The Fear of Freedom

Rowan A Greer explores the complex relationship between individual agency and divine intervention in The Fear of Freedom: A Study of Miracles in the Roman Imperial Church, Volume 1. This scholarly work in church history examines how miracle stories shaped Christian identity during the fourth and fifth centuries. Rather than viewing miracles as mere violations of natural law, Greer analyzes them as sources of wonder that tied heavenly power to the community. The text investigates how the Constantinian revolution influenced the sacralization of the empire through the cult of the saints and relics.

This study of the early church focuses on the tension between individual virtue and corporate piety. As Christianity gained dominance in the Roman Empire, the emphasis shifted from human freedom to God's sovereign grace. The Fear of Freedom: A Study of Miracles in the Roman Imperial Church, Volume 1, traces this theological evolution from early Christian thought toward the organized piety of the Middle Ages.