Paganism Surviving in Christianity

The work opens with a clear warning: reading the first‑century church through a nineteenth‑century lens, or assuming that fourth‑century Christianity mirrors the New‑Testament church, leads to serious misreadings. It argues that any serious study of early Western Christianity must begin by tracing the powerful currents of Greco‑Roman pagan thought that surrounded the infant faith. By treating history as a series of cause‑and‑effect relationships, the author invites readers to see how ideas, both true and false, have shaped the church’s trajectory.

From that foundation the book turns to four concrete areas where pagan influence left its mark: the way biblical texts have been interpreted, the organization of the church through water‑worship rituals, the substitution of sun‑related holidays for the Sabbath, and the melding of ecclesiastical authority with civil power. Presented in a concise, readable style, the study offers factual observations without heavy theological speculation, aiming at thoughtful readers who want to understand how the past informs present Christian practice.