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Fourteen papers which comprise the book 'The Divine Iamblichus: Philosopher and Man of Gods' collectively lack focus, perspective and roots. The papers appear dislocated due to a non-existent structure and a well-defined point of reference. Since the philosopher Iamblichus' theories are substantially deduced from references made by his disciples, writers might better be able to understand the man by setting up the parameters between external influences which influenced his mind and how his followers viewed the man.

Peter Brown has created a model for comprehending the historical process of the overwhelming Christianization of the pagan aristocracy of imperial Rome during the fourth and the fifth centuries. Raban von Haehling has espoused Brown's view in a similar paper backed by statistics. However, an examination of von Haehling's statistics and Brown's paper indicate certain, fundamental errors. Evidence suggests that the process began much earlier and proceeded more quickly than Brown assumed, but do not challenge the validity of Brown's approach to the understanding of the process.