ABSTRACT
A L O N G T R A D I T I O N in Western thought views religion, and Christianity in particular, as a haven for the dispossessed. From its beginning, the special salience of the Christian faith for those disappointed and frustrated in this world has been re marked, and, according to Biblical accounts, even the Apostles were aware of this special feature of their movement.1 Modern histo rians of the early church agree that i t had great appeal and support among the de prived classes in the Roman world-the slaves, the poor, and the subject peoples.2
