Converting The Empire Issue 57 | 1998 Purchase this issue

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Most historians agree on the basic methods and reasons for the evangelization of the Roman Empire, but each brings a different emphasis. (All the in-print books can be ordered from Books Now at 1-800-962-6651 ext. 1248 or http://www.booksnow.com/christianhistory.htm.

Michael Green's Evangelism in the Early Church (Eagle, 1995; distributed in North America by Harold Shaw) dwells on both the New Testament and later periods. As the advisor on evangelism to the archbishop of Canterbury, his zeal for spreading the gospel shines through his well-researched history.

Another fascinating read by a nonhistorian is Rodney Stark's The Rise of Christianity: A Sociologist Reconsiders History (Princeton, 1996), which applies the discoveries of modern sociology to the study of ancient history. Historians don't agree with all his conclusions, but the work sparkles with insights.

Michael Walsh also highlights the legacy of the first century church in his accessible The Triumph of the Meek: Why Early Christianity Succeeded (1986, out of print), which contains over 100 photos.

The resource we are probably most excited about is the newly revised Encyclopedia of Early Christianity (Garland, 1997), edited by Everett Ferguson. At $187.50 for both volumes, it's pretty expensive for the average reader. But since it is one of the top reference works on the subject, demand that your local library purchase a copy.

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Taking a creative approach to the subject, Robert L. Wilken's The Christians as the Romans Saw Them (Yale, 1984) is an informative character study of specific Romans and how they interacted with their Christian neighbors.

Two resources we used most in researching this topic were on the computer. ...