The Rise of Christianity free essay sample

Although secular historians are not normally going to acknowledge the primary reason for Christianity’s rapid rise, there are several reasons that even they acknowledge. Three of these causes for the speedy growth of Christianity that historians recognize are: (1) the contrast between the teachings of Christianity and that of the pagan religions, (2) the admirable lifestyle of the Christians, and (3) the willingness of Christians to die for their faith. As the church historian Philip Schaff wrote, â€Å"Christianity rises far above all other religions in the theory and practice of virtue and piety. It sets forth the highest standard of love to God and to man. †¦The wisest men of Greece and Rome sanctioned slavery, polygamy, concubinage, oppression, revenge, infanticide; or they belied their purer maxims by their conduction. †3 The teachings of the pagan priests and even the pagan philosophers paled in contrast to the teachings of Jesus. It was not difficult for even unlearned Romans to see the foolishness of worshipping statues and images. We will write a custom essay sample on The Rise of Christianity or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page Furthermore, as taught in mythology, the Greek and Roman gods were no better than the vilest of humans. The God of Christianity was quite different. Even though the Romans often lived immoral lives, they valued many of the qualities that Christians lived out: honesty, faithfulness in marriage, kindness and love to neighbors, and trustworthiness. As Schaff wrote, â€Å"Deeds speak louder than words. The finest systems of moral philosophy have not been able to regenerate and conquer the world. † 4 One of the Christian apologists declared to the Romans, â€Å"We don’t speak great things, we live them! † 5 At no other time in the history of Christianity did love so characterize the entire church as it did in the first three centuries. And Roman society took note. Tertullian reported that the Romans would exclaim, â€Å"See how they love one another! † 6 Justin Martyr sketched Christian love this way: â€Å"We who used to value the acquisition of wealth and possessions more than anything else now bring what we have into a common fund and share it with anyone who needs it. We used to hate and destroy one another and refused to associate with people of another race or country. Now, because of Christ, we live together with such people and pray for our enemies. 7 Christianity rose rapidly because of this notable contrast between the lives of Christians and those of pagans. A third reason for the rapid rise of Christianity was the readiness of Christians to die for their faith when necessity arose. The very fact that Christians were willing to suffer un-speakable horrors and to die rather than disown their God was, next to their lifestyle, their single most effective evangelistic tool. Few, if any, Romans would die for their gods. There had to be some substance to Christianity if it meant so much to those who practiced it. In fact, the Greek word for â€Å"witness† is martyr.