A nifty little PBS essay on the Early Church points out how crucial Christianity’s down-to-earth organizational structure was to its success in the Roman Empire. The author attributes its success to several things:
- The bewildering array of new gods and cults available to Romans could be radically simplified by converting to Christianity.
- Conversion, rather than mere adherence, to one exclusive religious community gave that community interpersonal strength.
- Unlike pagan priests, the chief function of Christian leadership was to deliver personal wisdom, not esoteric for-pay rites.
- Christianity’s leaders were chosen from among the people for their gifts of leadership, thus having a personal credibility that pagan priests could not.
- Christianity was funded by small, voluntary donations made by converts. Pagan cults were largely funded by the state and wealthy donors, making them easy to de-fund.
- Because it was a mass movement, Christianity could not be stopped simply by executing its leaders. Leaders could be easily replaced.
