character of the Christian religion seems to have given its rites

a secret aspect. But these facts are well known and there is no reason
to emphasize them. Perhaps it would be preferable to analyze doctrinal
points. In efect the Christians inherited a conception of religion
from the Jews which was unique in the ancient world, for
knowing, the very process of learning the truth, was an integral part
of the religiosity itself. Whereas in Greece intellectual refection upon
religion is the task of philosophers, only Jews and Christians developed
the idea of religious thought, theological refection at the very
core of the religion. In the words of Arnaldo Momigliano, among
the Greeks, the more one knows, the less one believes. Among