Publisher's Synopsis
In the Roman Empire, Christianity came into being as a radical religious movement. This new concept of religion offered dramatic social and anthropological implications and shaped medieval perceptions.Guy G. Stroumsa examines from various angles the radical nature of some of the early Christian beliefs and their dialectical transformation in the first centuries. He looks at the attitudes of Christians to non-Christians and the growth of intolerance in late antiquity. In addition he shows the extreme character of dualist trends, the role of which can be compared to 'a revolution within the revolution'.
