Christianity • Historical • Intermediate
Growth of Early Christianity
Primary question: Does the rapid growth of Christianity in the face of persecution and without political or military power constitute evidence for the truth of its central claims?
Argument map
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Common mistakes
Don't say
Presenting growth statistics as themselves proof of Christianity's truth.
Instead
Use the growth data to establish a historical puzzle (why did this happen, under these conditions) that then invites comparison of competing explanations.
Don't say
Overstating persecution as constant and empire-wide before the third century.
Instead
Accurately characterize persecution as real but sporadic and localized until the mid-third century, strengthening rather than weakening the historical case by being accurate.
What would change my mind? — Christian position
If sociological models could fully explain both the initial adoption and the sustained costly commitment of the earliest believers using only ordinary social incentives, the argument's apologetic force would be substantially reduced.
What would change my mind? — Skeptical position
If a skeptic came to find purely naturalistic network-based explanations insufficient to explain the depth of conviction among the earliest, highest-cost converts, they might need to grant more weight to the internal Christian explanation (a genuinely transformative conviction about the resurrection) as a historical factor, without necessarily accepting its truth.
Why does this matter?
This argument shifts attention from individual miracle claims to the broader sociological puzzle of how a stigmatized, powerless movement became religiously dominant, inviting a comparison between purely naturalistic and theologically informed explanations of large-scale historical change.
For further study
Primary and secondary sources on both sides of this question. Reading the strongest opposing case is part of the work, not a concession.
The Rise of Christianity — Rodney Stark
The foundational sociological study of early Christian growth rates and mechanisms.
The Myth of Persecution — Candida Moss
A revisionist historical account cautioning against exaggerated persecution narratives.
The Triumph of Christianity — Bart Ehrman
A broader historical account of Christianity's rise to religious dominance.