Guest Post by Eric Shuster
Chapter 1: They Were Evangelizers and Builders (up to AD 299)
Albert Schweitzer once said "One truth stands firm. All
that happens in world history rests on something spiritual. If the spiritual is
strong, it creates world history. If it is weak, it suffers world history.”
Section one of Where are the Christians?
takes on the daunting task of providing a concise and compelling history of
Christianity to give readers a background of where it all began as a foundation
moving forward.
The first of the four chapters in section one focuses on the
Evangelization and Formation period of Christianity (up to AD 299). While some
might think Christianity began the day Christ was born, Christianity was long
prophesied in the Old Testament. Imagine the scholars of Alexandria who
translated the Septuagint from Hebrew to Greek around 250 BC—little did they
know that less than three centuries later the Messiah would be born and atone
for the sins of all mankind.
Following the birth of Jesus Christ and his subsequent public
ministry, crucifixion, resurrection and ascension, a small group of believers
were left with the commission to “teach all nations” and to baptize (Matt.
28:19-20), setting into motion the order of Christianity. The over two
centuries that followed were defined by seven major categories of events: persecution of the church, martyrdom of its
early leaders, the spreading of the gospel outside of Palestine, the conversion
of Paul, the formation of the church, early heresies, and the writing of the
New Testament.
The challenges associated with church persecution under Roman
rule and the death of its early leaders was enough to destroy lesser religions
that passed on before Christianity. However, the divine commission and enduring
truth of Christianity persevered under what seemed to be improbable
circumstances. Passionate early adherents such as Paul and others led by the
Spirit took the gospel outside of Palestine to ensure its survival and growth
among the people of the surrounding regions. While the adversary was trying to
destroy the seeds of Christianity, the Lord was inspiring the early Christians
to believe, teach, sacrifice and lay the foundation for the Kingdom of God on
earth.
As Christianity spread so did a number of heresies that
distorted the doctrines of the gospel and led many into deviate worship and
belief. Gnosticism, Montanism and Monarchianism were three such heresies that
mingled truth with intriguing elements to formulate followings that threatened
the early church. As early Christian leaders battled heretical teachings the writing
and compiling of the New Testament commenced in hopes of establishing a written
record of the teachings of the Savior into an official canon—something that
would take decades to complete and centuries more to become available to the
masses. The challenge for Christianity moving into its next stage was to
achieve large scale credibility as a legitimate religion with the power not
only to save souls through faith in Jesus Christ, but to influence the social
and political environment toward the establishment of a global Christian
Church.
Go to www.findyourchristianity.com
to watch the book trailer, find out what type of Christian you are, and to
order the book
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