Strange Religion: How the First Christians Were Weird, Dangerous, and Compelling
TLDR: “An interesting look that I hadn’t considered before”
Despite the subtitle, which sounds vaguely sacrilegious, this is a pro-Christianity book. The author is a seminary professor.
The gist is that modern Christians don’t understand how strange Christianity would have seemed to the Romans back in 100 AD or so. Roman culture was just not used to things like to have a “relationship” with God. They had very strict understanding of the gods, and their lives where spent obsessed with “Pax Deorum” – “peace with the Gods.” They just tried not to piss them all off, really.
Christians were just wildly different than everything Roman culture had taught people about religion, faith, and the supernatural. Christianity wasn’t just a different religion, it was an entirely different paradigm of thinking about faith.
Book Info
- I have read this book. According to my records, I completed it on .
- A softcover copy of this book is currently in my home library.