Pagans: The End of Traditional Religion and the Rise of Christianity, by James J. O'Donnell
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Pagans: The End of Traditional Religion and the Rise of Christianity, by James J. O'Donnell
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A provocative and contrarian religious history that charts the rise of Christianity from the point of view of traditional” religion from the religious scholar and critically acclaimed author of Augustine.
Pagans explores the rise of Christianity from a surprising and unique viewpoint: that of the people who witnessed their ways of life destroyed by what seemed then a powerful religious cult. These “pagans” were actually pious Greeks, Romans, Syrians, and Gauls who observed the traditions of their ancestors. To these devout polytheists, Christians who worshipped only one deity were immoral atheists who believed that a splash of water on the deathbed could erase a lifetime of sin.
Religious scholar James J. O’Donnell takes us on a lively tour of the Ancient Roman world through the fourth century CE, when Romans of every nationality, social class, and religious preference found their world suddenly constrained by rulers who preferred a strange new god. Some joined this new cult, while others denied its power, erroneously believing it was little more than a passing fad.
In Pagans, O’Donnell brings to life various pagan rites and essential features of Roman religion and life, offers fresh portraits of iconic historical figures, including Constantine, Julian, and Augustine, and explores important themes—Rome versus the east, civilization versus barbarism, plurality versus unity, rich versus poor, and tradition versus innovation—in this startling account.
Pagans: The End of Traditional Religion and the Rise of Christianity, by James J. O'Donnell- Amazon Sales Rank: #542307 in Books
- Brand: O'Donnell, James J.
- Published on: 2015-03-17
- Released on: 2015-03-17
- Original language: English
- Number of items: 1
- Dimensions: 9.00" h x .97" w x 6.00" l, 1.11 pounds
- Binding: Hardcover
- 288 pages
Review “Trenchantly interprets how an oddball religious cult became the official faith of Rome. . . . It makes for a thoughtful tour of Rome.” (New York Times Book Review)“Mr. O’Donnell tells the familiar story of Christianity’s heroic age of expansion, from Constantine to Theodosius, with verve and wit.” (Wall Street Journal)“James J. O’Donnell’s fine new book . . . is short but multilayered, erudite and dense.” (Cleveland Plain-Dealer)“[A] fascinating and insightful study of the pluralistic pagan gods. This book is a must read for everyone who is interested in either general history or the history of Christianity in particular.” (Washington Book Review)“Although [Pagans] is serious scholarship, it does not take itself too seriously. The result is an engaging view of antiquity few of us have seen. (Booklist)
From the Back Cover
“Mr. O’Donnell tells the familiar story of Christianity’s heroic age of expansion, from Constantine to Theodosius, with verve and wit.”—Wall Street Journal
For hundreds of years, religious and spiritual pluralism thrived in the Roman Empire. In the fourth century, however, as Christianity became the state religion, Christians developed the concept of the “pagan” to stigmatize and ostracize those who refused to devote themselves to the Christian god. These pagans were Greeks, Romans, Gauls, and Syrians who chose to piously observe the traditions of their ancestors.
Pagans uncovers how the ancient and deeply rooted religious traditions of these polytheistic Romans were undermined and suppressed by the rise of Christianity in little more than a hundred years. James J. O’Donnell explores the foundational features of Roman religion and culture, paints fresh portraits of iconic historical figures—including Constantine, Julian, and Augustine—and breathes new life into the defining tensions of the era: Rome versus the East, civilization versus barbarism, plurality versus unity, rich versus poor, and tradition versus innovation.
In this nuanced account of religious repression, O’Donnell offers an iconoclastic history of religion that tells an exciting new story that is deeply relevant to the way we think about religion in our own time.
About the Author
James J. O'donnell is a classicist who served for ten years as Provost of Georgetown University and is now University Librarian at Arizona State University. He is the author of several books including Augustine, The Ruin of the Roman Empire, and Avatars of the Word. He is the former president of the American Philological Association, a Fellow of the Medieval Academy of America, and the chair of the Board of Directors of the American Council of Learned Societies. He is seen here at an ancient monastery on the eastern frontier of the Roman Empire, in Syria.
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Most helpful customer reviews
38 of 41 people found the following review helpful. How Christianity displaced traditional religions and defined Paganism By Montana Skyline O'Donnell has the scholarly credentials to provide a comprehensive account of the displacement of the traditional religions of the Mediterranean and near-eastern world by the Christians who subsequently labeled those religious cultures (and later non-Christian religions) as "pagan." This is not that comprehensive treatment. It does, however, offer a fair amount of insight into the weakening traditions that fell out of favor, as well as a corrective to some of the dubious history of struggle between Christianity and the losing traditions.The book's tone, particularly the first half of the book, which seeks to put the reader in the time and mind-set of the classical religious culture, is rather easy-going. This has the benefit of making for quick and often amusing reading, but also undermines the seriousness of its treatment at times. The book's first half does succeed in giving the reader an improved sense of what "religion without a history" may have been like for contemporaries, but otherwise seems disjointed. The book's second half, "The History of Paganism," is more interesting: Not because it provides a detailed history of the religions preceding or competing with early Christianity (it doesn't and disclaims doing so), but rather because it explains how the notion of "paganism" arose as defined by Christianity. Put differently, the subject matter is not a history of traditional, non-Christian beliefs, but rather how Christianity came to define the notion of paganism. At times, this is a bit too clever in approach. That being said, O'Donnell has a fine grasp of the development of Christianity in calculated opposition to a supposed pagan alternative, and provides many nice insights into the Christian mythology developed. One would expect no less from the author of a definitive, three-volume treatment of Augustine, as well as the well-regarded "The Ruin of the Roman Empire."In sum, this is not exactly the book that I expected on purchase, and I think that it suffers somewhat from tone and lack of a sustained argument of theme --- but it is an interesting read and offers many smart observations about Christianity's displacement of classical/traditional religions.
19 of 21 people found the following review helpful. Sometimes annoying but always thought-provoking By physics student I agree with Montana Skyline's extensive review above: the style can be annoyingly clever. For example, the subject of a chapter entitled "The First Christian Emperor" turns out to be Julian the Apostate, the last pagan Emperor of Rome, who followed after several Christian emperors. But even here O'Donnell is thought-provoking. His point is that Julian was the first emperor who grew up with a Christian education. Many such insights appear throughout.This small book cannot be comprehensive, but by the same token it's quite readable. So a full five stars from me!
13 of 14 people found the following review helpful. The Dividing Line Between Pagans and Christians By R.H. It is a curious book. The first two chapters held marginal interest and I almost put the book down. Somewhere in the third chapter (An Eloquent Man), it suddenly picked up and became a fascinating read.So, what this historical piece covers is this transformation of Rome from a wide-open field of religion to one that is dominated by Christianity, and eventually dissolves the empire. It lays out the habits and rituals of old Rome, and how it slowly became a different atmosphere. For those trying to conceive how the Roman Empire came to an end.....I would suggest to start with this book.As for the read? Well....you need to have some interest in the period (Roman era), the track of the Christian religion, and history. I might also suggest a brief read over the leadership of Rome prior to taking on this book because various names get mentioned and you need some insight. Overall, I think the book probably needed a better edit of chapter one/two, but it does hold your interest as you get deeper into the book. I also think that chapter ten (Constantine) probably deserves an entire book by itself, with O'Donnell opening up a lot of insight to the Constantine era (more than I ever knew). A great read for the Roman era.
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