How Christianity Conquered Rome & Replaced Paganism by Mark W. Pfeifer
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There are many reasons why Christianity rose to prominence in the Roman Empire completely replaced centuries paganism in the process.
Many of those reasons are outlined in two very good books I recommend:
👉🏻 “The Rise of Christianity” by Rodney Stark
👉🏻 “Dominion” by Tom Holland.
These two authors do an excellent job investigation of the subject.
For this article, allow me to suggest seven of my own reasons why Christianity rose to prominence in the Roman Empire, outgrowing and outliving what many consider to be the greatest empire in human history, and why paganism vanished in its wake.
Here we go…
1. Simplicity
From the gatherings in homes in Jerusalem (Acts 2 ) to the doing of the same throughout the Roman world, Christianity was practiced without elaborate temples, ceremonies, priests, and rituals.
Homes and public spaces were easily converted into Christian gathering places. Baptisms were done wherever water could be found. The Lord’s Supper took place wherever food was served.
Worship gatherings consisted of simple worship, practical teaching, personal testimonies, congregational prayer and a meal at the end (the best meal many poor families would have eaten all week).
The main of Christian doctrine was found in two simple commandments – love God with all your heart and everyone else like yourself. These directives could easily be lived out by people in the real world.
• Compare this simplicity to the 613 laws of the Torah practiced by the Jews.
• Or compare it to the multiple gods of the Greek pantheon.
• Or compare it to the elaborate secret ceremonies associated with the mystery religions.
In a complicated religious context, Christianity thrived as a populace movement because it was a relatively simple alternative to the complex and often ambiguous religions of the day.
It reminds me of what Paul said in II Corinthians 11:3, "But I fear, lest by any means, as the serpent beguiled Eve through his subtilty, so your minds should be corrupted from the simplicity that is in Christ."
Q: How can we make our message and our means simpler?
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2. Marriage and Family
For many people in the Roman world, marital fidelity and the sanctity of the family unit were foreign concepts. Wealthy citizens paid tutors to raise the children. Men considered it perfectly acceptable to have wives and mistresses. Slave families were always subject to abuse and compulsory breakup.
Into this chaotic familial space, Christianity moved to fill the void. Paul gave policies on marriage, divorce, raising children, and the moral responsibility of parents to care for their families.
Even church leaders were evaluated on the governance of their homes as a criterion for their positions. Given that church services were largely conducted in homes, the stability of these houses of worship was of the utmost importance.
Q: How can we strengthen families in the local church?
_______________________
3. Alternative Culture
A new kind social order was being established by the church in the Roman world. It preserved human dignity and mutual respect. This was especially true for enslaved people. In the church, they were considered equal in the eyes of God to their owners.
There was also a cultural revolution of honoring women in the church. No doubt related to the high position of women in the life of Jesus, His mother being primary, the church acknowledged the importance of women in the home, in church and in the marketplace. Women like Chloe and Phoebe held office in the church while Priscilla and Junia were acknowledge for their ministry. One of the founding member of the Church of Philippi was Lydia, a successful entrepreneur.
This radical view of human worth was unprecedented in the ancient world. Early Christians formed a new kind of parallel ecclesia in their cities as an alternative governing structure to the stratified society of the Romans that was impenetrable and oppressive.
The inclusivity of the ecclesia of Jesus also existed in contrast to the exclusivity of the Jewish communities that were ubiquitous throughout the Roman world.
People were drawn to this alternative society where egalitarian practices were common. A new sense of community was established in the church that emerged as an alternative culture to the world’s system.
Q: How can we create an alternative culture for the people in our territory?
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4. Experiential
Personal experience was encouraged in the early church. Unlike the cold obligatory sacrifices to the Greco-Roman gods and the menagerie of rules in Judaism, Christianity focused on a personal experience with God. Outpourings of the Holy Spirit with signs, wonders and miracles were a bedrock of ancient Christianity.
In a world that did not value individuality, early Christians drew people by a promise of personal salvation with an ongoing relationship with a living God through the Holy Spirit.
Manifestations of the Holy Spirit were common among early believers in an environment where everyone in the community was invited to participate. This was different than most other religions that offered little in the area of personal experience.
Q: How can we help people personally experience the God and participate in ministry?
___________________
5. Meaning and Purpose
The Christianity message of salvation gave every member of the church a purpose. Spreading the gospel was a common privilege. It was more than coming to church to worship a deity. It was to spread the radical message of personal salvation that could change a person’s life for the better.
The Gospel invited believers into an eternal mission of spreading the Gospel of Jesus around the world. Everyone was involved. The combined efforts of individual Christians amalgamated in the newly formed shadow ecclesias that formed in the cities of the Roman Empire and transformed them.
It was so effective that Paul was accused of turning the world upside-down in Acts 17:6!
The reality of their success can be seen in the fact that every church Paul planted was identified by the name of its city. When Jesus addressed the seven churches of Asia in Revelation 2 & 3, each church is identified by its city.
The fact that the word church (ecclesia) was borrowed from Greco-Roman society as a gathering of citizens who made decisions on behalf of their city, seems to indicate the early church’s determination to supersede the cultures of the Roman world with the culture of the Kingdom of God.
Q: How can we better equip people for their Kingdom assignment in the workplace?
______________________
6. Eternity
Christianity brought a unique picture of the afterlife. It was a place where people would be present with Christ immediately after death, awaiting a time in the future then their bodies would be resurrected from the dead to live with Christ on earth again when He returned to rule.
People bravely went to their deaths in the gallows and in public spectacles because they believed in an afterlife where rewards were eternally enjoyed. They had hope that they would live in a better place and be reunited with their loved ones.
Q: How can we leverage eternity to help people become more effective on earth?
_____________________
7. Compassion
From the start, the early church cared for the weak and marginalized. Widows, orphans, the affirmed and the poor were given relief. The most vulnerable in society were cared for as a matter of practice by the church. This was something foreign in the pagan world of that time.
Babies were rescued from the streets. Starving families were fed. Widows were taken in. The sick were treated. When the elite citizens of Roman cities fled urban centers that were being ravaged by epidemics, the Christians remained in the cities and cared for the sick.
One Roman ruler who was persecuting Christianity at the time even lamented the fact that Christian compassion made his job of exterminating the church much more difficult.
Q: How can we identify and care for the most vulnerable populations in our city?
__________________
CONCLUSION:
Putting these seven qualities together with their questions, here’s a summary:
▶︎ Simplicity: How can we make our message and out means simpler?
▶︎ Marriage & Family: How can we strengthen families in the local church?
▶︎ Alternative Culture: How can we create an alternative culture for the people in our territory?
▶︎ Experiential: How can we help people personally experience the God and participate in ministry?
▶︎ Meaning & Purpose: How can we better equip people for their Kingdom assignment in the workplace?
▶︎ Eternity: How can we leverage eternity to help people become more effective on earth?
▶︎ Compassion: How can we identify and care for the most vulnerable populations in our city?
Work on the answers go these questions and see what you come up with - maybe something that can help all of us.
© 2025 Mark W. Pfeifer
