Paganism And Christianity 100-425 C E

This book is a collection of nearly 175 documents–from saints, emperors, philosophers, satirists, inscriptions, graffiti, and other interesting types–that sheds light on the complex fabric of religious belief as it changed from a variety of non-Judeo-Christian movements to Christian in late antiquity. These texts illuminate and bring to life the bizarre and the banal of the social world of the Roman Empire, the world in which Christianity ultimately gained preeminence. This treasury of texts leads the reader through the matrix of beliefs among which Christianity grew. Brief explanatory introductions to the documents are included.