The rapid rise of Christianity has often been considered to be a remarkable event in itself, and the fact that it acquired so many adherents so quickly is often held to be a miracle in its own right that further confirms the truth of the message. Recent calculations are a bit more sober. Prior to its official adoption growth was impressive but far from unbelievable. In fact it is in line with and if anything even a bit slower than the the much better documented recent growth of Mormonism.
The rest is at the new home of my blog
http://historybooksreview.co.uk/how-the-church-won-gibbons-decline-and-fall-of-the-roman-empire/Labels: Gibbon
