Book Review “The Rise of Christianity by Rodney Stark”

Mr.. perfect(a) uses a quantitative approach to beg off his theories on how Christians could make up gained so nigh permutes without miraculous methods. This quantitative approach include the use of numerical experienceions based on historic documents and sociological suggestions to produce his accept prediction on how Christianity grew. He uses scotch language is used to attempt to even up sociological perception accessible to the referee, and depicts converts as rational consumers make an Informed decision_ at that place Is a distinct academic modality to his words, which foot come across as linear and pretentious.Although he is non learn as a historian, life-threatening provides a sufficient historical context from which to study the sociological in coifion. Stark draws valid inferences that should non be disregarded, notwithstanding his style and format argon not effective, as they do not truly cater to each a maestro or non-professional sense of hearing . His unrestrained use of capitalized words, quotations, and Italics Is unnecessary and takes credibility outside from his argument. The organization of this book does not celeb reckon a mall thesis, but Jumps round to countless hints and ends without a succinct conclusion Rodney Stark was raised inJamestown, North Dakota. He started his professional life as a naked as a jaybird(a)s reporter, but was quick to offer his education. Following a tour of art in the U. S. Army, he received his Ph. D. From the University of California, Berkeley, where he held appointments as a research sociologist at the Survey Research Center and at the Center for the Study of Law and caller. He has since taught Sociology and comparative Religion at the university of Washington and Baylor university. He has published 32 books and much than 160 donnish articles on subjects as diverse as prejudice, crime, suicide, and urban center life in ancient Rome. around of his construct has been with the study of religious sociology, and he has held various prestigious academic aspects on boards relating to the subject. He also has won a number of national and International awards for stately scholarship. 3 In The mounting of Christianity, Rodney Stark Is very clear intimately his professional training versus his historical sp be- conviction activitys throughout this entire book.He essentials the indorser to know that he is freshman and foremost a sociologist, and that his interest in including historical context is non- professional. In his preface, he writes, I shake off everlastingly been a history buff, but for be of my career I never sincerely considered working with historical materials myself. I was national to be a sociologist and to spend my metre trying to formulate and test sociology of worship. The Rise of Christianity is a sociologists possible action on how Christianity became the leading power in the world.Stark wants his lecturer to know that he i s not a historian, but adds historical information to take place the sociological figures context. This is why he forever reiterates that he is writing for a non- professional audience. Stark begins by beg offing the arithmetic of exploitation. This is a ERM he uses to explain to the reader that sociology has a lot to do with intercommunicate numbers. In his first chapter, he establishes a probable findth rate at which Christianity could watch grown to its size in corporation by year DADA.He projects what the population should accommodate been based on historical accounts as tumesce as figures from scripture, and uses references from former(a) historians and sociologists to provide credibility to his projection. From here he explains that a steady harvest-tide rate of around forty percent per ecstasy from the descent of the movement would not abide required great miracles to achieve its king-size numbers by the year 350. Next, he presents his first causal agencying for not simply numerical growth, but the growth of wreak and prestige in the Christian movement. He begins by refuting the claim that Christianity was initially a movement of the lower classes.He presents a some hypnotisms about the assess of converting to a new morality, and why it would have been probable for some archean Christians to be prominent or wealthy figures in society. Stark explains that some of these revolutions would have been Jews. He presents the social benefits of cultural continuity that specifically catered to Jews, as well as existing social net in all kit and boodle among Jews and Christians. He uses social scientific theory to explain why it is probable that the mission to the Jews did not fail, as would have been previously thought.Christian tenet paired with the plague ridden papistic pudding stone presented a favorable combination for reservation Christianity enchanting to potential converts, and weakening the pleasure seeker population. Love thy neighbor as thyself, a well-know doctrine directed Christians to die hard to their sick during times of plague. Pagans behaved in the resister way Throwing them (the ill) into the roads before they were gone and treated unburied corpses as red cent. This caused the disease to spread more injurious through the infidels.They left bodies in the open, spread germs (which they didnt know existed) right away. Pagans that were still alive were more deally to convert to Christianity, recognizing the strong community and more favorable philosophy. Starks next proposition for why Christianity spread so quickly had to do with its unique appeal to women, something paganism was lacking correspond to Stark. The sexual inscription of husbands to their wives was a new concept of this time. This was an political theory that was attractive to women, because of the lack of respect for women in pagan culture.Infanticide, abortion, and undervaluing the male life were explanations f or Starks theory that Pagans lacked doctrines and values that would provide them with fertile women and an rich population. Christians marital commitment to one an different, their value of the female life, and non-existent infanticide or abortion would have led to them having a signifi burn downtly bigger population according to Stark. Using these projections, he goes on to present numerical predictions that would have provided Christians with a larger population want to take refuge in the perceive safety of the Christian community.The Christians were well known to have grown loosely in urban settings, according to Stark. He paints a picture of what Roman cities what would have been like during the rise of Christianity, and the picture is not pretty. He specifically focuses on the city of Antioch, and describes a city with a life hope in the early twenties, no plumbing, fasten living quarters, crime, and constant natural disaster. Christianity told its pursuit that the chaos of the world was worth enduring, because your retaliate for your good work here ordain be in the Kingdom of Heaven.This theology, according to Stark, would have been especially attractive to inhabitants of Roman cities who constantly suffered. He concludes his final chapters by reinforcing his theory that the chaos and suffering during this time presented Christianity with a rare opportunity to grow from a cult movement to a world power. He emphasizes the gentle and anatomy Christian dogma, and how inhabitants of Roman cities and surrounding areas would have embraced that new kind of theology. He explains that Christian virtue was attractive, and this caused consistently high conversions.According to Stark, thither was no subscribe to for miraculous conversion events to achieve Christians scale of growth. The opportunity a disordered Roman Empire presented to he Christian cult, permitted a steady growth rate to continue through the first iv centuries A. D. In his preface, Stark states that some of his chapters were compose first as essays for scholarly Journals to see how an audience would react to his thoughts on the subject. This explains why the structure of his book is not fluid, and has no horse sense of continuity.He explains that this book was a bit of a hobby project for him to combine his profession of sociology with his love for history. l am a sociologist who sometimes works with historical materials and who has, in preparation of this illume, do his lift out to master the pertinent sources albeit for the most part in English. His sociological conclusions are reliable and interesting, but his experience has mostly been science writing. Stark may need more practice writing to a non-professional audience to gain a sense of fluidity, and clarity.The format of this book is stimulating (for me, a person who loves scientific writing) half of the time, and the opposite half of the time it is difficult to read. An natural selection from his fir st chapter reads, Since this book is a work of both history and social science, I have written it for a nonprofessional audience. In this way I can make sure the social science is fully accessible to historians of the early church, lag preventing social scientists from becoming lost amidst undefined historical and textual references.By stating that his chosen audience is nonprofessional, he gives himself the freedom to add in these unnecessary comments about sociologists cosmos futile to follow textual references. Putting the sociological figures into historical context for Stark seems agonistic and slightly pretentious At the beginning of each new chapter, Stark understandably states his thesis, provides whatever previous propositions he may have had on the subject, and eaves little fashion for opposition.He provides ample sources of different historians and social scientists that are in agreement with his theses, but few refutations. Rodney stark provides a central proposi tion to this work in the first chapter, metempsychosis to new, deviant religious gatherings occurs when, other things being equal, people have or jump stronger attachment to members of the group than they have to but it seems to be an enormously over alter explanation of why people convert to new moralitys.He does not address any other possible reasons for making the hootch to convert to a new pietism such as, connecting with the theology of a religion of which one has no social connections, having social connections in a religious group that are negative, but overlooking this incident to pursue individual growth deep down a religion, or having equally strong connections to individuals that associate with different religions, but making a choice to convert to a religion based on personalized free-will.This main proposition that people simply convert when their social connections inside that religion are stronger than connections outside of that religion mess hall more li ke one reason out of legion(predicate), rather than the main proposition to tie in all other information. He makes very clear that his position is that, without strong social connections to members of a new cult, or sect, potential members will not make the rational choice to convert. within this proposition, there are certainly many underrepresented converts. Mr..Stark excessively uses capitalized words, quotations, and italics to make his argument. Examples of this usage can usually be found in the first few destines opening a chapter. His opening passage of The Role of Women in Christian Growth dads, Amidst contemporary denunciations of Christianity as patriarchal and sexist, it is easily forgotten that the early church was so especially attractive to women that in 370 the emperor Valentine (Pagan) issued a written order to Pope Damascus requiring that Christian missionaries cease calling at the homes of pagan women.Although some classical writers claimed that women were easy work for any foreign superstition, most accepted that Christianity was unusually appealing (p. 95) It is important that not only the emotional use of italics and quotations be cited here, but also the leading sentence. This sentence introduces this works next pitfall, which is that Stark brings up irrelevant topics to heatedly dismiss other scholars who he disagrees with.In the wording of the leading sentence mentioned above, Stark dismisses the unidentified contemporaries he refers to as denouncing Christianity as patriarchal and sexist. This deviation is irrelevant in the context of this book, because he suddenly refers to Christianity as a whole (patriarchal and sexist) as opposed to the Christianity of the first four centuries A. D. In The Rise of Christianity hen Rodney Stark is citing historical documents regarding the four centuries A. D. It is clear to the reader that Christianity may very well have been the leading feminist religion in the year 370. It is irrelevant to r ant about his distaste for contemporaries who think Christianity is sexist in general. William Grimes, writer for the New York Times, says it best in his review of another Rodney Starks, The advantage of Reason Mr.. Starks pugnacity often gets the break out of him. He is contemptuously dismissive. References The Rise of Christianity by Rodney Stark