This lecture briefly sums up the main themes of the previous ones, while laying out the ways that the fourth century’s progressive Christianization of government and the institutionalization of the church affected the concepts of God, “man,” and the universe. We will consider seven inflection points on the historical arc of these developments, spanning from the second century BCE to the late fourth century CE. We will see how the Christianization of God led to new ways of conceptualizing ancient “monotheism”; how the Christianization of “man” framed new ideals of human achievement; and how the Christianization of the universe sponsored new ways of imagining time and its relation to creation. Yet these novelties were framed by two ancient concepts that well predate the Christian era: the idea that conditions on earth were contingent upon relations with heaven, and the idea that gods and humans formed family groups. These two core convictions undergird the conversions of Christianity. Recording of Lecture Six - The Conversions of Christianity This article was published on Thursday 13 August 2026
