or
Sign in to turn on 1-Click ordering.
 
 
More Buying Choices
28 used & new from £5.18
Have one to sell? Sell yours here
 
   
The Rise of Christianity
 
See larger image 
Share your own customer images
Publisher: learn how customers can search inside this book.

The Rise of Christianity (Paperback)

by Rodney Stark (Author)
4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
Price: £11.99 & this item Delivered FREE in the UK with Super Saver Delivery. See details and conditions
o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o
In stock.
Dispatched from and sold by Amazon.co.uk. Gift-wrap available.

Only 1 left in stock--order soon (more on the way).

Want guaranteed delivery by Saturday, November 14? Choose Express delivery at checkout. See Details
16 new from £5.18 12 used from £5.19

Frequently Bought Together

The Rise of Christianity + Cities of God: The Real Story of How Christianity Became an Urban Movement and Conquered Rome + Victory of Reason, The: How Christianity Led to Freedom, Capitalism, and Western Success
Price For All Three: £43.11

Some of these items are dispatched sooner than the others. Show details

Customers Who Bought This Item Also Bought

Cities of God: The Real Story of How Christianity Became an Urban Movement and Conquered Rome

Cities of God: The Real Story of How Christianity Became an Urban Movement and Conquered Rome

by Rodney Stark
5.0 out of 5 stars (1)  £23.70
Victory of Reason, The: How Christianity Led to Freedom, Capitalism, and Western Success

Victory of Reason, The: How Christianity Led to Freedom, Capitalism, and Western Success

by Rodney Stark
3.2 out of 5 stars (4)  £7.42
For the Glory of God: How Monotheism Led to Reformations, Science, Witch-Hunts, and the End of Slavery

For the Glory of God: How Monotheism Led to Reformations, Science, Witch-Hunts, and the End of Slavery

by Rodney Stark
5.0 out of 5 stars (1)  £15.58
Authority and the Sacred: Aspects of the Christianisation of the Roman World (Canto Original) (Canto original series)

Authority and the Sacred: Aspects of the Christianisation of the Roman World (Canto Original) (Canto original series)

by Peter Brown
£12.74
Discovering God: The Origins of the Great Religions and the Evolution of Belief

Discovering God: The Origins of the Great Religions and the Evolution of Belief

by Rodney Stark
£14.17
› Explore similar items

Product details

  • Paperback: 272 pages
  • Publisher: HarperSanFrancisco; 1st HarperCollins Pbk. Ed edition (26 Mar 1997)
  • Language English
  • ISBN-10: 0060677015
  • ISBN-13: 978-0060677015
  • Product Dimensions: 19.8 x 13.5 x 2 cm
  • Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
  • Amazon.co.uk Sales Rank: 110,251 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

    •  Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images?

Customers Viewing This Page May Be Interested in These Sponsored Links

  (What is this?)
   Spiritual Reader Sundari opens new browser window
www.spiritualreader.tk  -  Money, Business, Good Luck, Counsel Prosperity, Love, Family Crisis 
   Early Christians opens new browser window
www.PloughBooks.co.uk  -  What was Christianity like before it was successful? Free Ebook. 
   Jesus Christ's Real Story opens new browser window
www.gnmagazine.org/realstory/?S=2  -  Who was Jesus Christ & what did He really teach? Find out in free book 
  
 

Product Description

Synopsis

How the obscure, marginal Jesus movement became the dominant religious force in the Western world in a few centuries.

Suggested Tags from Similar Products

 (What's this?)
Be the first one to add a relevant tag (keyword that's strongly related to this product)
 
religion
history
sociology of religion
history of christianity
sociology
christian history
church history
christianity
rise of christianity
fantasy
external focus

Your tags: Add your first tag
 
See most popular tags
 

Customer Reviews

4 Reviews
5 star:
 (3)
4 star:
 (1)
3 star:    (0)
2 star:    (0)
1 star:    (0)
 
 
 
 
 
Average Customer Review
4.8 out of 5 stars (4 customer reviews)
 
 
 
 
Share your thoughts with other customers:
Most Helpful Customer Reviews

 
12 of 15 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars An eye-opener, 17 Sep 2002
By M Hill (Kent, England) - See all my reviews
This book is so interesting I started to read it again as soon as I had finished it the first time.

Stark paints a vivid picture of the life and times of ordinary Jews, Greeks and Romans in the years following the Crucifixion. His arguments as to how the early Church acheived such impressive and resiliant growth are compelling and they give some insight into how the modern Church might recapture some of this vitality.

Stark is a sociologist straying into historical analysis, and there are some accompanying flaws as a result of this adventure. For example, his description of Antioch as a crowded, chaotic and filthy place to live could equally describe nearly any city up until the modern era. Indeed, Stark himself draws parallels between ancient Antioch and modern Bombay. If Christainity alone (or the related religions of Islam, Judiasm and Mormonism) could address the needs of the urban downtrodden then Hinduism and Buddhism would not have the stronghold in India that they currently possess. The fact that he has to impress his readers that whole families lived in single rooms with their livestock reveals his American (multi-room, livestock-free) upbringing - or that of the undergraduates he has to teach.

However, this is a minor flaw in an otherwise fascinating, easy to read book.

Comment Comment | Permalink | Was this review helpful to you? Yes No (Report this)



 
6 of 9 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Social science done right., 22 Dec 1997
By A Customer
If one wants to understand the rise of Christianity this book does a masterful job of explicating this as a process without belittling the religion as a religion. If one wants to understand the process of doing good social science this book is also very useful. Stark makes skillful use of a number of methods but never loses sight of his problem. By contrast, far too much of the research I read either lacks any methodological sophistication at all or is so focused on the technique that it loses the point in the mess of details. I would like to use this book in a methodology of the social sciences class as an illustration of what is possible given some fairly simple methods that are taught to most first year graduate students (or even undergraduates), but, most of all--and hardest of all--intense clarity of thought and careful reflection on the problem at hand.
Comment Comment (1) | Permalink | Was this review helpful to you? Yes No (Report this)



 
6 of 10 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars A stunning, science-based portrait of early Christianity, 7 Feb 1999
By A Customer
Accused of superstitious atheism, and persecuted to the death, early Christians overcame all challenges to overwhelm the pagan world with superior morality and ethical behavour. Rodney Stark combines historical evidence with current sociological theory to explain how. Chapters on the mission to the Jewish diaspora, the role of women in the early church, how social networks functioned during epidemics, and the rationality of martyrdom demonstrate the deeply transforming nature of the Christian religion on Greco-Roman civilization. For anyone who wonders what difference Christianity made in the beginning, and what difference it can make today, this book is a must read.
Comment Comment | Permalink | Was this review helpful to you? Yes No (Report this)


Share your thoughts with other customers: Create your own review
 
 
 
Most Recent Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5 stars Very enjoyable.
In 313 AD the Emperors Licinius and Constantine I signed the Edict of Milan proclaiming religious toleration within the Roman empire. Read more
Published 4 months ago by Brim

Only search this product's reviews


Customer Discussions

This product's forum
Discussion Replies Latest Post
No discussions yet

Ask questions, Share opinions, Gain insight
Start a new discussion
Topic:
First post:
Prompts for sign-in
 


Active discussions in related forums
   
Related forums

Listmania!

Create a Listmania! list

Look for similar items by category

Look for similar items by subject

















i.e., each product must be in subject 1 AND subject 2 AND ...

Feedback

Ad

Your Recent History

 (What's this?)

After viewing product detail pages or search results, look here to find an easy way to navigate back to pages you are interested in.