Two Types of Conversion to Early Christianity

Author(s): Ramsay MacMullen

Source: Vigiliae Christianae, Vol. 37, No. 2 (Jun., 1983), pp. 174-192
Published by: BRILL
Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/1583344
Accessed: 23-07-2015 23:42 UTC

Your use of the JSTOR archive indicates your acceptance of the Terms & Conditions of Use, available at http://www.jstor.org/page/
info/about/policies/terms.jsp
JSTOR is a not-for-profit service that helps scholars, researchers, and students discover, use, and build upon a wide range of content
in a trusted digital archive. We use information technology and tools to increase productivity and facilitate new forms of scholarship.
For more information about JSTOR, please contact support@jstor.org.

BRILL is collaborating with JSTOR to digitize, preserve and extend access to Vigiliae Christianae.

http://www.jstor.org

This content downloaded from 140.147.236.194 on Thu, 23 Jul 2015 23:42:38 UTC
All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions

VigiliaeChristianae37 (1983) 174-192,E. J. Brill,Leiden

TWO TYPES OF CONVERSION TO EARLY CHRISTIANITY

BY

RAMSAY MACMULLEN

What pagans saw in Christianity

(in the sense of beingdrawnto it)
theirfirst
depended greatlyon what they saw of it. Self-evidently,
allegiancecould be inspiredonlyby thosepartsand aspectsof thefaith
that were openlydisplayed.So thereis one topic to explore: exactly
what was displayed,undeniablyand demonstrably?
And displayedat the momentof conversion,so as to account for
it-not whentheprocesswas well begun.I therefore
excludeconsiderationof theconvertsmade in Judaeaor in or aroundJewishcommunities
in Greekcities.
But further:conversiondependedgreatlyon the fitbetweenChristianityand prevailingexpectationsregardingthe world above us. No
challengeon all fronts,nor a faithcenteredin some practiceperfectly
unacceptable(such as humansacrifice,letus say,or ritualprostitution),
could have prevailed.There is a second topic to explore-relatively
accessible,at least if we limitour explorationto our survivingtexts,
theirwriters,and theirreaders.
less thana
confineus withina circleconstituting
They immediately
tenth of the population. A cultural elite: even St. Paul almost a
member,or on thefringes,sincehe likethepagan Celsus or theconvert
Justinhad added yearsof further
studyto a trainingin mereliteracy.
The basic elementsof theireducationare wellknown.In one partof the
Greek-speakingworld, Egypt, they are known throughthe whole
accumulationof literarypapyrus-fragments,
in whichtheIliad emerges
as favorite,the Odysseya good second; Demosthenesa poor third;
Euripidesnext;thenCallimachus,Hesiod, and Plato (and studentswho
were aimingfor law explain the popularityof the orator; but Plato's
works, like the tenetsof Stoicism and other chief doctrines,would
circulatemostlyin excerptsand condensations,and thesewouldbe commonlymemorizedif not discussedin advancedschools). The whole list
makesspecificthepairof words,"poets and philosophers,"continually

This content downloaded from 140.147.236.194 on Thu, 23 Jul 2015 23:42:38 UTC
All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions

TWO TYPES OF CONVERSION TO EARLY CHRISTIANITY

175

used by the ChristianApologiststo definethe writtenbasis of their

opponents'beliefs.Tertullian(Apol. 14) in his attackon themlooks at
theTrojans and Achaeans, at Venusand Mars; moveson to Euripides;
next to one of the lyricpoets; and so to Plato-Tertullian, a Latin
Apologist,exactlyduplicatingthelistfromEgypt.It was verymuchone
we are considering.
world,thatculturall61ite
Its theology(forpagans who venturedon such speculation)supposed
a worldabove Olympus;at the top, some version,relation,or descendant of Plato's SupremeBeing. Pagans could thereforebe said, like
Christians,to believein one god, makerof heavenand earth.' Visions
so abstract,like ImmanuelKant's 'categoricalimperative'or Sartre's
existentialism
today, were more oftenmentioned,and nodded to in
passing, than reallyunderstood.Yet the philosophers'notionof one
god, perfectioncomplete,above all things,needingnothing,not to be
touchedby Achilles' spear, Eros' arrows,or theworshipper'sprayers,
provideda theoreticalbase forverywidespreadideas about the nature
of divinity.It precludedwhateverwas capriciousor trivial,deceitful,
harmful,or vengeful,foul,wicked,or cruel. No divinebeingcould be
anythingbut beneficent.
The divine dramatispersonae of literatureand myth, however
-where did theyfit?They stood in sharp oppositionto the ideas just
outlined.ChristianApologistsexploitedtheoppositionbetween"poets
and philosophers" to the full. The philosophers,as Tertulliansays
(Apol. 46.4) "openly destroyyourgods and attackyoursuperstitions
withtheirtreatises,whileyou cheerthemon, forsooth!"He was quite
right.Therewas Seneca in the Latin West,in a workAgainstSuperstition(now largelylost); in theGreekEast, therewas Heraclitus,not the
famous philosopherbut a figurebelongingto the generationor two
beforeSeneca, writingon mythsfroma veryrationalistic
pointof view;
and both of thesewritersonlysummedup and gave greatercirculation
to convictionslong commonamongthe educated,convictionsquiteincompatiblewitha literalbeliefin thestoriesabout thegods; and should
not Christiansjoin in the debate? As one of theirtormentorssourly
remarks,"This is theChristians'custom,to inventmanyfoulcalumnies
againstour gods."2
In trying to determine, however, what expectations or prewe
suppositionsabout religionmightawait evangelistsof Christianity,
should not assumethatpeople's generalideas of godhead had made no
broad advances sincethedays of Homer and Hesiod. Not at all: in the

This content downloaded from 140.147.236.194 on Thu, 23 Jul 2015 23:42:38 UTC
All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions

176

RAMSAY MACMULLEN

days of Seneca or Tertullian,we do not findthemexpressingthebelief

thatApollo takes sides withone mortalagainstanother,or thatZeus
somesecondHephaestus.The gods had grownup, in
mightdefenestrate
companywith more advanced moral and intellectualstandardsthan
prevailedin the eighthcenturyB.C. Attacksby Christianpolemicists
indeedmade morepublicbut theydid notcreatethegulfthathad long
opened between literatureand philosophy. They only struck at a
bookishvulnerability,
not at a livingfaith.
That livingfaith,if it had littleroom fora SupremeBeingin itsdaily
concerns,did commonlyacknowledgesome sort of supremacyof a
more familiar,less remotefigure,whetherZeus (or Jupiter)as kingof
all gods, directingthem,or presidingoverthemin looser fashionin the
way thatAgamemnonhad presidedamong theAchaean chiefs.Either
of local gods as no
view permittedthe verywidespreadinterpretation
more than reflections,
undervariousnames,of some singleone: Zeus
was Sarapis was Jupiterwas Helios,3and similarlySelene was Astarte
was Artemiswas Diana.
To repeat:none of thesebeingswas harmful,all werekindlyto each
at all-and
other-if theywere thoughtto have any interrelationship
kindlytoward theirworshippers.Prayers went up to them seeking
benefitsonly, not to avert theirwrath.We do not find in the nonworldmuchevidenceevenof punishment
Christian(and non-Jewish)
by
thegods forwickedbehavior.It is attested,as we willsee below,butnot
verycommonly.
Which raises the questionnot easilysolved by anyone,Christianor
not: x686v-z xax6v; forif divinityis beneficent,wherecan afflictions
and evil deeds originate?If thereis any broadly shared view in the
Roman worldabout thismatter,itis thatthegods, likeourselvesthough
notin thesame degree,inhabita universetheycannotcontrol.Theycan
modifybut not entirelydirectevents like death, disasterat sea, or
drought. Sometimes only Chance, Tyche, Fortuna is to blame,
sometimesthe pictureis a littlesharper:we finda plague caused by a
particularevil power.4It can be drivenaway, then.It is not a god but
some lowlierbeing.
For underneaththegods lie daimones.It is bestto leave thewordin
its Greekand, by adoption,its Latin formso as not to confuseit with
our word 'demons'. No one asked a daimon fora favor(and if thatis
what is meant by prayer,then no one prayedto one), nor does any
daimonhave his templeor priest.Fromhavingbeen,in Homerand cer-

This content downloaded from 140.147.236.194 on Thu, 23 Jul 2015 23:42:38 UTC
All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions

TWO TYPES OF CONVERSION TO EARLY CHRISTIANITY

177

a wordappliedtothefamiliar
tainlaterwriters,
Olympians,
daimonhad
sunkdownbelowOlympustoan intermediate
thoughstillsuperhuman
and supernatural
realm,denoting
powersthatfilltheheavens,fillthe
air. Theyare beingswithoutname or dignitybut not withoutcapacities
thatset themabove us. Some are beneficent,
some thereverse.It is the
latter that are invoked or coerced by spells for purposes alien to
divinity.'

mustfitor
Such,in loose outline,are theviewsthatChristianity
Butin trying
to understand
in whatlightit mightappearto
challenge.

the holdersof those views,two difficulties

arise. First,the new faith
could onlybe judged byitsvisible,audibleparts.Yet, as Tertulliansays,
"no one turns to our literaturewho is not already Christian"'meaningthat, in his opinion, the New Testamentand apparentlythe
Apologistslike Tertullianhimself,Justin,Origen,MinuciusFelix and

therestshouldnotbe countedas eithervisibleor audibleto a pagan

audience. Perhapswe should not takeTertullian'sremarkquite literally. The pagan Celsus in the latersecond centuryhad read the Bible, if
onlyto refuteit. On theotherhand, he himselfwas so instantlyforgotten that one of the best-readmen of a somewhatlater day, Origen,
could findno traceof him. Celsus appears to have been a quite minor
oddity,then. A few generationslater, a governorof Egypt, a man
evidentlyunusuallyinterestedin religion,neverthelessshows that he
knows almost nothingabout Christianity-thejudge of the martyr
Phileas.7 Otherbits of evidencecould be cited to the same effect.So
when we speak of people observingand becomingacquainted with
we should be carefulnot to draw into our discussiontoo
Christianity,
muchdetailregardingdoctrineor practice.As a parallel,thewidespread
ignoranceabout Judaismis instructive.
And ifwe excludefromour discussionSt. Paul's letters,theDidache,
Clement'sletterfromRome, in sum, the bulk of pre-NiceneChristian
writingsbecause they are not likely to have been read outside the
Church, then as our second difficultywe confronta very puzzling
povertyof sources.Justhow can we discoverwhatthatouterfacewas,
thatthe new religionshowed to theunconverted?
The sourcesthatcan be used, I think,includethreesorts.Thereare
those parts of the Acts of the Apostles in which, at some moment
around A.D. 90, the writerdescribedhow an earlierevangelistmight
have been expectedto speak (we do not know, of course, what the
evangelistreallydid say). We also have some earlyapocryphalacts."

This content downloaded from 140.147.236.194 on Thu, 23 Jul 2015 23:42:38 UTC
All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions

178

RAMSAY MACMULLEN

Second, fromabout thesame periodas theselast-that is, fromthelast

halfof thesecond century-wehave thebulk of theApologists,to the
extentthattheyreallyreachednon-converts.
Third,we have exchanges
betweenthe martyrsand theirtormentors.As strictlyas possible we
shouldtryto limitourselvesto thingsthatwerespecifically
and expressWe shouldnotuse whatwas writtenforeastern
lysaid to non-believers.
pagans by Lucian or Galen or whatwas spokento an audiencein Rome
by Fronto and Crescens: theyare lookingat Christians(at behavior,
thatis), not at Christianity
(thatis, at belief).9
In thecanonicalActs,it maybe recalled,thereare fromtheverystart
some tell-talemis-perceptionsof Christianity,revealingboth what
people expectedin thewayof religionand whattheywerebeingactually
shown.They supposedPeter,Barnabas, and Paul at variousjunctures
to be gods come down to earth,'0just as theythoughtSimonMagus the
literal embodiment of divine force." They would have better
understoodthereactionof Peterwhenhe saw Moses and Elijah before
him:Should he, he wondered,setup a tabernacleforeach of thetwoon
thespot?'2 Pagans also expectedtheapostlesto offertheirsupernatural
giftsfora price,because cures,exorcisms,and propheciesby itinerant
wonder-workers
evidentlywere for sale here and therefromtimeto
time.'3These incidentstakesus overa greatspan of theGreek-speaking
world,incidentally,fromSamaria to the coast, up into Anatolia, and
Greece.It is in thesesame lands thatwe can best
beyondto northeastern
becomeacquaintedwithnon-Christian
circlesand sources,too, to confirmin otherways the truthof theglimpsesgivenus by theActs.
In Philippi,the apostles are by errortaken for servantsof the AllHigh God, as a womanof thecrowdtermshim.'4Some dominantmale
deitygenerallystandsout in theworshipsof both Semiticand Asianic
lands. At Lystratheyare takenforgods again. On this
Greek-speaking
occasion, Zeus is thoughtto have his younger,lesseragentwithhim,
Hermes,5 just as would be expected-and just as God had Jesus,it
mightbe said: forditheisticconfusionoccasionallyinvadestherelation
betweenFatherand Son, and would have to be clearedaway.'6
Ordinarily,however,pagans are presentedby Christianswitha God
newbutone theycan understand:Creator,Lord, Ruleroverall things."
They betray no uneasiness about the implied picture of a divine
monarchy.To be sure,it does notresemblethepictureof paganismthat
is seen from a distance, embracingmany worshippers,cities, and
regions.Rather,it resembleswhatcould be discoveredin the mindof

This content downloaded from 140.147.236.194 on Thu, 23 Jul 2015 23:42:38 UTC
All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions

TWO TYPES OF CONVERSION TO EARLY CHRISTIANITY

179

mostsingleindividuals.The distinctionis important.In thedailypracticeof religion,theyacknowledgedsome local deityas supremewithout

in thenextcounty.It is this
botheringabout otherpeople's preferences
as much as the shadow of Plato's SupremeBeing in theirmindsthat
allows Tertullianto say, "Do you not grant,fromgeneralacceptance,
thatthereis some beinghigherand morepowerful,like an emperorof
the world,of infinitepower and majesty?-for thatis how most men
settledivinity:withtheenjoymentof thetop commandin thehands of
one, subordinatetasks distributed
among many." 18 So non-Christians
in theworldof St. Paul, Justin,or Origenwerein realitybothpolytheist
and monotheist."9
But those termsare in fact only a source of extraneousconfusion
whentheyare applied to thecenturiesand developments
we are looking
at. They did not existin theancientlexiconof debate.20 What modern
conceals and whatancientsourcesabundantlyrevealis a
interpretation
struggleover the meaningof the word 'god', theos,deus.
alike supposed therewas a multitude
Christiansand non-Christians
of supernaturalbeings above them. Non-Christiansacknowledged
SupremeGods, each one illogicallyhypsistosor kratistosor invictus;
next,gods of the familiarorder(Venus or Hermes)withdaimonesand
lesserspiritsbeneaththem.As to Christians,theyproclaimedtheirown
particularSupreme God; His ministers,angels; what non-believers
probablysaw as divinizedheroes, Moses and Elijah; withhordes of
daimones or more oftenlittledaimonia undertheirSupremeGod the
Devil, yboacS
80C.uavas Origen calls him (C. Cels. 1.31) or Prince
I
(&pxvriyrt, Apol. 28) in Justin'sterm.A pagan governorneed find
nothingdisturbing,then,in the picturea martyrexplainsto him, of
"'Adonai the All-Highseated above cherubsand seraphs.' Marcianus
says, 'What are cherubsand seraphs?'Acacius answers,'The agentof
theAll-HighGod and attendanton His loftyseat."' 21
There was thus no basis for conflictbetweenthe two structures
of
beliefso long as thenatureof 'god' remainedundefined.But of course
Christianscould not toleratethat.In thefirstplace, theymustre-define
otherpeople's 'gods'. Theycalledthemmereobjects,thatis, idols. Very
offensive,no doubt,but moreforthemannerof theaccusationthanits
matter.22
Pagan writersin theeducatedcirclestheymoved in had been
makingthe same accusation for centuries.There remainedthe deeds
wroughtthroughforceswhich pagans called by the name Apollo or
Poseidon or Zeus-miracles beyonddenialbyChristians,wroughteven

This content downloaded from 140.147.236.194 on Thu, 23 Jul 2015 23:42:38 UTC
All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions

180

RAMSAY MACMULLEN

in theirown day, but whichtheyattributedto meredaimones;23for

theoiwereno morethangods so-calledand in quotation-marks.24Tertullianassertsand makesuse of theterminological
argument:"If angels
and daemonesperformtheverysame featsas yourgods, wherethenlies
thesuperiority
of theirgodhead? ... Is it not betterto think,whenthey
do whatmakes us believein thegods, thattheyhave made themselves
gods, ratherthan that gods should be on a level with angels and
daemones?"25Clearlytheworddeus was to be reservedfora beingor
beingsof commandingpower,trulysovereign,independent,superior.
As SimonMagus proclaimsto a crowdin Rome, "'He thathas a master
is not a god.' And whenhe said this,manysaid, 'You put it well.'"26
whichthusdefinesthewordbe demonstrated
But how can superiority
save by measurementagainst everyalternative?How can Christian
'monotheism'in thepeculiarmeaningof thetermwe have discoveredbe
assertedsave throughprovingthe inferiority
of everyoneelse's 'god'?
Here, too, and in a second respect,Christianspresenteda new definitionof divinity-butof theirown God, not thepagan ones. Unlikethe
latterwhichhad for centuriesbeen hymned,acclaimed, portrayedin
withoutevera hintof
sculptureor praisedin oratoricalperformances
hostilityamong them-in this respectas in othersentirelydeparting
fromHomeric tradition-the focus of worshipfor Christianswas a
beingperpetuallyin arms,a jealous God alwaysto be feared.
It is in thislightthatwe oughtto understandthe exceptionalprominenceaccorded by Christiansto theirsuccess in overcomingdemons
throughJesus' name. It could only be seen as a testof strength.The
winnerwas the 'true' god; fortruthin thatregardmustbe established
preciselythroughthe demonstrationof commandsgiven by one and
obedienceyieldedby another.Storiesof Jesus'castingout of devilsno
doubt wereamongthosepartsof thefaithfirstto be shownand talked
about before unbelievers;exorcismwas enjoined by Jesus upon his
and was performed
discipleswhenHe sentthemout to the Gentiles,27
oftenby theapostlesin theirtravels,too. Beyondall tales of such confrontations
and triumphs,or otherslike them,foundin theapocryphal
Acts of Johnand Peter, therewere the boasts of the
second-century
One
of them, Tertullian,makes clear what is at stake:
Apologists.
throughChristianexorcism"that spiritwill own himselfin trutha
daemonjust as he willelsewherecall himselfa 'god', falsely."28Exorcism and masteryof spirits-not unknownamong pagans but much
more practicedand proclaimedbeforethemby Christians-exorcism

This content downloaded from 140.147.236.194 on Thu, 23 Jul 2015 23:42:38 UTC
All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions

TWO TYPES OF CONVERSION TO EARLY CHRISTIANITY

181

thuswas a demonstration
of a theological
a mispositionand thereby
It madeconverts.29
sionaryinstrument.
Trulydivinepoweralso displayeditselfin actsof dramatic
punishment.Thatwas commonknowledge.
ButtheChristian
was
perception
farmoredreadful
thanthepagan,so farat leastas we can generalize
aboutthelatter.Therewascertainly
nopaganmatchforthedeclaration
withwhichPaul introduced
his God to a pagancrowd:"The living
thejealousGod whohas needof nothing
God, theGod of vengeance,
..." had sent him, Paul, to preachrepentancefromsin.3"NonChristians
ofcourseknewwhattheymight
expectiftheydefieda deity
an oathtakenin hisnameor byviolating
some
head-on,bybreaking
taburight
inhissacredprecinct."'
Theycouldhavefoundthematchfor
theirownstorieswithin
theChristian
thestoryofAnanias
community:
and hiswife,forexample,whowerestruck
deadforcheating
thepoorbox. Buttherewasa greatdealmoreto itthanthat.WhatChristianity
was thefearful
of a God whowouldburnthem
put forward
novelty
alivein perpetuity
fortheirverymanner
of life,spying
outtheirtranswherever
as
He
would
the
reward
committed,
gressions
correspondingly
virtuous.Beginning
withJohntheBaptist'sand Jesus'preaching,
on
Paul's acknowledgement
of "thewrathto come,"theflames
through
ofhellilluminated
thelessonsofChristianity
quiteas muchas thelight
ofGrace.32Actualscenesofspeechesdelivered
to non-believing
crowds
showthatthemessagewasmadeplain,forexample,
byPaulat Iconium
verymuchas Jesushad toldHis desciplesto do;33and weknowthatit
at leastto Celsus.He remarks
thatChristians
"believein
gotthrough,
34
eternalpunishments"
and "threaten
otherswiththesepunishments."
Clearestof all is thescenein theamphitheater
at Carthagewherethe
to theircomingtorment,
tell the crowdby signmartyrs,
referring
language."You, us; butGod, you;" but Pioniushad elaboratedon
similarcomparisons
and warnings
of condemnation
in
and suffering,

the city-squareof Smyrna."35

It is likelythat this particulararticleof
faith was as widely known as any outside the Church. Despite the
Apologists' attempts,however,to make eternalhell-firecredibleby
reference
to Tartarusor to Stoic predictionsof universalconflagration,
foundit noveland hardto accept. That muchwe can tell
non-believers
fromthe way theApologistshandlethe subject.
No sourceindicatesthattheunconvertedsaw a necessaryconnection
betweeneternaltortureand an eventualexistenceafterdeath in the
flesh. Perhaps the connectionwas seen, but forgottenin the surprise

This content downloaded from 140.147.236.194 on Thu, 23 Jul 2015 23:42:38 UTC
All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions

182

RAMSAY MACMULLEN

and controversy
rousedby thelatterpropositionitself."This veryflesh
will rise?" asks the judge of Phileas martyr,"astonished."''36 His
astonishment
remindsus once moreof thegap thathad openedbetween
the poets and philosophersover the course of centuries:an after-life
peopled withformsthatwererecognizablywhat theyhad been before
death was indeed to be found in primitiveGreek religion-for that
matter,in Etruscanand therefore
earlyRoman religion.But outsideof
literature,in the real Roman empire, and among real convictions
our periodof study,thereis hardlya traceof Tartarus,the
throughout
Elysian Fields, or any such world beyonddeath. Even a beliefin the
of the soul alone is hard to find-a fact reflectedin the
immortality
Lucian's sayingabout Christians:"The poor devilshave
second-century
utterlypersuaded themselvesthat they will be immortaland live
forever."
'
of a heavenlyrewardforthevirtuouswas known
Christiancertainty
It made a
to pagans, thoughthat knowledgeis just barelyattested."38
and was to be attained,so a non-believer
pair witheternalpunishment,
mighthave heard, throughacts of denial of the flesh." This was a
teachingoftendiscussedby theApologists,and the call to repentance
had been earlier raised by St. Paul before crowds in Iconium and
Athens.40Celsus declaresall thisto be familiar:pagans likewise,so he
forwickedacts,becausetheywereso
says,believedin divineretribution
He himselfseems
taughtby theirinitiatorsintocertainculticmysteries.
be
found
cannot
to espouse theview,"4'but it
anywhereelse norcan we
be surewhatmysteries
he is talkingabout.
Of course whatwe call paganismwas an immenselyrich,variform,
criscrossedand, above all, a randomlyreportedworld of beliefs,in
whichno doubt you could findalmostanythingsomewhere.But when
allowancehas been made forthedangerin any attemptat generalizing,
therestillremainsome conclusionsto be summedup at thispoint.
To beginwith,we can determinewhatthingsmosteducatedpagans
thoughttheyknewabout theirown gods, and what otherthingsthey
werelikelyto knowabout theGod of theChristians;and we can compare the two credos and find the noveltyof the latterto lie in the
dramaticpolaritiesitpresented.This is perceivedby a pagan, charging
that the Christian"impiouslydividesthe kingdomof god and makes
two opposingforces,as if therewas one partyon one side and another
one at variancewithit." He means,naturally,Satan and daimonesthat
are falselycalled 'gods', versusthe real deityand His angels.42 And a

This content downloaded from 140.147.236.194 on Thu, 23 Jul 2015 23:42:38 UTC
All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions

TWO TYPES OF CONVERSION TO EARLY CHRISTIANITY

183

Christian
forhispartpointsto "a certainrationalagency,rivalin its
operations"4'-again

meaningthe Satanic kingdom.Apologistsecho

warfarein supersuchwordsveryoften.The dualism,theresulting

thatyou shouldchooseup
naturalrealms,and theimpliednecessity
sidesandhatetheoneand lovetheotherjustas youwereinturnloved
newand strange
or hatedbythedivinepowers,was absolutely
outside
and itwas perceived
as such.
theJudaeo-Christian
community;
Moreover,the polarityexpresseditselfin the mostsavageterms,
novel:in an eternity
termsalmostif not entirely
of tortureforthe
soldiersin thewrongcamp,withcorresponding
blissforthosein the
outlines.Therewas no
right.Rightand wrongtook on thestarkest
countedagainstyou;
them,forneutrality
escapingthechoicebetween
and thisnovelty,
was forthefirsttime
by whichreligious
preference
demanded,thenitselfdemandeda corresponding
wayof life.That,
in
too-the moral implication religiouspreference-wasall but
unheard-of
had beenkeptquite
amongpagans.Cultand philosophy
was one thing,a Stoicchaplainin one's
separate:prayerforbenefits
As Apollonius
housewas another.But now thetwo cametogether.
in
belief "judgement
saidto histormentor,
itwasthrough
after
martyr
withGod as judge ...
death,a rewardforvirtuein theresurrection,
thisabove all we havelearnedhowto livea fairlife,in the
through

expectationof the hope to come.""4

Two warringcampsabove and all aroundus, liferesumedafterdeath
in eternalblissor agony;and a choicein conducthereon earththatwas
at everymomentscrutinizedand borne in mind against the day of
judgement-these remarkableimages in the harshestblack and white
wereall entirelystrange.They werepresentedto an audiencethatwas
conservative,perhaps no more than any otherpeople in history,yet
deeply and expresslyconservativein mattersof religiousallegiance.
That we know from countless proofs and testimoniesof pagans
addressingotherpagans; we knowitalso frompagansaddressingChristians,and fromvariousChristianpassages in reply.45By whatpossible
novelnoveltieswinanyadherents?
means,then,could suchaggressively
The specificmomentsand detailsof conversionseemnotto havebeen
muchstudied.Perhaps it is assumedthatthejob of winningadherents
attractionsof the
would have been a rathereasy one, giventheintrinsic
new faith-if only it had been fullyand fairlyunderstood.However,
and thusthespreadof Christianity
was impeded
intervened
persecutions
of A.D. 64 wereonlythefirstin a
unnaturally.The horrificcrucifixions

This content downloaded from 140.147.236.194 on Thu, 23 Jul 2015 23:42:38 UTC
All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions

184

RAMSAY MACMULLEN

series. From then on, even if thinlyspread out in time and space,
renewedattacksdrovetheevangelistsoffthestreetsof mostcities.46All
the moredifficultto understandhow the faiththeypreachedcould be
communicatedand diffused!
In addressingthedifficulty,
no doubtthefirststepmustbe to assemble somebodyof evidence.We maybeginbyexcludingconsiderationof
any rewards that awaited new recruits-rewardsspiritual, social,
emotional,and financial'47-which came only afterconversion;for it
seemsfairto defineour topic,conversion,as thatexperienceby which
non-believersfirstbecame convinced that the Christian God was
almighty,and thattheymustplease Him.
The evidenceincludesa verylimitednumberof personswho speak to
us as Christiansbutwerenotalwayssuch.48"I came," saysone, "to my
faith[in theScriptures]throughtheunpretentious
style,theartlessness
of
of the speakers,theclearexplainingof Creation,theforeknowledge
whatwas to happen,theexcellenceof theprecepts,and thesingleruler
over the whole universe.And my soul being taughtof God, I have
learnedthat[Greek]writingslead to our beingjudged and condemned,
but that theseothersput an end to our slavery." Herein,the level of
internaldialogueis obviouslyhigh,highenoughto place thespeakerin
thatuppermosttenthof thepopulationor less thatwe have so farbeen
to Rome,Tatian,who is quoted.
dealingwith.It is an easternimmigrant
His remarks,exceptin theirlengthand explicitness,may standforthe
thatled themto adopt
groupas a whole. What theysaw in Christianity
it is about what we mighthave predicted.Its styleof thoughtwe can
easilyunderstand.
We are also familiarwiththe view thatmartyrsmade converts;but
withthis,we take leave of the eliteand enteramong the masses,who
supplyour second typeof convert.
"The blood of the martyrsis the seed of the Church"-famous
endorsedbythepolicyof theapostateemperor
epigram,longafterward
Julian.The fourth-century
biographyof theEgyptianmonkPachomius
declares,"after Diocletian's and Maximian's persecutions,conversion
of pagans increasedgreatlyforthe Church."49 Why did thishappen?
Justhow did pagan witnessesreason,whentheysaw martyrdoms
and
becameconverts?Thereare severalplausibleexplanationsbutonlyone
bitof evidencethatI knowof. In Carthagein A.D. 203, Christianswere
incarcerated,theybehavedwithsplendidcheerand spirit,and thejailer
"began to make muchof us, realizingthattherewas a greatpowerin

This content downloaded from 140.147.236.194 on Thu, 23 Jul 2015 23:42:38 UTC
All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions

TWO TYPES OF CONVERSIONTO EARLY CHRISTIANITY

185

he appearsa convert.50
His
us," a greatvirtus.Shortlyafterward
canonlyhavebeen:theirconductis beyondnature,
a realgod
reasoning
mustbe at work-inshort,theyconstitute
a miracle.
To revert
tothemonkPachomius:hehimself
waswonoverthrough
a
he
when
in
struck
he
was
held
close
draftbargain
custodyagainst
heprayedtoGod,"I
dodging."If yousetmefreefromthisaffliction,"
willserveyourwillall thedaysof mylife."" On a vastlymoreimportantscale,suchwasthebasisforConstantine's
a sortofdo
conversion,
on
or
so
into
credo
and
the
first
of those
quia vinces;
ut des, perhaps
of entirenationsforthesamecause,that
earlymedievalconversions
of victory.
The Burguntheymight
prospects
engageinwarwithbetter
diansin A.D. 430 decidedthattheGod of theRomansmustbe a very
bishop,fasted,were
superiorone. They applied to a convenient
and within
a weekwereall baptized.52
instructed,
fromtheempire's
andfrontiers,
Withthesereports
we
jails,barracks,
haveentered
on calculations
fromthoseof theschools,
quitedifferent
fromTatian'sthatwerequoteda littleearlier.Tatian
quitedifferent
at theendof hislistofconsiderations.
Byconputsfearof damnation
trast,we knowof a woman,also of Romebuta littleearlier(the140s)
and ofa lowerclass,whoputitfirst:for,"comingto knowthelessons
she"recalled
ofChrist"andthusbeingwonoverherself,
subsequently
inthe
theteachings
ofChristandwarned[herhusband]ofpunishment
andaccording
toright
eternal
flamesforthosewhodo notlivemodestly
reason."" Wedo notknow,anditis inconsequential,
justwhoshewas;
but she does provideone of our veryrareglimpsesintosomeone's
We have seen that pagans were informedof
thought-processes.
herewe see thosehorrors
usedas thechief,
Gehennaand damnation;
forconversion.
perhapstheonly,argument
We also have a fewsceneswherethethoughtsof personsnot among
to bringoverwholecrowdsto
theeliteare anticipatedbyspeakerstrying
belief.The fullestare naturallythespeechesgivenby Paul and Stephen
to Jewsin Jerusalem.The settingis notcomparableto thoseinvolvinga
pagan audience, but it is worthnotingthe emphasis in one of the
speechesthatis laid on themiracleon theroad to Damascus. Since Paul
oftenrefersto it in his lettersas somethinginstantlyfamiliarto his
readers,it seems likelyto have been a prominentfeaturealso in his
preachinggenerally.54He had seenGod withhisown eyes,and hisbeing
whenPeterpreachesin Rome, he
blindedwas theproof.Verysimilarly,
recountshow he too thoughthe had been blinded by the revelation
grantedof God, fora moment,visiblein His trueform."

This content downloaded from 140.147.236.194 on Thu, 23 Jul 2015 23:42:38 UTC
All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions

186

RAMSAY MACMULLEN

But thereis anothersceneof Paul addressingnon-believers.

He is in
Ephesus. He tells his listenershow, in that same period whenhe had
been in theDamascus area, he encounteredand spoke witha lion, and
won it over,and baptizedit in a river.Afterthat,thelion departedin
even eschewinglady-lions.It had become an ascetic.
peace, thereafter
"And as Paul toldthis," our sourcedeclares,"a greatcrowdwas added
to the faith."56 They wereconverted-why?Surelybecause the story,
whichaudiencesof the timecould be crediblyportrayedas believing,
demonstratedvirtusworkingthroughthe man who was at that very
momentaddressingthem.
If thisscenemaybe takenas reallywritten
beforeA.D. 200 and really
circulatedamong various churchesin an interestedand reverential
words
fashion,as seemsclear, thenit mattersnot whetherit transmits
actuallyspokenor behavioractuallyobserved;forour concernis with
thementality
of theaudience-how theythought,how contemporaries
who wantedto be believedwould depictthatthought,in short,what
injust the
generallyseemedfamiliarand credible.Thereis confirmation
same period fromTertullian'ssaying,"When wereeven droughtsnot
ended by our going down on our knees,and fasting?At those times,
too, thepopulace, hailing'The God of Gods, who alone prevails!'have
been witnessesto our God."57 He is reminding
his own livingaudience
of momentsof mass conversionsupon the workingof wondersby
prayer,eveniftheconversionsare alongquiteunreconstructedly
pagan,
"Great-is-God" lines. And thereis confirmation,
too, in the account
Eusebius givesof the successorsto the Apostles,evidentlytowardthe
turnof the firstcenturyin theAegean area: addressingaudienceswho
"had heardnothingat all of thewordof faith,theymovedabout with
God's favorand help,sincein thattime,too, manywonderfulmiracles
of the divinespiritwerewroughtby them,withthe resultthatwhole
crowds,everyman of themupon the firsthearing,eagerlyespoused
pietytowardthe Maker of all things"(H. E. 3.37.3).
The mostpreciousscenespriorto the triumphof the Churchunder
Constantineare to be foundin theLife of St. GregoryThaumaturgus,
strangely
enough,nevertranslatedintoa moderntongueand therefore
littleknown.Its authorGregoryof Nyssamakesclearthathe
relatively
had been in the regionof Gregory'smissionand had heard, passed
downorallyoverthespan of somehundredand thirty
years,a wealthof
storieswhichhe transmits
to us.58Throughthemall runsthethemeof
supernaturalforcedisplayedand, forno otherreasonand withoutneed

This content downloaded from 140.147.236.194 on Thu, 23 Jul 2015 23:42:38 UTC
All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions

TWO TYPES OF CONVERSION TO EARLY CHRISTIANITY

187

of any further
puts
word,conversionswrought.59The Wonder-worker
an end to an outbreakof plague,forexample,and thepagansthereupon
turnto his God, "whom theyacclaimedtheOne True God and rulerof
all things." We can almost hear them shouting,like those around
Carthage in Tertullian'sday at the end of a drought,"The God of
Gods!", or in Rome, beholdingPeter'smiracles,"One is theGod, One
God of Peter!"60 The Acta Petri develops the same themerepeatedly
and at length:a miracleis wroughtand therebytheonlookersare made
Christianson the spot.6'
That this is how it reallyhappened,and the Churchreallygrewin
or the report
numbersthroughdemonstrations,
historicallysignificant
that seemedbeyondall but divinevirtus,I do not
of demonstrations,
doubt. In evaluatingthe evidence,we mustof course bear in mindall
that has been said about the religioushabits and expectationsof the
worldevangelized.For otherexplanationof thatgreatgrowth,thereis
no evidence-no mass meetings,no great sermons,no speaking in
tonguesor dramaticinnerspiritualcrisis.But our viewcan be confirmed
about conversortsof information:
fromtwo further
first,information
sions to beliefin pagan deities,in just the same ways that availed to
makeChristians,in thesame periodand regions,thatis, throughproofs
about conversionsto Christianity
of power;62and second,information
post-Constantine.There is a small corpus of sketchesgivingus the
Whattheyreveal
specificmomentand reasonthatbeliefwas inspired.63
is just whatis foundalso in earlierparallels,thatis, religiousallegiance
followingupon displaysof divineefficacy.
Words and logic unassistedby wonderfuldeeds did sometimeshave
the same effectamong ordinaryfolk as we have seen them having
but the survivingevidence
and theyare so reported;64
among the l61ite,
does not showthemto be anyconsiderablefactor,whateverrationalists
might prefer. Celsus, representingthat latter view, tries to discountenancethe Churchby his ridiculeof the supernaturalelementin
Christianexpansion; but Origendefendsit head-on as operatingand
absolutelyessentialin thetimeof Jesus,of theApostles,and downinto
Both he and his opponentare
his own day nearthemid-third
century.'65

at workonlyamongsimplefolk.
thatitis an element
at oneinassuming

Both writers,like the Apologistsgenerally,distinguishbetweenwhat

should be shownto the educatedand the uneducated.66
What is shown naturallydetermineswhat is seen, and seen to be
The devoteesof
good. So we returnto our subjectand starting-point.

This content downloaded from 140.147.236.194 on Thu, 23 Jul 2015 23:42:38 UTC
All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions

RAMSAY MACMULLEN

188

othergods saw in Christianity

what could be accommodatedin their
levelof perception.Amongthem,amongthemosthighlyarticulateand
we ourselvesfeelnottoo ill at ease. Theybothproduceand
intellectual,
tendto occupythepages of our sources.We can see how theythink,we
to
can generallyunderstandthem, and we are inclinedinstinctively
explainthe riseof the Churchin termsof theseelitefigures.But if we
are ratherto estimateChristianity
as an historicalforce,thatdrewin
scores of thousands,we must take account (even if we cannot quite
enterthe thoughts)of Everymanas well.
NOTES

ofH. Musurillo,
ActsoftheMartyrs
' SeeActaPionii19.11p. 162oftheedition
(1972),
from
hereon; alsoseemyPaganismintheRoman
bywhichI citemostofthemartyr-acts
Empire(1981) 83, addingfromlatertimesAug.,Ep. 16.1: a pagan'sdoubtsabout
insalutarianumina
whilebelieving
without
(butalsoin"theonegodall-high,
Olympus,
a grandandmagnificent
or offspring,
father").
beginning
ed. C. Deroux
76 and P. A. Bruntin StudiesinLatinLiterature,
2 See myPaganism
seeActaAcacii2.7p. 58of
ontheChristians'
involvement,
(1979)512,onpaganskeptics;
ed. 3 byG. Kriger(1929).
theeditionof R. Knopf,Ausgewahlte
Martyrerakten,
2ndcent.),inan aretalogy;
on a 3rdcent.gem,A. DimitrovaPOxy.1382(mid/late
Milcevain Vortrage
des 10. int.Limeskongresses
(1977)285; moreexamplesin my
sceneintheActaPetri26 p. 73 oftheeditionofR. A.
Paganism186;andtheinteresting
1 (1891),wherethecrowdin Romeshoutsunus
Lipsius,ActaApostolorum
apocrypha
deus,unusdeusPetri.
Plin.,Nat. Hist. 2.5.22,Fortuna,totomundoet omnibuslocis ... Fortunasola
Fordemonscausingplagueetc.,cf.Philostr.,
invocatur
... etcumconviciis
colitur.
Vita
Apoll.4.10,thesameviewbeingOrigen'satC. Cels.1.31and8.31,andinJust.,II Apol.
5 orTert.,Apol.22.4.
citedinmyPaganism185.
5 See sources
6 Test.animae1, cf.A. D. Nock,Conversion
(1933)192.
SOrig.,C. Cels. 1.8; PBodmer20 cols.IV-V,cf.Just.,II Apol. 3.
in E. Hennecke,
" Cautiondictatestheuse of onlya few.See W. Schneemelcher
Neutestamentliche
Eng. trans.(1965)2.275,datingtheActaPetrito the
Apokryphen3,
180sand,pp. 261ff.,showing
itsuse bytheDidascaliaandOrigen;ibid.351,theActa
Pauli (et Theclae)datedto ca. 185-195;andtextsin Lipsius,op. cit.
11-13;Galen,in R. Walzer,Galenon JewsandChristians
(1949)
9 Lucian,Peregrinus
Giornaleital.
15;Min.Fel.,Octavius
9.6,givenmaximum
byP. Frassinetti,
proportions
difilol.2 (1949)238-54;and Just.,II Apol. 3.1.
0o

Acts 10.25 (Peter)and 14.11-12(Barnabas and Paul) and 28.6, cf. Musurillo348 and

Fora wholly
seePhilostr.,
paganparallel,
ActaPetri28 p. 78 Lipsius(Peterworshipped).
op. cit. 4.44 and 7.32, Apolloniussalutedas a god.
" Acts 8.11.
'2 Lk 9.33.
3 Acts 8.19 and 16.16.

This content downloaded from 140.147.236.194 on Thu, 23 Jul 2015 23:42:38 UTC
All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions

TWO TYPES OF CONVERSION TO EARLY CHRISTIANITY

"
"

189

Hypsistosin Acts 16.17.

Acts 14.12.

Jesus
E.g. Musurillo148and 158(ActaPionii9.9 and 16.4),cf. Celsussupposing
wouldbe an angel,ina Jew'seyes,oranyoneelse's,C. Cels.2.9.1and2.44,andpointing
8.12.Further,
outtheflawinChristian
monotheism,
paganscouldonlyhaveunderstood
Oioiiat4as "God's slave",at Musurillo
42, cf.Acts3.26 andelsewhere.
withChristbasileus,ibid.8 and 188,or
162,Zeusbasileuscompared
" E.g. Musurillo
Acts17.24,Christkyrios.
Paul to theAreopagus,
a
Leg. 6, attributing
, Apol. 24.3ff.,cf. Min.Fel., Octavius20.1,and Athenagoras,
or to "the philosophers"
beliefin One God to pagansgenerally,
(as does
widespread
5, PG 8.164ff.,and meaningespeciallyPlato, Protr.6, PG
Clement,Protrepticus
see myPaganism86ff.andabove,n. 1.
8.172ff.).Further,
of theContraCelsum(1965)p. xvii:for
saysin his translation
'9 As H. Chadwick
to a sortof Platonism,"monotheism
and polytheism
are not mutually
subscribers
notonlyphilosophers.
includes
exclusive".Butmyowninterpretation
20
Eusebius(H. E. 2.3.2) saysthedisciples
inducedpeopleto reject
soXu0i'tc,
4Ltgovtxt
butI findno otherusesof thetermin Christian
sourcesbeforeA.D. 337(northeword
monotheia).
6

2,

Acta Acacii 1.9ff.p. 58 Knopf-Kruger.

24,94,and296;oftenintheApologists,
e.g.
E.g. Acts17.29and 19.26andMusurillo
1.1 and2.2 andAthenag.,
AdAutolycum
Theophilus,
Leg. 15.
Daimones=pagan"gods" inTert.,Apol.23.11,Just.,I Apol.56,58,and62-4,Acta
23
or Musurillo
22 (or inJewish
sourceslike
Claudiietal. 1.4 and8 p. 107Knopf-Kriger,
in NT, also Musurillo
306 andActa
Jos.,A. J. 8.2.5),moreoftendaimonia(regularly
cf.
demons,notgods,in idolsdo miracles,
Claudiiet al. 5.2 p. 108 Knopf-Kriuger);
Athenag.,Leg. 23 and 26; Orig., C. Cels. 8.62; Tert.,Apol. 22.8ff.;and pagan
in theseviews,in myPaganism82. Fordaimoniaas a derogatory
see
term,
predecessors
Acts17.18and Jn10.21.
i
&XX'
Oi~o ...
24
I Cor. 8.5: iitip
xKi
XEIy6p/vot
iOjap .yivOi0o oXXo. x6ptot0oXo,
i.?iv
inCelsus'calling
andperhaps
somereflection
ofthepointofdispute
's 06l, cf.Gal.4.8,ii..v
Hecatealongwithotherpowers"daimones",C. Cels. 1.9,or angels,"gods", 5.4.
22

25
26
27

Apol. 23.2.
Acta Petri23 p. 71 Lipsius.
Mt 10.8.

Apol.23.4,trans.T. R. Glover(Loeb ed.),wheredominus="god" likeGr.Kyrios.

See passagesquotedinmyPaganism168n. 4, andconversions
wrought
uponseeing
in Euseb.,H. E. 5.7.4= Iren.,C. haer.2.32.4(Gaul in the180s).Theyconexorcisms,
tinuedtoexerttheirpowerlater,e.g. inAugustine's
world,Civ.dei22.8CSEL 40,2, pp.
602ff.
at Iconium.
thethrong
3o ActaPauli(et Theclae)17 p. 246 Lipsius,Paul addressing
in myPaganism32. For
STert.,Apol. 17.6;Orig.,C. Cels.8.45; and moreevidence
cf.forexample
Acts4.5-10and13.10-11
stories
Christian
ofdivinepunishment,
(compare
I Tim. 1.20);Tert.,Ad Scap. 4.3; ActaPetri15 p. 62 Lipsius(thewickedare stricken
dumb);ActaAndreaenarr.36 (Ep. Gr. 15)(thewickeda suicide);Euseb.,H. E. 6.9.5,
Acts12.23andmorefamousvictims
e.g.inLactantius.
amongthepersecutors,
comparing
"wouldhave
ofwickedness,
seeMin.Fel.,Octavius10.5:Christians
ForGodas spyer-out
at 23.9.
Hima hostilefigure,
shameless
andinquisitive",
etc.,repeated
restless,
28
29

This content downloaded from 140.147.236.194 on Thu, 23 Jul 2015 23:42:38 UTC
All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions

190

RAMSAY MACMULLEN

32 Lk 3.9 and 17; 10.12and 12.5; I Thess.1.10; and, as general

A. von
impression,
Harnack,TheMissionandExpansionof Christianity
(1961)90.
" Above,n. 30,andMt10.7and15(cf.Lk 3.7-9;10.12;12.5;19.27;andelsewhere);
at
ofGod'swrath,
ActaAndreae12;butnotat Lystra,
Acts14.15ff.,
Thessalonica,
warning
and barelyat Athens,17.31.
" C. Cels.8.48,trans.Chadwick;
cf.Just.,I Apol. 8 and68, offering
theparallelof
Rhadamanthus
and Minos(as do Theoph.,Ad Autol.37, and lessclearlyMin. Fel.,
Octavius
tobe toldis incredible.
in
On divineretribution
threatened
35) whichheexpects
seeMusurillo
martyr-scenes,
10,22 and32(barementions
only,byPolycarp,
Carpusand
andtheActaAcacii1.8 p. 107Knopf-Kriiger.
Pamphilus)
tothepopulaceonthenight
before,
p. 124,and14-44
SMusurillo126,cf.thepreaching
andexplicitly),
andimplied
at lines8ff.ofthePassionofPhileas,ibid.
(Pionius,at length
p. 332.
332, similarto thepagan'schallenge,
ipso corpore?etc.,in Min. Fel.,
36 Musurillo
Octavius11.7; cf. also Acts 17.32,theAthenians
hearingof theraisingof thedead
consciousof thedifficulty
of thedoctrine,
notice
"jeered";and amongtheApologists
Celsus'protests,
C. Cels.
Theoph.,Ad Autol.1.8; Tat.,Ad Graecos6; Origenmeeting
ontheresurrection
and8.49;andspecialtreatises
4.56ff.,5.14,5.18(Celsus'ridicule),
by
Tertullian
andothers.
Justin,
Athenagoras,
inimmortality,
ofbeliefs
53-57.C. B.
13;and,fortherarity
myPaganism
SPeregrinus
Wellesin Excavations
at Dura-Europus,
Prelimin.
the
ReportIX (1944) 179,reports
Dureneepitaphcontaining
thewish,"maythe4uxap
receivehim",butcan findno
Orsa
I am also struck
in W. Peek,Griechische
Versparallelto thisthought.
bytheevidence
1(1955),where,
ofepitaphs
oftheRomanperiod,only
Inschriften
amongmanyhundreds
a handful
"theearthholdsthebody
thedistinction,
(amongnos.1755-1777,
passim)offer
buttheAether
(orHeaven,theGods,theMuses,etc.)holdthesoul."Alltherestaresilent
abouteternity,
ortheyurgethereaderto "drinkup,youseewhatyouwillcometo" (e.g.
no. 378),or theyrefer
to thesoulin itsearthly
existence
(no. 540).
"3 Origen,C. Cels. 2.5 and 6.11, knowledge
less statedthanhintedat by Celsus;
Musurillo52; and indicated,by
knowledge
declared,by Justinto his tormentors,
imagined
pagans,ibid.206(thePassioSS Marianietlacobi8.7) andMin.Fel.,Octavius
totheunconverted
(nota sourcetobepressed),
onlybyApollonius
martyr
11.5;preached
Musurillo
100.
" ActaPauli(et Theclae)11p. 243 Lipsius.
Ibid.17p. 246Lipsius;Acts17.30-31;
andtaught
byPeterinJudea,ActaPetri17p.
4o
64 Lipsius.
afterdeath,I find
" C. Cels.3.59and8.48-49,cf.4.10;above,n. 31. As topunishment
almostnothing.
F. CumontinAfterlife
inRomanPaganism(1923)citesoutright
denials
of it (p. 83), discounts
theunusable(pp. 84f.),and is leftwithonlytheSyriannovel,
claimno
Heliod.,Aeth.8.9, and theApocalypseof Peter.The pictures
theypresent
and theiroriginis unknown.
S. G. F. Brandon,TheJudgement
generality
of theDead
fromthecenturies
A.D. except(p. 93) Lucian'sMenippus,
(1967),Chap.4, addsnothing
whichis surely
a jeu d'espritand nothing
more(liketheCatabasis,e.g. ? 3 and 13). In
Plutarch's
De seranum.vind.a company
ofthewidely
a highRoman,
learned,
including
discussdivinepunishment
of thewickedafterdeath;theyenjoytheidea as a novelty
(566f.);butitseemsto medecisive(cf.esp. 555D) thattheyknowno suchlivingfaith
anywhere.

This content downloaded from 140.147.236.194 on Thu, 23 Jul 2015 23:42:38 UTC
All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions

TWO TYPES OF CONVERSION TO EARLY CHRISTIANITY

42

C. Cels. 8.11, trans.Chadwick.

191

is notagainsthumanfoesbutagainst
Tert.,Apol.2.18,trans.Glover-cf."ourfight
ofthedarkworld",etc.(Ephes.6.12).
andprinces
CosmicPowers,againsttheauthorities
" Musurillo102.
in thewayof
(to sayno more)of worshipping
respectability
" On theoverwhelming
consciousness
of theirinnovating
one's fathers,
see myPaganism3ff.;on Christians'
seee.g. Clem.Alex.,Protrepticus
10,or Just.,I Apol. 12.
predicament,
6
search,I findonlyone possibleactiveevangelist
Thoughwithoutany thorough
inGaul,Euseb.,H. E.
inpost-Biblical
outsideofAsia:a certain
Alexander
attested
times,
seemyPaganism
98 andJ.Reynolds
etal., JRS71
5.1.49.I discount
another
possibility,
insideprivatehomes,suchas Origen's
teachers
one-to-one,
(1981) 136;I also discount
C. Cels.3.55,andteachers
against
(Euseb.,H. E. 6.3.1and5) orsuchas Celsusdescribes,
inpublicbutonlya Christian
heresies
public,inEuseb.,H. E. 5.16.4,6.37,and7.24.7;
in a publicsetting
at Ephesus,Dial. 122.4,sincetheinterested
and I discountJustin
Eusebius(H. E.
Jewsorsebomenoi,
andinRomeas well,where
areapparently
bystanders
oftenrefuted
seems
"in debateswithlisteners
4.16.1:Justin
present
him",i.e. Crescens)
E
of Just.,II Apol. 3, 4lpoae,
and 5,
onlyto drawout theimplications
itpoOvrx ali
But themobin Smyrnadoes knowPolycarpas "the
ttv&t.
iptomvcarv
otrlbv
Aptojt,?tS
sacrifice
norvenerate
thegods,"Musurillo
teacher
ofAsia ... teaching
manynottooffer
10; andsee further
below,p. 186.
" It wasnotcynical
inJuliantheApostate
tostress
oftheeleemosynary
theimportance
intheRomanChristian
whenitschiefpatron
factor:noticetheconsternation
community
ActaPetri8 p. 55 Lipsius.
withdrew
support,
For
Just.,Dial. 8 (but so elaboratein setting-adialoguewithina
example,
'4
to Plato,e.g. Symp.201ff.,thatI cannottakeit as truly
dialogue-andso indebted
mention
Tat.,Ad Graecos29(quoted);Theoph.,AdAutol.1.14(brief
autobiographical);
of prophecies);
Tert.,De paenit.1.1(conversion
unexplained);
Greg.Thaumat.,
Paneg.
to Origen(hintshiddenintheverbiage,
cenesp.chaps.5, 13,and 15).Fromthefourth
described
onlytwocases:ofVictorinus
briefly
byhim,
turyI canadd,besidesAugustine,
chritienne
Hist.littiraire
deI'Afrique
3 (1905),pp.377f.,
Conf.8.2.3f.,cf.C. Monceaux,
and Synesius,
cf. J. Bregman,
Synesiusof Cyrene(1982),Chap. I and passim-both
anddoingso as philosophers.
comingto Christianity
through
Neoplatonism,
cf. Just.II Apol. 12, observation
of martyrs
9 VitaPachomii2 p. 4 Athanassakis,
withconversion).
discredits
slanders
abouttheirvices(butherethereis no connection
theterrified
116 and 124 (Passio S. Perpetuae9.1 and 16.4),recalling
5o Musurillo
jailer's conversion
throughthe miracleat Philippi,Acts 16.25-34,and a disciple's
of beliefin histeacher's
Philostr.,VitaApoll.7.38.
divinity,
deepening
" VitaPachomii5 p. 6 Athanassakis.
in
"2 Soc., H. E. 7.30(they
wonthebattle,destroying
threetimestheirweight
promptly
enemies).
etLucii2), cf.theActaS Dasii4.2 p. 93 Knopf38 (PassioSS Ptolemaei
3 Musurillo
Kruger.
Gal. 1.16,I Cor.9.1 and 15.8,andPhil.3.12.
" Acts22.3-21,esp.6-13;andinletters,
36

"

"6

Acta Petri20 p. 67 Lipsius.

in Hennecke2.389.
Schneemelcher

" Apol.4.6.
58
PG 46.916B, idyiEstt
at 917B,etc.,and cautionat 957D.
Notice
aC,

This content downloaded from 140.147.236.194 on Thu, 23 Jul 2015 23:42:38 UTC
All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions

192

RAMSAY MACMULLEN

(of theneokoros),
crowds),924D (the
920Cff.(of theNeocaesarian
"9 Ibid. 917Aff.
ofplague).Compareabove,n. 29; andthelast
and957B(relief
same,pluscountryfolk),
scene I find,of Agapetus(s.v., in Suidas) makingconversions
pre-Constantinian
thedeadandmoving
andso, ca. 300A.D.,
mountains,
miracles",
e.g. raising
"through
inChristianity"
Hist.eccl.
"won overmanypagansto enrollthemselves
(Philostorgius,
pp. 19f.Bidez).
60
21 and31,thepagansexclaim
Above,nn.3 and58,andMarc.Diac., VitaPorphyrii
6 Xpta6rs
at themiracle,
6 BEistv Xya.xptv6jvv.
?6voC
0i64,and ryors
6' Acta Petri10 p. 57 Lipsius;12 p. 60 (thecall, aliumsignumnobisostendeut
in domino);17 p. 63
credamus);13 p. 61 (secutisuntplurimihoc visoet crediderunt
hocenimfactumcredent).
(propter
winsdevotees:quibusdam
et
"62 Tert.,Apol. 21 and 31, paganism
signiset miraculis
in myPaganism95ff.
oraculis
Alsomaterial
fidemdivinitatis
operatur.
of theevidence.
As a beginning,
noticeSoz., H. E. 5.15(in
63
I knowof no collection
Gaza ca. A.D. 350, instantly
upon seeinga devilexorcized);Soc., H. E. 1.20 (PG
H. E. 1.24inGCS ed. 2, 1954),inthe
H. E. 1.23,PG 82.971ff.=
Theodoret,
67.129ff.=
to
ibid.5.21.7(PG 82.1244),inA.D. 388,pagansburstintohymns
reignofConstantine;
VitaHilarionis
God at a miraculous
25 (PL 23.41),of the
Jerome,
temple-destruction;
A.D. 380snearGaza; Rufinus,
H. E. 2.4(PL 21.512Cff.)
ofA.D. 373ora little
later,near
Nitriain Egypt(cf. Soc., H. E. 4.24); and, of dateca. A.D. 400, Marc.Diac., Vita
For the natureof thatwork,likelyto be least
Porphyrii,
locc. citt.and elsewhere.
initsdescriptions
in H. Gr~goire
ofmiracle
andM.
distorted
scenes,seetheIntroduction
A. Kugener's
edition(1930).Miraclesoftenchangethemindsof persons
alreadyChristian,ofcourse,e.g. Soz., H. E. 6.27(PG 67.1369B)and8.1 (1509B).
64
On thesimplefolk,seeC. Cels.3.44and 55,andActaPetri1 p. 44 Lipsius;on the
40.1.
see Min.Fel., Octavius
educated,
highly
6' C. Cels. 1.46,"evenifCelsus,ortheJewthatheintroduces,
ridicule
whatI amabout
to say..." (trans.Chadwick);
cf.also 8.47,andcompareAugustine's
views:thefoundationsof Christian
faithwerelaidthrough
forwe findin Scripture
miracles,
quaefacta
sunt,etpropter
quodcredendum
factasunt,etc.(Civ. dei22.8,CSEL 40, 2, p. 596).
alsoamongApologists,
e.g.Min.
"6 C. Cels.1.9and 18;5.15,19,and29; andelsewhere;
Fel., Octavius19.15,orJnl.Theol.Stud.17 (1966)111,andcf.Clem.Alex.,Stromat.
ofthemasses,likethewarning
1.12,PG 8.753,caretakentoavoidguffaws
byMenander
notto "look unconvincing
and ridiculous
to themasses"
Rhetor,
p. 14 Russell-Wilson,
of theological
through
subtlety
argument.

New Haven, Yale University,

Ct. 06520

R. MACMULLEN

This content downloaded from 140.147.236.194 on Thu, 23 Jul 2015 23:42:38 UTC
All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions