Against the Christians: the rise of early anti-Christian polemic

Product Description Against the Christians examines the anti-Christian polemic works of Celsus, Porphyry, and Julian the Apostate. The first book to analyze the phenomenon of early anti-Christian literature in depth, it chooses the critics' objection to Christian exclusivism as its starting point. The evolution in the polemic, from a rhetoric of radical distinction to one of «rhetorical assimilation,» reveals a sophisticated attempt to expose contradictions and inconsistencies within Christianity, while at the same time reflecting the process of fusion between Christianity and the culture of late antiquity. About the Author The Author: Jeffrey W. Hargis, Instructor of Church History and New Testament Greek at Western Seminary in Los Gatos, California, received his Ph.D. in Religion from Temple University.