Holland’s Dominion, Stark’s Rise of Christianity, and The Emperor Julian
A “theory of everything”[1] behind how we think. A “freakonomics”[2] for the Western world. These were phrases that came to mind as I read Tom Holland’s 2019 book Dominion: How the Christian Revolution Remade The World. To locate what’s underneath our culture’s values and moral framework, Holland asks, “How was it that a cult inspired by the execution of an obscure criminal in a long-vanished empire came to exercise such a transformative and enduring influence on the world?”[3] Holland sets out to answer this question by “explor(ing) how we in the West came to be what we are, and to think the way that we do.”[4]
In doing so, Holland has given his readers a historical masterpiece.
Holland and Stark
In Tom Holland’s view, Christianity so thoroughly reshaped Western civilization’s morality and values “that it has come to be hidden from view.”[5] If Holland’s Dominion is about what Christianity’s influence transformed, then the late Rodney Stark’s The Rise of Christianity: How the Obscure, Marginal Jesus Movement Became the Dominant Religious Force in the Western World in a Few Centuries is about how Christianity indeed spread.
Stark (Rodney, not Tony) was a sociologist and professor of religion. His analysis of the way early Christianity traveled through social networks, including networks of both strong and weak social ties, is fascinating. Stark argues that Christianity’s growth was related to “how the early Christians maintained open networks,”[6] and his readers can see his application of social network theory throughout.
Holland, however, is a historian. Writing as a historian and not as an apologist, Holland wants to “study Christianity for what it can reveal, not about God, but about the affairs of humanity.”[7]
The two books could almost be read together, as there are certainly points of intersection between their premises. For example, both the sociologist and the historian highlight the charitable efforts of ancient Christians to care for people in need. This concern for others and not only for themselves is important, both to account for Christianity’s exponential growth and for Christianity’s moral framework that shaped a Western world and life view. It was the Christian faith, in stark contrast to the Roman way, that moved people to care for others. This included care for people outside of their own families and kinship networks. In The Rise of Christianity, Stark points out “that Christianity revitalized life in Greco-Roman cities by providing new norms and new kinds of social relationships able to cope with many urgent urban problems.”[8] Christianity provided shelter for the poor, nursing services for those affected by epidemics and disasters, and connections for people – even “newcomers and strangers” –- who otherwise lacked the relational and social attachments needed to navigate daily life in Greco-Roman society.[9]
Julian
For emperor Julian (Roman Emperor from 361 – 363 A.D.), Christianity’s charitable influence was a problem. In Dominion, Holland’s account of the Roman emperor is an example of the author’s oblique way of assessing Christianity’s impact beyond social network theories and movement growth. Holland writes about Julian in his chapter titled “Charity” (Chapter 5).
Julian wanted people to return to their devotion to the gods of old, but by Julian’s time (keep in mind Julian was the nephew of Constantine, pointed out by Holland) the Christian faith had established a strong foundation in part because of the way Christians practiced their ethic among the marginalized.
“‘How apparent to everyone it is, and how shameful, that our own people lack support from us, when no Jew ever has to beg, and the impious Galileans support not only their own poor, but ours as well.’”[10] – Julian
Julian wanted to show that the gods of Rome (particularly Cybele, the “Divine Mother”[11]) could compete with Christianity’s good works, but alas, Holland asserts, “The gods cared nothing for the poor.”[12] “The starving deserved no sympathy. Beggars were best rounded up and deported. Pity risked undermining a wise man’s self-control.”[13] That was the Roman way. Despite his “Christian” upbringing, Julian’s nostalgic love for his ancestors’ gods proved to be disappointing at best. It was the way of Christianity, motivated by faith in Jesus, that turned the tables on “power.” In reality, according to Holland, the fact that Julian wanted to counter Christianity’s works of care and hospitality was itself indicative of how much Christianity had subversively begun to transform how people were valued in Greco-Roman culture. Holland writes, referring to Julian, “The young emperor, sincere though he was in his hatred of ‘Galilean’ teachings, and in regretting their impact upon all that he held most dear, was blind to the irony of his plan for combating them: that it was itself irredeemably Christian.”[14]
For Julian, or anyone, really, in the West from the days of the Roman empire to the 21st century, he and they were already swimming like goldfish in the bowl of Christian waters. And unless they were able to get outside of the bowl, they would not even realize it.[15]
Summary and questions
Stark would have zeroed in on Christianity’s “growth through social networks, through a structure of direct and intimate interpersonal attachments.”[16] Holland, though in many ways building on Christianity’s spread through “direct and interpersonal attachments,” however camped on ways in which the West “remains firmly moored to its Christian past.”[17]
There’s more to explore here, but I’ll leave with two questions:
How does Holland’s thesis affect our leadership theories and practices in the organizations, institutions, or churches where we serve as leaders? How does this inform or affect your particular work as a leader?
[1] See The Theory Of Everything, by Stephen Hawking.
[2] See Freakonomics: A Rogue Economist Explores the Hidden Side of Everything by Steven D. Levitt and Stephen J Dubner.
[3] Tom Holland, Dominion: How The Christian Revolution Remade The World, New York: Basic, 2019,12.
[4] Ibid., 12.
[5] Ibid., 17.
[6] Rodney Stark, The Rise of Christianity: How the Obscure, Marginal Jesus Movement Became the Dominant Religious Force in the Western World in a Few Centuries, New York: HarperOne, 1996, 21.
[7] Holland, 14.
[8] Stark states, “Christianity revitalized life in Greco-Roman cities by providing new norms and new kinds of social relationships able to cope with many urgent urban problems. To cities filled with the homeless and impoverished, Christianity offered charity as well as hope. To cities filled with newcomers and strangers, Christianity offered an immediate basis for attachments. To cities filled with orphans and widows, Christianity provided a new and expanded sense of family. To cities torn by violent ethnic strife, Christianity offered a new basis for social solidarity…And to cities faced with epidemics, fires, and earthquakes, Christianity offered effective nursing services.” See: Rodney Stark, The Rise of Christianity: How the Obscure, Marginal Jesus Movement Became the Dominant Religious Force in the Western World in a Few Centuries, New York: HarperOne, 1996, 161.
[9] Stark, 161.
[10] Holland, 139.
[11] Ibid., 137.
[12] Ibid., 139.
[13] Ibid., 139.
[14] Ibid., 139.
[15] Holland uses the goldfish swimming in Christian waters metaphor in a talk he gave here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cDa4vpkNKeQ.
[16] Stark, 20.
[17] Holland, 13.
About the Author
Travis Vaughn
3 responses to “Holland’s Dominion, Stark’s Rise of Christianity, and The Emperor Julian”
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Hi Todd,
Great post.
In your footnotes, you quoted,” Stark states, “Christianity revitalized life in Greco-Roman cities by providing new norms and new kinds of social relationships able to cope with many urgent urban problems. To cities filled with the homeless and impoverished, Christianity offered charity as well as hope. To cities filled with newcomers and strangers, Christianity offered an immediate basis for attachments.
YES and YES.
Isn’t this what we are all about? I have come to a rather cynical place. Our program and perhaps our society as a whole have become “You be you, and I will be me.” But then our latest readings (which challenge our faith) bring the unbeliever into our blog spot world.
I can only continue to believe because of my personal testimony and interaction with God. While I feel obligated to share that with people, I don’t expect to convert them; that is the Holy Spirit’s job.
You asked, “How does Holland’s thesis affect our leadership theories and practices in the organizations, institutions, or churches where we serve as leaders? How does this inform or affect your particular work as a leader?
My job is to be “Me with Christ in ME.” My actions are my response to the unbeliever. I will place my emotional capital in God’s NPO (I almost said mine) and HIS work in Ukraine and Kenya (GoodSports children’s ministry). Doing these things, I am content to let others (Many of whom are family) see this “work of service to Go” and let them be the judge. I also let them be wrong.
Sigh.
Shalom
Hi Travis,
You bring up a great point that how in the Roman world the Christian way of caring for the poor, needy, and marginalized was so very counter cultural. You wrote, “It was the Christian faith, in stark contrast to the Roman way, that moved people to care for others. This included care for people outside of their own families and kinship networks.” It seems so second nature to us, but I also wonder if the western world and even the church is losing a personal connection. It’s easy to give money, buy toys, and stock food banks. But are we truly engaging with people. Maybe it’s just been a challenge for me to know where to plug in. Do you think our Western culture is becoming more self-centered and polarized to the point we are depersonalizing those who Jesus loves and calls us to be with?
I’ve enjoyed reading your posts over the last two years. You always give me much more to consider. Enjoy your Christmas break!
Travis,
Great post, great questions. Two ways this informs my leadership is through my teaching and in our small group development.
It is important to shape a congregation that rejects the ways of power and dominance, and Holland provides some narrative tools to help underscore the church’s historical path in this direction.
Our small groups are where “church happens,” and because we live in an urban environment, we constantly encounter them. Our congregation is full of the poor, outcast, and alien… the least, last, and lost. As we train our groups to reflect the heart of the Gospel to these (not just in “outreach’ but in embracing and involving the hurting), I think it manifests something powerful that the best church growth or effective program cannot.
Finally I wanted to mention your Rodney Stark not Tony Stark comment. I admitted in my blog that until about a year ago when I heard people talking about Tom Holland I thought they were referencing the guy who played Spider Man. We can’t get away from cutlure, can we?
Thanks for being such a great thinker and consistently sharing your wisdom with us. I’m looking forward to seeing more from you in the future. I’m glad we got to do the last 2 years of this program together.