{"product_id":"when-our-world-became-christian-312-394-hardback-9780745644981","title":"When Our World Became Christian; 312 - 394 (Hardback) 9780745644981","description":"\u003cfont face=\"Georgia\"\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cfont size=\"6\"\u003eWhen Our World Became Christian\u003c\/font\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\r\n\u003cfont size=\"5\"\u003e312 - 394\u003c\/font\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cfont size=\"4\"\u003ePaul Veyne (Author)\u003c\/font\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\r\n\r\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cfont size=\"3\"\u003e9780745644981, Polity Press\u003c\/font\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\r\n\r\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cfont size=\"3\"\u003eHardback, published 19 February 2010\u003c\/font\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\r\n\r\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cfont size=\"3\"\u003e240 pages\u003cbr\u003e21.8 x 14.8 x 2.5 cm, 0.417 kg\u003c\/font\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\u003cp align=\"justify\"\u003e\u003cem\u003e\u003cfont size=\"3\"\u003e\"Takes its readers on a fascinating journey through the crucial events ... As Veyne's book vividly made clear throughout, without Constantine's conversion Christianity could have been a mere 'historical parenthesis'.\"\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003e\u003cb\u003eKelvingrove Review\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e  \u003cp\u003e \"A vigorously written interpretative essay about the triumph of Christianity in late antiquity, by a selfprofessed unbeliever. Veyne, always as sensitive to the process of writing history as he is to the study of the past itself, approaches the early history of Christianity as an avant-garde religion. He examines the implications of its appropriation by the state with great energy and in an uncompromising manner.\"\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eRosamond McKitterick\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003c\/font\u003e\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\r\n\r\n\u003cp align=\"justify\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cfont size=\"3\"\u003eThis short book by one of France's leading historians deals with a big question: how was it that Christianity, that masterpiece of religious invention, managed, between 300 and 400 AD, to impose itself upon the whole of the Western world? In his erudite and inimitable way, Paul Veyne suggests three possible explanations.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eWas it because a Roman emperor, Constantine, who was master of the Western world at the time, became a sincere convert to Christianity and set out to Christianize the whole world in order to save it?\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eOr was it because, as a great emperor, Constantine needed a great religion, and in comparison to the pagan gods, Christianity, despite being a minority sect, was an avant-garde religion unlike anything seen before?\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eOr was it because Constantine limited himself to helping the Christians set up their Church, a network of bishoprics that covered the vast Roman Empire, and that gradually and with little overt resistance the pagan masses embraced Christianity as their own religion?\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eIn the course of deciding between these explanations Paul Veyne sheds fresh light on one of the most profound transformations that shaped the modern world - the Christianization of the West. A bestseller in France, this book will appeal to a wide readership interested in history, religion and the rise of the modern world.\u003c\/font\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\r\n\r\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cfont size=\"3\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003ci\u003eAcknowledgements vii\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e1 Constantine: The Saviour of Humanity 1\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e2 Christianity: A Masterpiece 17\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e3 The Church: Another Masterpiece 33\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e4 The Dream of the Milvian Bridge: Constantine’s Faith and his Conversion 46\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e5 The Motives, Both Major and Minor, for Constantine’s Conversion 58\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e6 Constantine, the Church’s ‘President’ 73\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e7 An Ambivalent Century, with an Empire at Once Pagan and Christian 84\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e8 Christianity Wavers, Then Triumphs 98\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e9 A Partial and Mixed State Religion: The Fate of the Jews 107\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e10 Was There an Ideology? 123\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e11 Does Europe Have Christian Roots? 138\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003ci\u003eAppendix: Polytheisms and Monolatry in Ancient\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003ci\u003eJudaism 150\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003ci\u003eNotes 177\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003ci\u003eSupplementary Notes 236\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003ci\u003eIndex 242\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003c\/font\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\r\n\r\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cfont size=\"3\"\u003eSubject Areas: Religion \u0026amp; beliefs [\u003ca title=\"See our other books on Religion \u0026amp; beliefs\" href=\"https:\/\/freshlyprintedbooks.co.uk\/search?q=%22Religion%20\u0026amp;%20beliefs%20%5BHR%5D%22\"\u003eHR\u003c\/a\u003e]\u003c\/font\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\r\n\r\n\r\n\u003c\/font\u003e","brand":"Polity","offers":[{"title":"Brand New","offer_id":52407312154904,"sku":"9780745644981","price":45.76,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0730\/2037\/5320\/files\/9780745644981.jpg?v=1784160839","url":"https:\/\/freshlyprintedbooks.co.uk\/products\/when-our-world-became-christian-312-394-hardback-9780745644981","provider":"Freshly Printed Books","version":"1.0","type":"link"}