Standing on the Shoulders of Giants

If Marxist theory has made any useful contribution at all -- that contribution would have to be inconceivably enormous in order to outweigh the crimes that have been committed in its name -- it has been to sensitize historians to the significance of the material and economic foundations underpinning culture, kings, and civilizations. In the case of early Christianity, too, as in the case of its modern restoration, available means of transport and communication have been fundamental to both succ…