Destroyer of the gods Quotes

“But Christianity did not become successful through Constantine giving it imperial approval. Instead, Constantine adopted Christianity likely because it had already become so successful despite earlier efforts to destroy the movement.”
― Larry W. Hurtado, Destroyer of the gods: Early Christian Distinctiveness in the Roman World

“unusual in the Roman period.2 In the eyes of many of that time, early Christianity was odd, bizarre, in some ways even dangerous. For one thing, it did not fit what “religion” was for people then. Indicative of this, Roman-era critics designated it as a perverse “superstition.” Yet the very features of early Christianity that made it odd and objectionable in the ancient Roman setting have become now unquestioned assumptions about religion in much of the modern world.”
― Larry W. Hurtado, Destroyer of the gods: Early Christian Distinctiveness in the Roman World

“That is, Galen admired Christians for exhibiting qualities that he associated more with the philosophical elite of the time and that he regarded as requiring training in philosophy.”
― Larry W. Hurtado, Destroyer of the gods: Early Christian Distinctiveness in the Roman World

“By contrast, the growth of Christianity in its first three centuries, the most crucial period, was largely by a combination of the power of persuasion, whether in preaching, intellectual argument, “miracles” exhibiting the power of Jesus’ name, and simply the moral suasion of Christian behavior, including martyrdom. Granted,”
― Larry W. Hurtado, Destroyer of the gods: Early Christian Distinctiveness in the Roman World

“The basic point to underscore here, however, is that both writers refer to Christians and their religion as different, and objectionably so, and not as simply one type of Roman-era religious option among and like others.”
― Larry W. Hurtado, Destroyer of the gods: Early Christian Distinctiveness in the Roman World