Regional Synod of Canada - Reformed Church in America

Pioneer Christian Monthly

Date - Nov/85

Contributor - Alisa Rodenburg

Title - The Success of Christianity- Part I

Topic - Church History

Do not be afraid I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all people. Today in the town of David a Saviour has been born to you he is Christ the Lord (Luke 2.-IO-11)

Jesus Christ travelled around Palestine with a group of followers called disciples preaching to people about the Kingdom of God. He insisted upon justice toward people, humility toward God, preached mercy and brotherhood and told of the love of God for all.

Thus began the spread of Christianity. The Roman Empire hardly looked like a good place for God to establish his church, as there was in that time, a mixture of pagan gods, philosophers, mystery cults, superstitions and Jewish faith. Supporters of these religions didn't want to give way go the Christians or even make a place for them.

A man named Stephen openly expressed his views, views which went against the Jewish believe that they were a people particularly chosen by God to the exclusion of others. While there were some basic features common to both religions, Christianity was a religion quite distinct from Judaism. Stephen, therefore, became the first Christian known to suffer death for the faith.

The followers of Christ first received the name Christians at Antioch, Syria (now in Turkey), where one of the first Christian communities outside of Palestine first grew up.

There was a great influence on the spread of Christianity by a Roman named Paul. He was born a Jew and later joined in persecuting the Christians. His life was changed, however, when while on his way to Damascus Jesus appeared to him and spoke to him. Upon seeing and hearing Christ, he fell down blinded. Restoration of sight came to him three days later when he was comforted by a Christian, who in spite of his fear of the persecutor, welcomed him into the Christian brotherhood.

This was one of the most important events in the entire course of Christianity. As a missionary Paul played a great role in the planting of Christian communities. His eager desire was that one day all Jews might be as he was, a Christian, and he was anxious to preach the Gospel where no one else had yet done so. He carried the Christian message into much of Asia Minor, into Macedonia and Greece. Eventually, Paul became a martyr in Rome.

At first the Roman overlords didn't kill the Christians. They had long ago agreed to let the Jews worship their God without persecution, and the Christians looked to the Romans like some of kind of Jews. But the Christian groups were growing so fast that by the 60's Rome became quite concerned about them. The Jews and the Romans together decided that these Christians were a new power which had to be watched.

Because the Christians refused to participate in pagan ceremonies, they were called atheists. Because they didn't attend pagan festivals and public amusements, which were full of pagan beliefs, they were said to be haters of the human race. Services were held secretly in their homes or in underground passages called catacombs. This, secrecy made the rulers more suspicious of the Christians, and for these reasons, some rulers destroyed or discouraged many Christians.

The most famous of the early persecutions was in Rome in k D. 64. There broke out a fire destroying a large part of the city. Many believed that the fire had been set by Emperor Nero's orders and to overcome this rumour, Nero fastened the blame on the Christians.

He caught some of them, sewed them up inside animal skins, and turned his dogs on them to tear them to pieces. others were fastened to crosses and set on fire to light the night at Nero's circus. Nero didn't gain any supporters by showing how cruel he could be to the Christians. In fact, the more persecutions that were held, the more people became interested in the Christians and the church kept growing.

In the next issue of Pioneer I hope to continue the story of early Christianity, which by now has molded the ideals and morals of 950 million followers of the Lord Jesus Christ.

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