- In 30 CE, there were approximately 20 followers of Jesus
- In 300 CE, there were 2 to 3 million Christians
The earliest historians of Christianity (including Edward Gibbon) argued that Christianity spread so quickly because it was superior to Roman polytheism: "Christianity filled the spiritual vacuum created by the collapse of paganism, which fell under its own weight. At this point in antiquity, no one could any longer believe the ridiculous myths of the pagans or accept the bizarre cultic practices established by age-old traditions." (p. 106)
Ehrman explains why the Gibbon view is misguided. The discussion reminds me of my class discussions about why contemporary believers have tended to choose monotheistic frameworks (one of the Abrahamic faiths, or the Brahman-centric view of Hinduism) rather than polytheism.
Ehrman's Reasons for the Massive Expansion of Christianity
1. Romans were ready to accept Christianity, in part because many of them were already henotheistic (p. 111). Henotheism refers to the belief in a central, "overarching" god, without excluding other gods.
2. Unlike Roman Polytheism, Christianity was evangelistic (p. 116). Why? Paul taught that Jesus died in order for God to bring salvation to the world. When God "entered into judgment," people who had accepted Jesus would be saved, while those who had not accepted Jesus would suffer eternal punishment. "If God commands his people to love others and to act in ways that will benefit them, and if others are destined to the coming divine judgment unless they turn to God in repentance, there is only one clear conclusion: Christians need to urge others to adopt their religion ... It is the only way a Christian can really show love for the other."
- A historian named Martin Goodman argues that Paul was "the single apostle who invented the whole idea of a systematic conversion of the world, area by geographical area."
- Ironically, until the conversion of Constantine, Christian missionary work was unorganized (it was done at the individual, informal level), with just a few exceptions:
- Gregory the Wonderworker (worked in Pontus (northern Turkey) during the 200s)
- Martin of Tours (a bishop during the 300s in France)
- Porphyry (a bishop during the 300s in Gaza)
3. Unlike Roman Polytheism, Christianity was exclusive. Once you converted to Christianity, you were expected to abandon all other beliefs.
4. Reports of miracles -- by Jesus, but also by his followers -- convinced many people to convert to Christianity. The story of Gregory the Wonderworker commanding pagan demons (p. 149) is an example. Ehrman explains the importance of miracles as follows:
"It is important to recall a key point at which ancient pagans and Christians agreed with respect to human interaction with the divine. Participating in worship was believed to have real benefits. Among pagans, gods were worshiped, on one hand, simply because they were great and deserved to be acknowledged and revered for who they were ... even more than that, the gods were worshiped because of the great benefactions they could give: they controlled the weather, caused the crops to grow, made the livestock multiply, healed the sick, and protected travelers from harm ... The gods had superhuman powers, and, in no small measure, worship allowed people to access that power.
Why, then, would a pagan decide to worship a new or different god? For the same reason: he too could do miracles, and even better ones. But in this case there was a catch. Anyone who came to worship the Christian god was expected to forgo the worship of the other gods."