The passage given below is followed by a set of questions. Choose the most…
2024
The passage given below is followed by a set of questions. Choose the most appropriate answer to each question.
A candid but rational inquiry into the progress and establishment of Christianity may be considered as a very essential part of the history of the Roman empire. While that great body was invaded by open violence, or undermined by slow decay, a pure and humble religion gently insinuated itself into the minds of men, grew up in silence and obscurity, derived new vigour from opposition, and finally erected the triumphant banner of the Cross on the ruins of the Capitol. Nor was the influence of Christianity confined to the period or to the limits of the Roman empire. After a revolution of thirteen or fourteen centuries, that religion is still professed by the nations of Europe, the most distinguished portion of human kind in arts and learning as well as in arms. By the industry and zeal of the Europeans it has been widely diffused to the most distant shores of Asia and Africa; and by the means of their colonies has been firmly established from Canada to Chile, in a world unknown to the ancients.
But this inquiry, however useful or entertaining, is attended with two peculiar difficulties. The scanty and suspicious materials of ecclesiastical history seldom enable us to dispel the dark cloud that hangs over the first age of the church. The great law of impartiality too often obliges us to reveal the imperfections of the uninspired teachers and believers of the Gospel; and, to a careless observer, their faults may seem to cast a shade on the faith which they professed. But the scandal of the pious Christian, and the fallacious triumph of the Infidel, should cease as soon as they recollect not only by whom, but likewise to whom, the Divine Revelation was given. The theologian may indulge the pleasing task of describing Religion as she descended from Heaven, arrayed in her native purity. A more melancholy duty is imposed on the historian. He must discover the inevitable mixture of error and corruption which she contracted in long residence upon earth, among a weak and degenerate race of beings.
Our curiosity is naturally prompted to inquire by what means the Christian faith obtained so remarkable a victory over the established religions of the earth. To this inquiry an obvious but unsatisfactory answer may be returned; that it was owing to the convincing evidence of the doctrine itself, and to the ruling providence of its great Author. But as truth and reason seldom find so favourable a reception in the world, and as the wisdom of Providence frequently condescends to use the passions of the human heart, and the general circumstances of mankind, as instruments to execute its purpose, we may still be permitted, though with becoming submission, to ask, not indeed what were the first, but what were the secondary causes of the rapid growth of the Christian church? It will, perhaps, appear that it was most effectually favoured and assisted by the five following causes:
The inflexible, and, if we may use the expression, the intolerant zeal of the Christians, derived, it is true, from the Jewish religion, but purified from the narrow and unsocial spirit which, instead of inviting, had deterred the Gentiles from embracing the law of Moses, the doctrine of a future life, improved by every additional circumstance which could give weight and efficacy to that important truth, the miraculous powers ascribed to the primitive church, the pure and austere morals of the Christians. The union and discipline of the Christian republic, which gradually formed an independent and increasing state in the heart of the Roman empire.
Which of the following can be inferred from the passage?
- A.
The rise of the Roman empire and Christianity were simultaneous.
- B.
The great body that was the Roman empire was instrumental in the spread of the Christian religion to other continents.
- C.
The rise of Christianity coincided with the deterioration of the Roman empire.
- D.
The Roman empire played a major part in effecting the rise of Christianity.
Attempted by 2 students.
Show answer & explanation
Correct answer: C
Concept: An inference is a conclusion the passage supports without stating it outright. A valid inference must be compelled by the passage's own wording; it cannot rely on outside knowledge, and it must neither overstate nor contradict what the text actually says.
Application: The passage describes Christianity growing "in silence and obscurity" and then "erecting the triumphant banner of the Cross on the ruins of the Capitol" at the very time the Roman empire was being "invaded by open violence, or undermined by slow decay." The Capitol symbolises Roman imperial authority, so placing Christianity's triumph on its "ruins" ties the religion's rise directly to the empire's fall in the passage's own timeline.
The rise of the Roman empire and Christianity were simultaneous: the passage introduces Christianity as a new development inside an already-existing "great body" (the Roman empire); it never dates Christianity's origin to when the empire itself arose.
The Roman empire was instrumental in spreading Christianity to other continents: the passage credits that spread to "the industry and zeal of the Europeans" and their colonies, explicitly placed "after a revolution of thirteen or fourteen centuries", long after the Roman empire had ended.
The Roman empire played a major part in effecting the rise of Christianity: the passage lists its own five secondary causes for Christianity's growth (the zeal of early Christians, the doctrine of a future life, reported miracles, austere morals, and the church's discipline), none of which is the Roman empire itself.
Cross-check: each of those three readings requires importing a claim the passage does not make, while the "ruins of the Capitol" line explicitly places Christianity's rise against the empire's decline, so that is the conclusion the passage actually supports.