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The Christians as the Romans Saw Them

Robert L. Wilken

4.02 · Rating details · 526 ratings · 65 reviews

This book offers an engrossing portrayal of the early years of the Christian movement from the perspective of the Romans.
Acknowledgments
Introduction
Abbreviations
Pliny: a Roman gentleman. The making of a Roman official; Travels of a provincial governor; A Christian association; Offerings of wine & incense
Christianity as a burial society. Church or political club?; A sense o ...more

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Paperback, Second Edition, 238 pages

Published April 10th 2003 by Yale University Press (first published 1984)

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Feb 26, 2019 Joe Krakovsky rated it it was amazing

Shelves: religion, history

Normally I give the highest rating to books I really enjoyed or learned something from. I learned a lot from this book, and I'll tell you, if it wasn't for my faith in my faith, my faith might have been shaken!

The author has put a lot of research into this book. It is pretty evident by all the footnotes and references, many of which are in foreign languages. I am giving it a 4.5 star rounded up to 5. My reason, which I will state shortly, may seem like one little itsy-bitsy thing, but in reality Normally I give the highest rating to books I really enjoyed or learned something from. I learned a lot from this book, and I'll tell you, if it wasn't for my faith in my faith, my faith might have been shaken!

The author has put a lot of research into this book. It is pretty evident by all the footnotes and references, many of which are in foreign languages. I am giving it a 4.5 star rounded up to 5. My reason, which I will state shortly, may seem like one little itsy-bitsy thing, but in reality, considering the topic, a glaring error of omission.

In order to explain what the ancient Romans thought of the early Christians, the author had to first explain something about the Romans' attitudes, beliefs, and practices. He then presented the criticisms leveled by three of the most outstanding opponents to the new religion. Now this was easier said than done as the books and manuscripts of these 'pagans' were burned by later Christians when Christianity became the official language of the empire. So by using the rebuttals by the early Christian apologists, he was able to 'reverse engineer' what their original arguments must have been. From the looks of it, these guys 'knew their enemies' inside and out. They used quotes and referred to ancient Jewish scriptures and believes to argue the point that Christianity was without foundation, nothing but a superstition, and that Jesus was merely a magician.

From the sound of it, any type of rebuttal by the early Christians was limited to just having faith and believing. This belief must have been pretty strong to be willing to die as a martyr! It wasn't until later (sometimes centuries) that arguments were composed and presented. What the author states is that this helped the Christians better understand, clarify or change the presentation of their religion. Thus he says, the Romans actually did them a favor by criticizing them.

What I will add upon closing is my reason for 4.5 stars. Religion is not something based on rhetoric but rather spirituality. Heck, under the right conditions, you can make slavery or fascism sound like a good thing. No, in spiritual matters you have to pray, sometimes long and hard. The author should have stressed this more. To overlook this fact is just plain dumb! ...more

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Mar 10, 2017 Charles Haywood rated it it was amazing

We tend to think of Christianity’s global spread as somehow predestined. A little thought, of course, shows this to be far from the truth. In fact, many cultures have strongly resisted the message of the Gospel—most dramatically with violence and the creation of martyrs, but sometimes more successfully with intellectual arguments against the truth of Christianity. For example, Martin Scorsese’s recent film adaptation of Shūsaku Endō’s "Silence" shows the torture and martyrdom of Christians—but i ...more

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Feb 28, 2020 Erik Graff rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Recommends it for: Greco-Roman history fans

Recommended to Erik by: no one

Shelves: religion

This little book introduces the Greco-Roman critique of Christianity in terms of what we can make out of the views of Pliny the Younger, Galen, Celsus, Porphyry, and the emperor Julian (361-63). Written for the general public, it does not go into detail as regards textual provenance. Sadly, we rely too much on Christian citations of their critics. Still, while most histories relate the triumph of the Church(es), this one gives the reader some pause to consider what might have been had the Christ ...more

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Apr 30, 2013 Scott Pilkington rated it really liked it

In his highly regarded and well-reviewed book: ‘The Christians as the Romans Saw Them’, Robert L Wilken counters his previous research into the early Apologists by looking at the pagan writing of the time about Christians, to see the issue from the other side of the coin. He argues that this is important as it is an area of focus not normally covered by ancient historians and/or theologians, to understand the apologists; you have to understand their pagan critics. Wilken attempts to use Roman an ...more

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Feb 25, 2011 David S. T. rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: religion, history

This book isn't quite Christians as the Romans saw them, but more so Christians as five different Roman critics (or anti-Christians) saw them. Four of the five individuals mentioned had written arguments against Christianity and forced the earliest of apologetics. This book definitely changed my view of the religious environment of the early Romans. One of the interesting things to me is that by the 3rd and 4th century Romans mostly were Henotheist (meaning there is one supreme god, Jupiter/Zeus ...more

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Jun 06, 2007 Damien rated it really liked it

Recommends it for: centurions; goatherds

This book sheds some much needed light on a weird cult that has been causing trouble lately

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Dec 11, 2018 Regan rated it it was amazing

Excellent philosophical overview of the tension between Greeks/Romans, Christians and Jews during the formation of Christianity.

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Jun 04, 2020 Dakota rated it it was amazing

Absolutely loved this book. Opened my eyes to the Roman perspective of Christians. Completely fascinating book that presents an early Greco-Roman critique of Christianity from a philosophical and literary criticism. Highly recommend it to my friends.

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Oct 14, 2009 Beau Johnson rated it liked it

Shelves: religion, history

The Christians as the Romans Saw Them

This book is a great historical picture of how the Christians were viewed in the first centuries CE. It, through the eyes of several contemporary (read: first and second century) authors, shows us just how counter-cultural the early Christians were. More than a vivid description of how the Romans viewed the Christians, it is a convicting account of how much as change, and how much hasn't.

Take, for example, what we learn from Tertullian. In this chapter the au ...more

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Jan 16, 2017 Ed rated it really liked it

Shelves: classics

In the first century of the first millennium followers of Christ were under suspicion of subverting the empire, attacked and arrested in Rome and the provinces and executed unless they denounced Christianity and made sacrifice to the Roman gods. By 380 it had become the state church of the empire and its imperial patron, Constantine, was hailed as the model of a Christian ruler in Roman Church and as a saint in Eastern Christianity. Robert Wilken’s excellent social and cultural history of the pe In the first century of the first millennium followers of Christ were under suspicion of subverting the empire, attacked and arrested in Rome and the provinces and executed unless they denounced Christianity and made sacrifice to the Roman gods. By 380 it had become the state church of the empire and its imperial patron, Constantine, was hailed as the model of a Christian ruler in Roman Church and as a saint in Eastern Christianity. Robert Wilken’s excellent social and cultural history of the period shows how this happened by looking at how Christians dealt with condemnation and how they changed in relationship to the civil power of Rome.

Initially Christians were persecuted for being “superstitio”, a description of a new and unlawful cult without official sanction of the Roman Empire. The Emperor Domitian had persecuted the Christians, classifying them as a “superstitio Judaica” — given its historical roots as a Jewish movement it was considered a heretical offshoot of Judaism. They were accused of abominations, in this case cannibalism, “eating and drinking the body and blood of their god” and incest since they referred to other members of the sect as brother and sister. In truth the Romans weren’t really interested in the beliefs of odd religions from the far corners of the empire, having confronted and absorbed sects like the Celts, Goths and Huns. Wilken looks at several of the main critics of Christianity including Pliny the Younger, Galen, Porphyry and the Emperor Julian. Since history is written by the winners, he has been known as Julian the Apostate.

Pliny was the earliest and most straightforward. The Emperor Trajan sent him as governor to the provinces of Bithynia and Pontus in modern day Turkey. Taxes had been slow to come to Rome, there were reports of rebellion and conspiracy and Roman citizens and even officials hadn’t been shown the respect they deserved. Pliny was sent to get them into shape. He encountered Christians for the first time and found them to be pig-headed, obdurate and arrogant with strange beliefs and unwilling to show they were loyal citizens of the empire (or at least trustworthy subjects if not citizens) by taking part in the ceremonies propitiating the gods that were a part of daily life in Rome and the provinces. Pliny didn’t bother with their beliefs but wrote to Trajan that “for whatever the nature of their creed might be, I could at least feel no doubt that contumacy and inflexible obstinacy deserved punishment. They threatened the civil order by their refusal to recognize Roman gods. Pliny felt that he treated them leniently—Christians who were denounced were given three chances to recant before they were executed and no one would be subject to trial based solely on anonymous accusations.

Galen was interested in Christianity and tried to understand how Christians lived, what they believed and how their beliefs differed from other ethical religious rules existing in the empire. He was impressed with how they were able to lead men and women to lives of virtue but saw this Judeo-Christian god as operating outside the laws of nature and Greco-Roman tradition, the continuation of which was essential for continued peace and prosperity in the empire.
Part of this was the growing general interest in the early Christian movement--Galen wrote in the century after Pliny--but also in their different functions. Galen was a polymath, a physician who spent years traveling the eastern part of the empire studying while Pliny had to be concerned with civil unrest and how failing to worship the Roman gods could lead to it. Galen's curiosity showed the acceptance of Christian thought if not belief in intellectual circles.

Porphyry, the author of “Against the Christians” the most learned and astute (and therefore dangerous) critic but was much more than an efficient detractor of Christianity. He was a biographer and student of the great neo-Platonic philosopher Plotinus and editor of his works. He drew on wide learning in history, philosophy, religion, language and literary criticism. Augustine called Porphyry the “most learned of philosophers”. The Emperor Constantine didn’t bother composing a treatise against him but put his writings to the torch. Several generations of Christian intellectuals spent years trying to counter him. This showed just how far Christianity had progressed in the empire, going from a cult in Palestine and Asia Minor whose adherents could either recant or die to the almost official religion of Rome, defended by the emperor himself.

Wilken has spent his career immersed in the history of early Christianity, mastering sources in Latin, Greek and at least one modern European language as well as English. He wears his learning lightly but doesn’t write down to his non-academic audience. There is a lot here for the general reader and it is recommended to anyone who is interested in the cultural, social and religious history of the first few centuries after the death of Christ.
...more

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Jul 26, 2011 Coyle rated it it was amazing

Shelves: political-theory-classical, political-theory-christian

I "read" this book (i.e. "had it assigned") in undergrad, but have gone back through it in the past couple of weeks as part of my "keeping up with political theory-ish stuff" project (counting this as part of the "Christian political theory" category).

Wilcken's project is to explore Christianity through the eyes of the pagan Romans, both in terms of the general cultural perception (in two chapters, one on the perception of Christians as a "burial society" and one on the perecption of Christians I "read" this book (i.e. "had it assigned") in undergrad, but have gone back through it in the past couple of weeks as part of my "keeping up with political theory-ish stuff" project (counting this as part of the "Christian political theory" category).

Wilcken's project is to explore Christianity through the eyes of the pagan Romans, both in terms of the general cultural perception (in two chapters, one on the perception of Christians as a "burial society" and one on the perecption of Christians as a "superstition") and through the eyes of five observers: Pliny, Galen, Celsus, Porphyry, and Julian the Apostate. Wilken suggests that there are two broad points uniting all Roman criticism of Christianity:
-Christians undermine the entire Roman system when they reject "the gods" of localities and traditions and replace "the one Supreme god" with Jesus. All of Roman society and order (especially under the Imperial system) was based on religious traditions. When Christianity rejected those traditions, it of necessity rejected the whole of Roman society. This is seen even in Christianty's own origins as a break-away Jewish cult, which even rejected its own traditions by refusing to obey the law (one of the most interesting parts of the book is the discussion of Julian's attempt to rebuild the Jewish temple to prove Christianity wrong about the law being fulfilled).
-Christians make religion historical and personal by arguing that 1) God became a man and that 2) salvation comes to individuals. This is opposed to the accepted traditions that 1) the "Supreme god" is utterly transcendent, and would never step into a single location (which of necessity excludes all other peoples and locations); and that 2) all peoples, customs, and traditions have access to this one Supreme god via their local traditions and customs.

Overall, this book is very well done. It's just scholarly enough to show that Wilken knows his business, but well-written enough that anyone (even without a background in Ancient History) could pick it up and enjoy it. As with many books in this vein (including
Early Christian Thought & the Classical Tradition), Wilken's book is especially interesting given modern debates between Christians and the culture. Arguments used by Celsus, Porphyry, Julian, et. al. remain the primary points brought up by "modern" writers in their polemics against Christianity. Christians would be well served by going back and reading the early church's responses to these arguments and drawing on the long tradition of thought that has gone into them.

Highly recommended. ...more

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Jan 17, 2014 Adam Robinson rated it really liked it

CS Lewis said that for every 3 modern books you read you should read one ancient book. It's good for us. It reminds us that people before us were just as smart and intellectually curious as we are and also that they had egregious blind spots. That is not to their discredit. On the contrary, it should remind us that we moderns simply have different blind spots even now. Wilkens' book has done a couple for things for me. First, it has given me a much clearer picture of the Roman world during the f ...more

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Mar 01, 2011 Ben rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: history, religious

I enjoyed this book for its examination of major trends in the reception of early Christianity by pagan intellectuals of the period. Wilken covers the major authors and their works, and his description of their contents and the challenges they presented to Christian apologists is lucid and accessible without being overly-simple or blatantly incomplete. I feel that, having read this book, I have a good background on the subject and could tackle more specialized works if I wanted to now.

My only co ...more

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Jul 02, 2014 Ken McGuire rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

For years I have read multiple church fathers as an amateur, and have often seen this book referenced in modern editions. In addition, I have seen many of the texts he quotes. And so much of the information is not really that new to me.

But this is very good information, that is presented quite well, with great discernment. It introduces the reader to a fair bit of scholarship on this era that otherwise can be hidden away for experts. He finds quite interesting connections between what was happen ...more

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Dec 30, 2015 Daniel Alvers rated it it was amazing

This is a fantastic well written resource. I found the authors purpose to be unique and entertaining. I wasn't used to hearing "the other side" and not in the way its presented here. Objectivity is difficult to pursue in writing and seeing it presented well often means you are being taken for a ride. In this work you enjoy the ride because the writing is also done with fantastic skill. This work itself has drawn me into reading future works of his and I have began to notice that this work itself ...more

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Jun 11, 2016 Greg Williams rated it really liked it

This book looks at what the Romans thought of early Christianity by surveying some early Roman writings that mention Christianity in the first 4 centuries after Christ's death. As you can imagine, they were critical of this young religious movement that didn't integrate well with Roman society and refused to worship the emperor or the traditional Roman gods. But in reading their critique, we can gain some insights into what the early Christian movement was like.

I read this several years ago and ...more

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Jun 26, 2011 Sidney Smeets rated it really liked it

Wonderful little book showing the criticism against Christianitty to be remarkably consistent from ancient times 'till the present. Especially Celsus is astute in his observations and his humour helps keep his views accessible to modern readers. Christians have not been able to refute criticism regarding the virgin birth or the historicity of Christ in almost 20 centuries. I wouldn't hold my breath they ever will. A joy to read. ...more

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Aug 06, 2011 Angela Pippinger rated it really liked it

Excellent book! I highly recommend anyone interested in religious history to take a look at this one.

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May 14, 2021 Saint Katherine BookstoreVA added it

"And a servant of the Lord ought not to fight, but to be gentle to all, skillful at teaching, forbearing, in meekness instructing those that oppose, if God perhaps may give them repentance, to a full knowledge of the truth, and they regain their senses and escape out of the snare of the devil, having been captured alive by him to do his will." (2 Timothy 2:24-26 EMTV)

Christians as the Romans Saw Them offers a very readable overview of the top Roman critics of early Christianity: Pliny, Galen, Ce "And a servant of the Lord ought not to fight, but to be gentle to all, skillful at teaching, forbearing, in meekness instructing those that oppose, if God perhaps may give them repentance, to a full knowledge of the truth, and they regain their senses and escape out of the snare of the devil, having been captured alive by him to do his will." (2 Timothy 2:24-26 EMTV)

Christians as the Romans Saw Them offers a very readable overview of the top Roman critics of early Christianity: Pliny, Galen, Celsus, and most notably, Porphyry and the Byzantine emperor Julian. All of these were learned and accomplished men with the finest educations in rhetoric, critical reasoning, and literary analysis. Porphyry wrote extensively in response to the work of Origen, the first systematic Christian theologian. Julian became known to history as the Apostate, who, having been baptized and educated in a Christian (albeit Arian) court, became an enthusiastic “convert” to the worship of Roman gods. He (as well as Porphyry) intended to show that Christian claims to be the successor of the Hebrews, along with the doctrine of Christ’ divinity, were merely imaginative thinking based on unreasonable and unsupportable assumptions.

Wilken points out the great existential challenges to the Faith that these men posed, noting that some early Fathers admitted that they could not always overcome their challengers’ arguments by reason alone. In some cases, emperors and churchmen resorted to banning and burning these works. But their intellectual and rhetorical challenges forced the development of Christian apologetics supported by the same intellectual prowess. This helped the Faith define and explain itself as it was disputed by factions both within and without.

But the more things change, the more they stay the same. The same scornful tone and similar intellectual arguments are deployed by militant secularists and “evangelical” atheists against Christianity today. Just as always, the rules of logic and argument can be set up and manipulated to either affirm or cast doubt; the content of the argument always depends on the subjective starting points and depth of knowledge of the principal debaters. For the consumer of these debates who is attending only to the workings of the intellect, the outcome depends on which of the competing narratives that they accept. Some fall away today reading Erdman and Hutchins just as they fell away reading Julian and Porphyry. But their fall is a deadly one caused by the smallest of tripwires – “reason alone” is not a fully human response to any existential question.
...more

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Nov 11, 2017 Daniel Supimpa rated it really liked it

Another reviewer observed that this book should be called "The Christians as Five Romans Saw them." I would go a little further to name the book "The Christians as Five Unsympathetic Romans Saw them (and how they helped Christianity)". Wilken departs from the writings of five men from the late Roman period: Pliny the younger, Galen, Celsus, Porphyry and Julian the Apostate. They run from the beginning of the 2nd to 4th century AD, and, for Wilken, represent the most developed intellectual critiq Another reviewer observed that this book should be called "The Christians as Five Romans Saw them." I would go a little further to name the book "The Christians as Five Unsympathetic Romans Saw them (and how they helped Christianity)". Wilken departs from the writings of five men from the late Roman period: Pliny the younger, Galen, Celsus, Porphyry and Julian the Apostate. They run from the beginning of the 2nd to 4th century AD, and, for Wilken, represent the most developed intellectual critiques of Christianity by classical culture that we still have access to.

The objective of the book is brought accurately at the preface of the second edition, so it is worth citing it at length:

"I was interested chiefly in depicting the religious world in which the Christian movement took root and showing how it shaped perceptions of the new movement within society. [...] Christianity became the kind of religion it did, at least in part, because of critics like Celsus, Porphyry, and Julian. Christians encountered the traditions of the ancient world not simply as a literary legacy from the past, but through vital interactions and vigorous criticism of Greek and Roman intellectuals. They helped Christians clarify what they believed, and without them Christianity would have been intellectually poorer." (xi) In other words, the dialogue established during this period was essential to the intellectual formation of early Christian thought, an essential period for Christian tradition. In the conclusion of the work, Wilken restate that such dialogue with alternative points of view strengthen Christianity.

The analysis of the five thinkers is historically honest and deal with primary sources, which adds value to Wilken´s work. It's quite interesting to observe some Christian distinctives that became crutial to the Greek-Roman questions: belief in a particular and exclusivist revelation from God to Israel and later in Jesus; the worship of Jesus as the only true God; belief in a free and transcendent God working by acts of his own will; and the relationship between Christianity and Judaism, which would legitimate or not the former's value and an ancient tradition.

Easy reading, with valuable topics for Christians aiming on how to encounter their surrounding culture intelligently. Worth the reading ...more

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Oct 05, 2017 Robert Rogers rated it really liked it

Fascinating look at pagan Roman intellectuals in the second, third and fourth century critiqued Christianity. This book is not only valuable to understand how non-Christian Romans viewed the Christians, but also to see what were the major theological issue they addressed, and how Christian apologists responded. Surprisingly, this is an excellent resource for Christian apologetics!
As the author says, "Christianity needed its critics and profited from them... They helped Christians to find their ...more

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Sep 26, 2020 Benjamin rated it it was amazing

From Pliny on the early second century to Julian the Apostate in the fourth, Wilken has selected seven critics of Christianity in that period, presenting their attacks in some detail. It is always useful for the church to see itself from the outside; to see itself as its opponents see it. It helps to clarify and sharpen the church's understanding of itself and its mission. "But on balance pagan intellectuals knew what they were talking about and understood the new religion remarkably well" (200) ...more

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Jan 15, 2021 David Pendergrass rated it it was amazing

To every Christian I recommend this book. At least have it for skimming and research. The Christian faith did not find itself born into a vacuum, or from one. We need to understand how the early church dealt with the culture of its day to better understand 21st apologetics. We find a closer correlation between the 1st few centuries and today than any other time (arguably).

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Feb 20, 2021 Bluecoloredlines rated it really liked it

A much needed Roman (pagan) perspective on the first centuries of Christianity, and a window on the culturally changing scenery of the times. Research really needs these non-Christian accounts if it really aspires to be critical. I quite liked the narrative structure of this book, and the language. Most academic books are quite poorly written, this one makes an exception.

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Jun 22, 2017 Thomas rated it liked it

Shelves: history, 2017

If you're familiar with early church history, you'll be familiar with most of these figures and the issues discussed. But, this is a helpful and thoughtful way of structuring the story of the early church in its Roman cultural context, written in clear prose. An excellent introduction. ...more

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Dec 18, 2018 Andrea Hickman Walker rated it it was ok

Shelves: non-fiction, biography, history, religion

This did not meet my expectations. Mostly due to the way the book was organised. I understand why the focus was on specific writers, who left records of their and others' opinions, but I would have preferred a more generalised analysis. ...more

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Jul 07, 2018 Joshua Laferriere rated it it was amazing

One of my first fore-rays into historical, great treatment of the periods covered, Porphyry, Julian, Galena, Pliny were some names dropped with great contextual treatment of each.

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Sep 20, 2018 Chani rated it it was amazing

Absolutely fascinating! A very understandable read. I enjoyed seeing what the Romans thought of Christianity in the early centuries, and was shocked at how mistaken those early Christians could be!

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