If you were a pagan in the Greco-Roman world:

Question

How would you show why Christianity was an inferior religion? ALSO, if you were a Christian, how would you show that paganism was an inferior religion?

Answer 1

Edgar,

Great question! Writers and philosophers in Late Antiquity possessed different standards than we do today when judging the validity or value of a religion. Some of these are apparent from the Christian Apologists of the 2nd Century and pagan critics against Christianity.

From a pagan perspective, the novelty of a religion presented a major challenge. In the ancient world, an idea gained its merit by its longevity. The novelty of Christianity posed a problem for many pagans as is clear from Christian Apologists responses/arguments in favor of Christianity (cf. Tertullian, Apology; Justin Martyr, 1st Apology). Therefore, Christian writers who wrote works explaining Christianity to a pagan audience connected Christianity with the Judaism, specifically the Old Testament, claiming that their religion was not new, but rather as ancient as the religion of the Jews.

Another issue for pagans was politically motivated. If a religion was exclusive or secretive, it was generally deemed subversive to the Greco-Roman system and therefore a threat to the Empire. Thus, the Roman Tacitus or the writer Apuleius of Carthage, made outrageous claims against Christianity which exaggerated the rituals of Baptism and the Eucharist, highlighting their secrecy/exclusivity. The language of the eating of Christ's body employed by Paul and others in the New Testament fueled stories that Christians ate flesh and also performed abased sexual rituals. Christian's generally responded by claiming that these were lies; however, from the evidence of persecution, it seems that this was a powerful argument which motivated popular persecution.

Finally, a major contention pagans had with Christianity was the claim that God (i.e. Jesus) came down and become man. This was radical in the ancient world because men became gods but gods never became men. Pagans mocked Christians because what god would ever want to become a man? Nevertheless, this proved to be a powerful point in converting people.

Hopefully this explanation helps!

~Cameron Brock

Answer 2

First, establish what criteria you will use to assess the superiority of one religion over another.  Next, test each religion against the criteria.  Finally, decide which religion comes closer to meeting the criteria.  Philosophers of religion tend to focus on these 4 criteria:

 

(1)  Does the religion describe God in a way that is compatible with the cosmos around us?  This is the criteria of natural revelation.

 

(2)  Does the religion honestly identify the predicament of mankind?  This refers to mankind's alienation from God due to sin, and the pervasive presence of evil, pain, and suffering in the world.

 

(3) Does the religion offer a solution to the predicament of criteria number (2)?  This refers to special revelation given by God to the human race, i.e. a plan of salvation and redemption, revealed in holy scriptures, for example.

 

(4) Are there miracles and/or supernatural signs and wonders that confirm the claims of the religion to be true?

 

I suggest you apply these 4 criteria to the religions you are studying, and then try to answer the questions.