They were a ragtag bunch, for sure. The pagan writer Celsus dismissed Christianity as a silly religion, fit only for the uneducated, slaves, and women.41 Indeed, sociological studies indicate most of the people drawn to the church in its first three centuries came from the lower echelons of society. Women, especially widows, found a home and occupation within the church, leading some to criticize it as too “effeminized” (proof that some things never change). There were strange rumors, too, rumors about purported love feasts that involved eating flesh and drinking blood—a mystery some said
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