MacMullen Ramsay. Christianizing the Roman Empire: (A.D. 100-400)

Yale University Press, 1984. — 200 p.How did the early Christian church manage to win its dominant place in the Roman world? In his newest book, an eminent historian of ancient Rome examines this question from a secular—rather than an ecclesiastical—viewpoint. MacMullen’s provocative conclusion is that mass conversions to Christianity were based more on the appeal of miracle or the opportunity for worldly advantages than simply on a “rising tide of Christian piety.”