JUSTIN MATYR, a leading
second century Apologist for the faith, was a pagan philosopher who was
converted to Christ through the witness of an old man by the seashore. Justin
wrote vigorously to clear up misunderstandings of the faith by Christianity's
opponents. He was martyred at Rome about 165.
More than a building
The earliest Christians did not have church
buildings. They typically met in homes. (The first actual church building to be
found is at Dura Europos on the Euphrates, dating about 231.) They did not have
public ceremonies that would introduce them to the public. They had no access
to the mass media of their day. So how can we account for their steady and
diverse expansion over the first three centuries?
To the cities!
Early Christianity was primarily an urban faith,
establishing itself in the city centers of the Roman Empire. Most of the people
lived close together in crowded tenements. There were few secrets in such a
setting. The faith spread as neighbors saw the lives of the believers close-up,
on a daily basis.
And what kind of lives did they lead? Justin
Martyr, a noted early Christian theologian, wrote to Emperor Antoninus Pius and
described the believers: “We formerly rejoiced in uncleanness of life, but now
love only chastity; before we used the magic arts, but now dedicate ourselves
to the true and unbegotten God; before we loved money and possessions more than
anything, but now we share what we have and to everyone who is in need; before
we hated one another and killed one another and would not eat with those of
another race, but now since the manifestation of Christ, we have come to a
common life and pray for our enemies and try to win over those who hate us
without just cause.”
In another place Justin points out how those
opposed to Christianity were sometimes won over as they saw the consistency in
the lives of believers, noting their extraordinary forbearance when cheated,
and their honesty in business dealings.
Care and Prayer
Christians became known as those who cared for the
sick. Many were known for the healings that resulted from their prayers.
Christians perhaps also started the first “Meals on Wheels.” By the year 250,
they were feeding more than 1500 of the hungry and destitute in Rome every day.
When Emperor Julian (“the Apostate”) wanted to
revive pagan religion in the mid- 300s, he gave a most helpful insight into how
the church spread. This opponent of the faith said that Christianity “has been specially advanced
through the loving service rendered to strangers and through their care of the
burial of the dead. It is a scandal that there is not a single Jew who is a
beggar and that the [Christians] care not only for their own poor but for ours as
well; while those who belong to us look in vain for the help we should render
them.”
On the surface, the early Christians appeared
powerless and weak, they were an easy target for scorn and ridicule. They had
no great financial resources, no buildings, no social status, no government
approval, no respect from the educators. And after they became separated from
their first-century association with the Jewish synagogues, they lacked that
institutional setting
and ancient tradition to appeal to. But what finally
mattered is what they did have. They had a faith. They had a fellowship. They
had a new way of life. They had a confidence that their Lord was alive in
heaven and guiding their daily lives. These were the important things. And it
made all the difference in laying a Christian foundation for all of Western
civilization.
In many ways the spread of Christianity in our
present generation is as amazing as in the first three centuries. For example,
over the past 40 years the church under the communist regime in China has
multiplied many times over. Despite official opposition, they have developed a
rapidly spreading network of house churches that is reminiscent of the early
church. This success is
mirrored in many other places around the globe.
A PATERNOSTER O
“Our Father”
Perhaps we can better understand the remarkable
spread of the faith by remembering what a jolt it must have been to the Roman
world for the early Christians to come teaching about God as "Our
Father." In that world, people felt, like so many do today, they were at
the mercy of fate, victims of chance, dependent on luck, their destiny
determined by blind astrological forces. By contrast, Christian believers
witnessed to a personal God who could be approached as “our Father.” This
radical idea liberated those who were captive to fatalistic resignation.
An indirect testimony to the importance of this is
perhaps found in this mysterious Latin word square that has been found in many
places from England to Mesopotamia.
Two were found at Pompeii which would have to date
back to before 79 AD when the city was destroyed. See how the words can be
spelled forwards and backwards in any column or line. The letters can be
rearranged in a cross to Paternoster ("Our Father" in Latin) twice
with "A" and "O" left over. These are the first and last
letters of the Greek alphabet - Alpha and Omega, a New Testament designation of
Christ
N.B.: 1. This is only my notes on my study on Church
History in Christians Leaders Institute (CLI), a free
Bible study course. Please join the Course to study a highly esteemed lessons
on theology.
