactive period that lasted far longer than historians have previously believed.

Christianity and Paganism in the Fourth to Eighth Centuries

World

Soldier and Civilian in the Later Roman Empire (Harvard Historical Monographs)

Harvard University Press

Christianity in the century both before and after Constantine s conversion is familiar thanks to the written sources; now Ramsay MacMullen, in his fifth book on ancient Christianity, considers especially the unwritten evidence. He uses excavation reports about hundreds of churches of the fourth century to show what worshipers did in them and in the cemeteries where most of them were built. What emerges, in this richly illustrated work, is a religion that ordinary Christians, by far the majority, practiced in a different and largely forgotten second church. The picture fits with textual evidence that has been often misunderstood or little noticed. The first church the familiar one governed by bishops in part condemned, in part tolerated, and in part re-shaped the church of the many. Even together, however, the two constituted by the end of the period studied (AD 400) a total of the population far smaller than has ever been suggested. Better estimates are now made for the first time from quantifiable data, that is, from the physical space available for attendance in places of worship. Reassessment raises very large questions about the place of religion in the life of the times and in the social composition of both churches.

The Second Church: Popular Christianity A.D. 200-400 (Writings from the Greco-Roman World Supplement)

Society of Biblical Literature

See the best price to sell, buy, or rent books by Ramsay MacMullen. BookScouter helps to compare book prices from 25+ online bookstores and 30+ buyback vendors with a single search.

Books by Ramsay MacMullen

See the best price to sell, buy, or rent books by Ramsay MacMullen. BookScouter helps to compare book prices from 25+ online bookstores and 30+ buyback vendors with a single search.

Christianizing the Roman Empire: A.D. 100-400

Corruption and the Decline of Rome

Christianity and Paganism in the Fourth to Eighth Centuries

Christianity and Paganism in the Fourth to Eighth Centuries

Soldier and Civilian in the Later Roman Empire (Harvard Historical Monographs)

The Second Church: Popular Christianity A.D. 200-400 (Writings from the Greco-Roman World Supplement)