The Fall of the Pagans and the Origins of Medieval Christianity

by Kenneth W. Harl

Streaming video, 2010

Status

Available

Call number

270.1

Collections

Publication

Great Courses (2010), 12 hours, 24 lectures, 318 pages

Description

History. Nonfiction. HTML: Explore the dramatic interaction between Judaism, Christianity, and paganism in Rome from the 1st to the 6th centuries. Why did pagan Rome clash with the early Christians? What was it like to be a Jew or a Christian under Roman law? And how did Christianity ultimately achieve dominance in the Roman Empire? Over the course of 24 lectures, Professor Harl enables you to grasp the full historical sweep of this critically important era and its key figures. You'll examine why Christianity was able to emerge and endure and, in turn, spark a critical transition for religion, culture, and politics that underpins much of how today's Western world - both Christian and non-Christian alike - thinks about ethics, sin, redemption, forgiveness, progress, and so much more. While the Judeo-Christian values that have shaped society's ideas are ones we might today take for granted, their emergence from an ancient era dominated by loyalties to a vast array of gods would once have seemed the most unlikely of narratives. Even after the Roman emperor Constantine converted to Christianity in A.D. 312, it would not be until the 6th-century reign of Justinian that medieval Christianity would emerge and this new historical pathway confirmed. In this magnificent course, Professor Harl brings to life some of the most important and fascinating episodes of the era, taking you on a vibrant trek through the past - one that will lead you to a deeper understanding of the bedrock beliefs of Western culture..… (more)

User reviews

LibraryThing member etxgardener
Interesting series of lectures on how Christianity eventually drove out the pagan religions and became dominant in the Western world. Professor Harl is both informative and entertaining as he delivers his information.

Language

Original language

English

Original publication date

2011-11

Local notes

[01] Religious Conflict in the Roman World [02] Gods and Their Cities in the Roman Empire [03] The Roman Imperial Cult [04] The Mystery Cults [05] Platonism and Stoicism [06] Jews in the Roman Empire [07] Christian Challenge: First Conversions [08] Pagan Response: First Persecutions [09] Christian Bishops and Apostolic Churches [10] Pagan Critics and Christian Apologists [11] First Christian Theologians [12] Imperial Crisis and Spiritual Crisis [13] The Great Persecutions [14] The Spirit of Late Paganism [15] Imperial Recovery under the Tetrarchs [16] The Conversion of Constantine [17] Constantine and the Bishops [18] Christianizing the Roman World [19] The Birth of Christian Aesthetics and Letters [20] The Emperor Julian and the Pagan Reaction [21] Struggle over Faith and Culture [22] New Christian Warriors: Ascetics and Monks [23] Turning Point: Theodosius I [24] Justinian and the Demise of Paganism

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