Twelve Reasons Why the Early Church Grew

         

          One of the reasons I love reading old books is the unbiased insight they provide on contemporary issues by virtue of the fact that they couldn’t foresee the particular questions future generations would face.  I offer here a 19^th-century view on the 1^st-century church—why it was successful in a hostile political environment at a time when it enjoyed none of the trappings of acceptance Christianity has today.  Phillip Schaff in hisHistory of the Christian Church identifies these factors which I list here without further comment. What guidance can we receive from our first-generation brothers and sisters as we go about our Lord’s work in today’s postmodern world?

1.      It asserted the individual rights of man.

2.      It recognized the divine image in every rational being.

3.      It raised the humble and the lowly.

4.      It comforted the prisoner and the captive.

5.      It proclaimed chastity as a fundamental virtue.

6.      It elevated woman to dignity and equality with man.

7.      It undermined the foundation of slavery.

8.      It opposed polygamy.

9.      It denounced the exposure of children as murder.

10.     It condemned the bloody games of the arena.

11.     It demonstrated the unity of the Christian home.

12.     It proclaimed hope in the face of the grave.

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