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SearchJesus‘ Message Becomes a New Order of Society
Upon such a stage of human society the teachings of Jesus, embraced in the Christian message,
were suddenly thrust. A new order of living was thus presented to the hungry hearts of these
Western peoples. This situation meant immediate conflict between the older religious practices
and the new Christianized version of Jesus‘ message to the world. Such a conflict must result in
either decided victory for the new or for the old or in some degree of compromise. History shows
that the struggle ended in compromise. Christianity presumed to embrace too much for any one
people to assimilate in one or two generations. It was not a simple spiritual appeal, such as Jesus
had presented to the souls of men; it early struck a decided attitude on religious rituals,
education, magic, medicine, art, literature, law, government, morals, sex regulation, polygamy,
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and, in limited degree, even slavery. Christianity came not merely as a new religion —
something all the Roman Empire and all the Orient were waiting for — but as a new order of
human society. And as such a pretension it quickly precipitated the social-moral clash of the
ages. The ideals of Jesus, as they were reinterpreted by Greek philosophy and socialized in
Christianity, now boldly challenged the traditions of the human race embodied in the ethics,
morality, and religions of Western civilization.
At first, Christianity won as converts only the lower social and economic strata. But by the
beginning of the second century the very best of Greco-Roman culture was increasingly turning
to this new order of Christian belief, this new concept of the purpose of living and the goal of
existence.
How did this new message of Jewish origin, which had almost failed in the land of its birth, so
quickly and effectively capture the very best minds of the Roman Empire? The triumph of
Christianity over the philosophic religions and the mystery cults was due to:
1. Organization. Paul was a great organizer and his successors kept up the pace he set.
2. Christianity was thoroughly Hellenized. It embraced the best in Greek philosophy as well as
the cream of Hebrew theology.
3. But best of all, it contained a new and great ideal, the echo of the life bestowal of Jesus and
the reflection of his message of salvation for all mankind.
4. The Christian leaders were willing to make such compromises with Mithraism that the better
half of its adherents were won over to the Antioch cult.
5. Likewise did the next and later generations of Christian leaders make such further
compromises with paganism that even the Roman emperor Constantine was won to the new
religion.