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Many Gentiles also read it and became familiar with the tenets of the Jewish faith. This fact is indicated by accounts of the numerous proselytes to Judaism. With all of these factors in place, the growth of Christianity was rapid. Jews from all parts of the Mediterranean world were present at Jerusalem to observe t Feast of Penecost at the time of the founding of the church.
Peter made this the occasion for the first and possibly most fruitful sermon ever preached, the declaration of Christ's messiahship and saving grace. At least three thousand accepted the word that he declared and were baptized. Soon after, the total number or those baptized soon reached five thousand. Such rapid growth had some great opposition on the part of the Jews. Persecution came first from a politico-ecclesiastical body, the Sanhedrin, which, with Roman permission, supervised the civil and religious life of the state (Meeks). Herod killed James and imprisoned Peter in this period of persecution.
The persecution occurred for different reasons than simply the danger that Christianity posed against Judaism and the polytheistic religions. Some of the dialogue of the Christian faith was misunderstood by people of the time. Christians referred to each other as brothers and sisters, which was misinterpreted by many to mean husbands and wives because of discrepancies in translation. Talk of eating of the body and drinking the blood of Christ was also misunderstood and taken literally. There were many martyrs during the growth of the church, and they provided example and leadership in their deaths for the religious fever of the other followers. This persecution did not end until Galerius issued an edict from his deathbed in 311 that gave toleration to Christianity.
Then Constantine issued the Edict of Milan in 313 that brought freedom of worship to all religions. During his reign over the Roman State, there was unprecedented growth in the Christian church. He believed that the worship of God should be the first and chiefest care of the ruler, and mistakenly thought that there could be no state religion as the policy of the empire. During Constantine's time the Christians began to propagandize others in order to win them for Christ.
This reached its greatest level during the second and third centre, in which the church expressed its emerging self-consciousness with a new literary output by those called the p ologists and the polemicists. The apologists had a negative and a postive aim in their writings. Negatively, they sought to refute the false charges of atheism, cannibalism, incest, indolence, and antisocial action that pagan neighbors and writers has claimed against them. Their writings, known as apologies, made a rational appeal to the pagan leaders to create an intelligent understanding of Christianity (Lietzmann). In writing and in practices of converting pagans, Christians used symbolism to abolish the old ways. The old crone's with the pointed hat that appeared in many pagan religions became the witch, and the sea god with his trident became the devil with his pointed pitchfork (Meeks).
Such changes as these can be seen throughout the history of Church's indoctrination of new cultures. Overall, the Christian church sprang forth from great opportunity that was laid before it by the Greeks and Romans. Through the spiritual circumstances and technological advantages that appeared, the church was able to take hold and grow rapidly from its beginning. After those early times, it took a more offensive strategy in gaining a larger following, which can still be seen today.
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Research essay sample on Christian Church Growth Persecution
