Book Review: The Christians as the Romans Saw Them by Robert L. Wilken

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I ordered this book as a supplementary study guide to my Early Church History seminar. The title intrigued me, and I was excited to possibly extract and include bits and pieces of a different point of view into the study. Boy, was I in for a surprise!

Robert Wilken was a Professor of History at the University of Virginia and a former President of the American Academy of Religion. He authored numerous academic papers and wrote other books including The Land Called Holy: Palestine in Christian History and The First Thousand Years: A Global History of Christianity. His love for history and fact-checking are evident in this book as he includes numerous ancient extant documents and references to back up his investigative journalism.

This book is simple. It is mainly a condensed history book on five ancient critics of the Christian religion, culture and philosophies. It covers extant and lost writings, both those of critics and apologists, from the first through fourth centuries. It is precise in its findings, thorough in its coverage and provides a fair and balanced exposure of the truth.

The five critics exposed in this book are Pliny, Galen, Celsus, Porphyry and Julius the Apostate. Wilken provides an adequate and detailed background of each of these men, when and where they were born, their heritage, how they were raised and educated, and most import how they came to distrust Christians and develop a distaste for their culture and customs.

What makes this book interesting is that each of the critics has a different reason for attacking Christian beliefs, morals and values. Pliny was a Roman governor who tried to squelch this newfound movement. Galen, a conservative doctor, respected Christians but thought they were weak-minded. Celsus, a Platonist, was the harshest critic and wrote extensively against Christians (although most of his writings did not survive antiquity). His writings were so severe they prompted an 8-volume apologetic response from Origen. Porphyry, the most intellectual of the critics, studied the Old and New Testaments and wrote pointed critiques that spurred several Christian apologists to write a plethora of responses. And finally, Julian the Apostate. What makes Julian an interesting subject is that he was raised in a Christian family, baptized and educated in the Scriptures. He rose in the ranks to Caesar where he abruptly turned against the Christians.

Wilken is unbiased and presents each of these critics in their raw form. He provides plentiful resources to back up his research. He leaves the reader hungry for more and that is what makes this book so interesting. I give it 4.5 out of 5.0 and highly recommend it to those who seek a better understanding of basic Christian tenets.

This book, as well as many others that were written by Robert L. Wilken, can be purchased for a great price from our Affiliate Partner Christianbook Distributors.

Publisher’s Description

Christians As The Romans Saw Them
By Robert Louis Wilken

This book offers an engrossing portrayal of the early years of the Christian movement from the perspective of the Romans.

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