PRIMITIVE CHRISTIANITY REVIVED 53 



of the first century, and the so-called Catholic Church 

 into which that brotherhood grew* The one was, in 

 a true sense, the Church of Christ on earth. The other 

 was a Roman institution, organised on the model of the 

 Roman Empire ♦ 



And now, in order that we may the more fully under- 

 stand the change that took place, and how it came about, 

 let us consider for a moment the world into which 

 Christianity was born. It was in many ways remarkable, 

 and, in some ways, almost unique. For Christianity 

 came into a world which was under one universal 

 government, and which understood one universal 

 language. The government of the world was Roman, 

 but its language was Greek, I do not of course mean to 

 suggest that everyone spoke Greek, Many different 

 languages were spoken then, just as they are now, but 

 Greek was everywhere understood, Rome had conquered 

 the then known world. But Greece had her revenge, 

 for Greek thought, Greek philosophy, and Greek art, 

 in their turn, conquered Rome, 



Just as nowadays the thought of one man may find 

 its expression in a poem, and the thought of another man 

 may find its expression in a machine, so the genius of the 

 Greek mind found its most characteristic expression in 

 art and philosophy, whilst the genius of the Roman mind 

 found its most characteristic expression in laws and 

 institutions. And when the new faith gained adherents 

 from the cultured and ruling classes, its converts did 

 not cease to be Greek philosophers and Roman lawyers 

 because they accepted Christ, And so it came about 

 that Christianity entered the Greek mind a living and 

 potent religion. It came out a theology ! And this 

 same Christianity entered the Roman mind a living and 

 potent religion. It came out an institution ! A.nd it 

 is all-important for us to remember that whilst the 

 religion was Christian, the theology was not Christian, 



