The ancient Mediterranean teemed with gods. For centuries, a practical religious pluralism prevailed. How, then, did one Deity come to dominate the politics and piety of the late Roman Empire?
In ‘Ancient Christianities,’ Paula Fredriksen traces the evolution of early Christianity, or rather, of early Christianities through five centuries of Empire, mapping its pathways from the hills of Judea to the halls of Rome and Constantinople. It is a story with a sprawling cast of characters: not only theologians, bishops, and emperors, but also gods and demons, angels and magicians, astrologers and ascetics, saints and heretics, aristocratic patrons and millenarian enthusiasts. All played their part in the development of what became and remains an energetically diverse biblical religion.
On this episode of Common Threads, Paula Fredriksen joins host Fred Stella to discusses the various religious, political, and social reasons that what most call Christianity in the 21st century is the worldview that won out in the marketplace of ideas 2,000 years ago.
Paula Fredriksen has been distinguished visiting professor in the Department of Comparative Religion at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, since 2009 (now emerita).
Fredriksen served as an historical consultant and featured speaker in many media, including for the BBC production The Lives of Jesus (1996) and for U.S. News & World Report's "The Life and Times of Jesus". Fredriksen's book From Jesus to Christ: The Origins of the Early Images of Jesus served as a template for the Frontline documentary From Jesus to Christ: The First Christians.
