Motives for Christianity spreading so fast

To understand the reason why Christianity spread so fast, we have to bear in mind the positive and negative attitudes the world had towards redemption. At that time, there were many religions and different cultures, though Christianity was the religion that set itself apart from the others. The Christian religion was attracting many people because it would visually demonstrate the power of truth that the Gospel holds. Here people could find answers to the problems they were facing. Above all Christianity was spreading because the pagans found it easier to embrace Christianity without observing the strict Judaist laws of diet and circumcision.

Apart from this, Christianity managed effectively to explain the cause of its existence better than the Apologists could, like Justin, Titian and Dionysius of Alexandria, who attempted to discover the truth through various systems of knowledge of the pagan world, without success. The pagans found the teaching of Christ difficult and something new that had never been preached before. This was due to the fact that they could never understand the words of St Paul where he says that this Christian religion is the Gospel of the Redeemer and of salvation, the Gospel of love and reciprocate assistance. Apart from this, Christian religion brings moral seriousness and sanctity to those who live it seriously. The same people who followed Christ knew all too well, that through their religion, something completely new had come to the world.

All those who were Christians were giving continous witness to the religion they embraced, but as we find in the letter of Diognetus and in the apologia of Tertullian, Christians could not be distinguished from others through their food, clothes and work. They used to live following the customs of the surroundings. But in their moral life, and in their religious principles on which they used to base their life, they were extremely different from others. In the letter of Diognetus we find this evidence: “Christians live in the flesh, but not according to the flesh; although on earth they live for heaven, although they are poor, many have gained from them, much wealth; they lack everything, but have everything in abundance; they do good but are treated as the worst human beings; they are handed over to be killed and rejoice as if they were raised to life.” In other words we can say that these Christians were witnesses of the presence of Christ on earth, through how they lived.

Apart from all this we must not forget the various charisms that the early church had, as we can properly see in the Acts of the Apostles, where the healing of the sick, the casting out of devils and many other miracles, proved that this religion came from God.

Love was also a motive for Christianity to spread quickly, so much so that Christians were distinguished from non-believers for the love they showed one another. Another very important point is that the first Christians were filled with a yearning for their faith and so, women, men, wealthy and poor, as well as slaves, used to feel it was their duty to proclaim the Gospel as the Apostles did, because the concept of early Christianity was that every Christian is a missionary of his faith by virtue of the grace granted to him in baptism.

Not only Christian writers, but also Pagans like Galen the Greek philosopher, and the Emperor Julian, stated that the life of Christians was, for the pagan environment, a long sermon, and their example of ‘virtue’, forced this religion to spread quickly. The life of Christians that was built on self denial, love and charity began to shine like the sun’s rays in a society that was full of evil and hatred. According to the Greek scholar Origen, Christians in comparison to the pagan masses were the most authentic people. Justin stated that many conversions took place due to the virtues that these Christians used to practice and thus were of good example to others.

However the most decisive argument regarding the spread of Christianity, that brought with it many conversions, was the power of Christians during persecution and the heroism of martyrs who gave their lives to God, through which the church became even more powerful against the powers of evil.