Why was Christianity so appealing?

So exactly why is Christianity so appealing? There are two major answers to this question. The draw of the promise of having eternal life and the sense of community. In the early days of Christianity one usually had a very short life expectancy. So when they heard of Christianity and that if you love Jesus, you will go to an after life of happiness when you die. This would sound very appealing to a peasant for example who would probably live up to only forty or fifty years. One of the popular religions at the time was the Greek Gods one. In that religion, if you died, you would end up in the under world no matter if you were a good or bad person. In Christianity you supposedly have a choice.
The second reason Christianity was appealing was the sense of community. God already loved you no matter what and if you loved Jesus you were automatically part of a community. You and everyone else in the village or city would all congregate at the local synagogue and would talk and pray and love Jesus. It was all friends and everyone was very accepting.

Cults, Religions, Prophets and Missionaries.

Cults and Religions are more or less the same (with a few differences here and there). They both have something to do with a higher power. For example in its beginning years Christianity was considered to be a cult while the most popular religion in greece which was the one where there were many Gods who were responsible for different things was not a cult. Both believed in a higher power and both required devotion yet Christianity was a cult. Now we have to look at the differences. The orignal greek religion had been around much longer than Christianity. This could mean that since Greeks were so used to having the same religion that they could reject the idea of a new monotheistic religion by thinking that Paul, one of the first missionaries was crazy. I mean if someone tells you that your whole religion is false you'll think that they are crazy and consider them from a cult.
Now there about the same amount of differences between a prophet and a missionary. They are similar because both are related to the same religion. They are also usually very dedicated to the religion as well. They are different in several ways. Missionaries basically spend their whole life trying to convert other people to their religion. They are basically service workers for the religion. They would sacrifice their lives for their religion. Sometimes, missionaries would even be crucified by the romans for trying to convert people. Prophets are almost like idols in religions. They are usually just key figures in religions.

Historical Diffusion

What exactly is historical diffusion? There is no short answer to this question. Historical diffusion itself takes a very long time on its own. It all starts when there is an innovative idea that reaches a different country from which originated. Soon a small population of the whole country for example uses that idea to improve there lifestyle. Only a few people used the idea because it was from a different country. But the idea was so good that it caught on with more and more people. Soon the culture that is using the new idea has some influence from the other culture from which the idea came from.

Polytheism and Monotheism

Polytheism and Monotheism are very different and alike at the same time. For example both types of religions involve people praying to God(s) when they are in need. For example when people were first settling in to the world and starting civilization religion had just started. People basically lived off of the necessities of life. Rain as their source for watering their crops and rivers for water. So if there was not a lot of rain then one would pray to the rain God for it to rain. And if it did rain then they would thank the God.
When Monotheism emerged the average lifestyle for the planet was different. The basic necessities of life were mostly available. Soon people only needed one God. A all overseeing God who took care of everything else. Soon Judaism, Islam and Christianity emerged.

Ancient Religion

Religion started when mankind started. When people were making art they were making religion. It was very different then religion is now. Now most mainstream religions have one God. (Christianity, Islam and Judaism) But a few thousand years ago most religions had many Gods. Mostly Gods would adress common problems people faced those few millennia ago. For example sometimes it would not rain enough or the harvest did not provide enough food. Then people would pray to their rain or harvest God and if it did rain or they received more food they would thank the God who helped them. Now most religions only need one God since rain and food aren't major issues facing the majority of the worlds population today. These days we have one God to adress all our problems.

Brother Ali

Brother Ali (Originally named Jason Newman) is an underground rapper who raps about corruption and faults in the U.S. government and how unfair it is to be poor or a minority in America. Although he is white he has claimed that he feels most at home when he is around African Americans. He received some criticism when he first began his career. His stage name Brother Ali is a common reference in religious communities especially muslim ones. Brother Ali most likely chose this name because he converted to Islam right before he started his rapping career. To him converting to a new faith probably meant a fresh start. He would leaves his old life behind him where he was made fun of for having the condition of albinism. When he was a child, growing up in Madison Wisconsin he was made fun of by his white class mates. When starting his career he was surrounded by lots of different cultures and races giving a start to where no one would judge him on who he was. His conversion helped him rebuild and restart his life as a person.

The Polygamists-National Geographic

For the Polygamist Community in Colorado religion shapes the world in a very hostile way. They have been separated from the outside world by their leader Joe Jessop who has 5 wives, 46 children and 269 grandchildren. Reading newspapers is frowned upon so there is now way to find out what is happening in the world. This specific branch of Mormonism discourages mingling with the outside worlds affairs to keep the sanctity of the covenant pure and untouched. With out the understanding of what the world is really this religion makes everywhere but their small ranch in Colorado seem like a different universe.