the rapid spread of Christianity

The Christian faith spread rapidly from the Holy Land outward. There is evidence of Christian influence from Great Britain to India, sweeping through North Africa and the Middle East, all within 100 years of the resurrection of Jesus.

Now what is so remarkable about this spread of the preaching of the good news is that this is also a time of persecution and hardship for those who preached Jesus. Eventually there would be no property ownership rights, lack of right to employment, imprisonment, and during some periods, execution for Christians. This all took place during the absolute rule and authority of the Roman dictatorship.

The Christians faced tremendous obstacles. So, we see how compelling the message of the eyewitnesses and their students must have been. Teaching a holy man who was crucified was no big deal. This had happened frequently. Preaching the Son of God who died and rose from the dead, now that was a big deal! What is more compelling evidence than the actual response of the earliest Church that Jesus is indeed risen Lord?

But what about Islam? It spread rapidly through the Middle East and North Africa within 100 years of the time of Mohammed. Why doesn’t this make the spread of Islam unique? The spread of Islam, like Alexander the Great’s conquest and the Roman Empire before, and Attila the Hun and Genghis Khan after, was by the sword. Islam spread through military force. Sweeping through countries with the message, “Surrender or die,” is a little different than the Christian message, “Surrender to Jesus and die to yourself for the sake of others and you will live.”