Comparison of Jared Diamonds Guns Germs and Steal and The Rise of Christianity by Rodney Stark

Both Guns, Germs, and Steel written by Jared Diamond and The Rise of Christianity written by Rodney Stark stress the importance of epidemic diseases to explain social change. Stark and Diamond explain the importance of epidemics and diseases in their own way. Stark concentrates on the expansion of Christianity and the social structures it creates mainly within the Roman Empire. While Diamond is more concerned with the epidemics that gave an advantage to Europeans during …

…resistant to common bacteria. Diamond talks about a much latter era when diseases and epidemics affected the world then does Stark. Stark was concerned with the era of the Roman Empire and the affect the epidemics had in strengthening the religion of Christianity. The immunity to disease and bacteria that the Europeans had and not the Indians, was unchangeable over such a short period of time, and that is something that the Europeans unknowingly exploited.