No Robots

The message was originally spread via synagogues, no?

Toto

Have you read Rodney Stark, The Rise of Christianity (or via: amazon.co.uk)? He has an explanation in terms of social factors.

Steven Carr

Why did what spread so quickly?

Why did Christianity spread so quickly and yet the Gospel stories did not?

We find no Christians spreading Gospel stories without having Gospels to read them in.

So where did the word of mouth dissemination of Gospels spread to?

And why did no other (true) stories about Jesus spread, other than Gospel stories?

Why don't we have lots of snippets of stories about Jesus, spread by this spreading process?

And why did Christianity spread, when Christians doubted the crucifixion (see Galatians 3), and doubted the resurrection (see 1 Corinthians 15)?

Surely what spread was a portmanteau religion. See 2 Corinthians 11 where Paul complains about the false Jesus's that were spreading.

So what exactly was spreading before it all became orthodox?

jules?

there were plenty of gospels just most were disposed of post the rise of orthodoxy.

The simplist message was the jewish apocalyptic cult but being taken on board by non-jews, salvation for the poor and a flaming hell for the stinking rich. such a message doesnt really need the Orthodox Gospels and Paul's letters pretty well allude to the 'end is nigh' message.

I get the same people knocking on my door and selling the same message, look on satelite t.v and US fundy doom merchants are focusing on the new market of Africa. But how it spread is a mystery, missionaries out to make a quick buck just like the telly evangelists perhaps? but i am open to ideas

jules?

not amongst the non-jews at least

No Robots

Oh, yeah, well, sure, if ya leave the Jews out of it, then it's a complete fucking mystery, isn't it? I mean, then anything's possible, right?

aa5874

Perhaps you have not heard about the influence of Constantine the Great on Christianity and how the laws governing heretics and Jews were enacted or enforced to be harshly disciminatory to non-Christians

Excerpts from the Ecumenical Council of 381, "It is unlawful for any man to bring forward, or to write, or to compose a different faith as a rival to that established by the holy Father assembled with the Holy Ghost in Nicaea."

And from a law of Justinian from 531, "..... we therefore ordain that no heretic, not even they who cherish the Jewish superstition, may offer testimony against orthodox Christians...."

Or from a law of Theodosius, 439, '.........To these things we add that he who misleads a slave or a free man against his will or by punishable advice, from the service of the Christian religion to that of an abdominable sect and ritual, is to be punished by loss of property and life...."

Christianity's success is directly related to the Roman Empire.

Amaleq13

Those who think to reach their conclusions rather than simply going with what they feel is right. I thought that was obvious.

I don't assume that all "thinkers" share the same conclusions.

Toto

Stark's thesis is that Christianity spread among the diaspora Jews and the "god fearer" who were hangers on at the Jewish Temple, but had not fully committed to circumcision and following all of the Jewish Law.

You really need to read Stark if you want to figure this out. He might be wrong on some things, but he lays the issues out fairly well.

No Robots

I think that that is quite right, although I don't know why you say "Temple" instead of "synagogue."