title: Christianity: How a Despised Sect from a Minority Religion Came to Dominate the Roman Empire
author: Jonathan Hill
description: "This book stands out for its judicious use of recent scholarship to retell the story of early Christianity, from the first century to the fifth, and to do so in a format accessible to undergraduates." --Denis Janz, Provost Distinguished Professor of the History of Christianity, Loyola University, New Orleans<br /><br />"A solid, well-written, and beautifully illustrated introduction to the early history of Christianity. Recommended reading for general readers wanting to learn more about how the first generations of Christians survived, thrived, and resolved conflicts among themselves and with their opponents." --Robin Margaret Jensen, Vanderbilt University Divinity School<br /><br />"Hill offers a delightfully fresh telling for religious and non-religious readers alike. Balanced and engaging, experts and people new to the topic will find much of interest in these pages. Hill's clean and easy style makes the messy business of emerging Christianity a riveting read." --Kristin M. Swenson, Virginia Commonwealth University
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  ![images](images/Cover.jpg)
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  ![images](images/Back.jpg)
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  CHAPTER ONE
  
  
  _How an African Bishop Invented Europe_
  
  
  ![images](images/7_img01.jpg)_n April 30_ , in the year AD 418, the Roman
  Empire was in decline. The Roman people no longer shared the beliefs of their
  forefathers who had built the empire. Indeed, by the year 418, the empire had
  too many different kinds of people with too many different kinds of beliefs to
  sustain Roman civilization. Now, in the absence of a common purpose, there was
  nothing to rally all the different people against the government corruption,
  barbarian invasions, crime, and the steep decline in public morals that would
  inevitably destroy the empire in little more than fifty years. Rome was
  falling one stone at a time, only the people didn’t know it. Nobody realized
  that the Roman Empire had been built by harnessing the selfish desires of men
  for a common purpose—to dominate the world. Nobody, that is, except for an
  A