I recently finished reading the book, Christianizing the Roman Empire (AD 100–400), by Ramsay MacMullen (Yale University Press). In it, the author traces the means by which Christianity—a minor, persecuted sect—rose to power, and eventually to domination, within the Roman Empire. I found his account sometimes challenging to my preconceptions, but also fairly even handed and well documented. In some instances MacMullen comes across as sympathetic to the Christian cause, while at other times he takes a more critical view. It is obvious, not only from this book but also from other historical works, that much of the criticism leveled at Christian political power playing in those early centuries is well deserved. I could not help but feel some sympathy for the pagans at each advancing step towards their defeat.

Of course, it deserves stating that, as the author concludes and as all Seventh-day Adventists know, paganism was not truly eradicated. Instead it was slowly absorbed into the Christian Church. I had long wondered how this came about. While there were undoubtedly many factors at play, one prominent factor was that, in the pagans' eyes, joining the church was a matter of cultural, political, economic, and sometimes even physical survival. From the viewpoint of the leading Christian leaders, it did not matter whether "in pretense or in truth" a person joined the church; it was enough that they were in.

There are many interesting points brought out in this book, including what we know from historical sources of how Christians evangelized in those days. In some respects they followed the model Jesus had given: helping the poor, ministering to the sick, spreading out from population centers to more remote regions. Yet, if the author is correct, in other respects they veered far from the true path. It appears there was a strong reliance on miracles (healings and exorcisms mostly), and that an acknowledgment of the power of the true God and Jesus Christ was counted as genuine conversion, irrespective of a knowledge of the "present truth" or of Scripture per se. In fact, it appears that the great majority of conversions involved no discipleship or Biblical instruction until after the fact, if at all.

Another fascinating point is how Christians were viewed as "atheists" because they rejected the pantheon of gods from the pagan world. From the pagan standpoint, a religion that observed only the one supreme, transcendent God was essentially atheistic, because the pagans did not believe such a God was personally involved in our world. That is, to reject all the pagan gods was, essentially, to reject personal gods. This eventually played into the Christians' favor, when it became apparent that all the pagan gods combined were not sufficient to withstand the Christians' religious attack. Thus, in some degree, the Christians became the champions of a superstition-free religion, apparently the only true religion. (Of course, the influx of pagans managed to bring some superstition into the Christian church.)

At 3ABN's Spring Camp Meeting I was introduced to the music of Sandra Entermann. Sandra is a Seventh-day Adventist vocal artist with a beautiful voice. Moreover, the songs in her repertoire contain great messages, and several that were new to me have become favorites already. Her choice of musical accompaniment is also always appropriate. I've purchased two of her albums: "If I Stand" and her most recent album, "Rest."



My favorite songs on these albums are "Chorus of Faith," "Ready for the Storm," "Remember Me," "Were It Not for Grace" (awesome!), "The Strength of the Lord," "Raining on the Inside," and "Too Many Times."

You can hear samples and purchase her latest album from Westney Productions.

Yesterday I watched a movie with friends, "End of the Spear." It is based on the true story of missionaries who reached out to natives of Colombia, South America. Despite a major setback involving the loss of all the men in the group, those who remained decided to continue their work. It was such a powerful story, with a very beautiful and touching ending. The movie dramatically depicts the collision between the fierce, warring tribe and the steadfast faith (and self-sacrifice) of the missionaries.

I highly recommend it. There is some violence, mainly natives and foreigners being impaled by spears. But the gore is very minimal. I did not find the movie visually disturbing, but if you are sensitive you might need to exercise discretion.

Incidentally, two of the missionaries were Jim and Elisabeth Elliott (Elisabeth is a well-known author in Christian circles, whose books include "Passion and Purity" and "The Mark of a Man").



You can find the DVD on Amazon.com, among other places. The music was very beautiful, too (I don't own the audio CD, but it's probably quite good).

I recently discovered an artist whose music I've come to enjoy very much: Tim Janis. So far I have purchased two of his albums through iTunes: American Horizons and A Winter's Eve. His music is very beautiful, and often majestic and soaring. It sounds to me like the kind of music one might experience at an IMAX movie as you swiftly fly over some breathtaking landscape. It's great music to have playing in the background while you work, or just anytime you want to feel inspired to conquer the world. Despite the grand, classical-inspired sound, there isn't much melody to some of the songs (in some cases none), so you could probably consider it within the new age genre. I suggest listening to some online samples to see if it appeals to you.