[11] SOCIAL CONDITION OF ASIA MINOR, A.D. 50-60. The discussion of St. Paul's experiences in Asia Minor is beset with one serious difficulty. The attempt must be made to indicate the character of the society into which the Apostle introduced the new doctrine of religion and of life. In the case of Greece and Rome much may be assumed as familiar to the reader. In the case of Asia Minor very little can be safely assumed; and the analogy [12] of Greece and Rome is apt to introduce confusion and misconception. Conybeare and Howson have attempted, in a most scholarly way, to set forth a picture of the situation in which St. Paul found himself placed in the cities of Asia and of Galatia. But the necessary materials for their purpose did not exist, the country was unknown, the maps were either a blank or positively wrong in regard to all but a very few points; and, moreover, they were often deceived by Greek and Roman analogies. The only existing sketch of the country that is not positively misleading is given by Mommsen in his Provinces of the Roman Empire; and that is only a very brief description, which extends over a period of several centuries. Now the dislike entertained for the new religion was at first founded on the disturbance it caused in the existing relations of society. Toleration of new religions as such was far greater under the Roman Empire than it has been in modern times: in the multiplicity of religions and gods that existed in the same city, a single new addition was a matter of almost perfect indifference. But the aggressiveness of Christianity, the change in social habits and every-day life which it introduced, and the injurious effect that it sometimes exercised on trades which were encouraged by paganism, combined with the intolerance that it showed for other religions, made it detested among people who regarded with equanimity, or even welcomed, the introduction into their cities of the gods of Greece, of Rome, of Egypt, of Syria. Hence every slight fact which is recorded of St Paul's experiences has a close relation to the social system that prevailed in the country, and cannot be properly understood without some idea of the general character of society and the tendencies which moulded it [13] The attempt must be made in the following pages to bring out the general principles which were at work in each individual incident; and such an attempt involves minuteness in scrutinising the details of each incident and lengthens the exposition. It will be necessary to express dissent from predecessors oftener than I could wish; but if one does not formally dissent from the views advocated by others, the impression is apt to be caused that they have not been duly weighed.