... With any voluntary conversion, we would expect the main reason behind it to be the success of missionary persuasion. Yet equally important is the willingness of the person who is being persuaded to be converted. As we shall see, openness to 'new' ideas can be perceived either as a prerequisite for successful conversion or as a result of intelligent persuasion techniques. It is necessary, therefore, to look both at what was said or implied by the missionaries and at why the Anglo-Saxon kings accepted their arguments. It is important to remember that the impetus behind St. Augustine's mission which resulted in the first conversion (that of King Aethelbert of Kent) came from Rome. The kings of England did not ask to be converted; rather it was decided by Pope Gregory that they should be. Thus before we consider the possible attractions of Christianity, we must examine the Church's motives behind ...

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