Faith Triumphs Over Persecution

Christianity's Greatest Growth Has Often Been in the Face of Opposition

This Article in New American underscores many of Alvin Schmidt's observations. It goes on to show that much of its great influence came into being as the decadent Roman Empire attempted to snuff it out.

"It is of course true that an observer today looking at lands where Christianity is persecuted could conclude that the persecutions are diminishing if not destroying Christianity because of the small numbers of Christians in many of those lands. But history teaches us otherwise. As already mentioned, an observer of the persecution of Christians under the Roman Empire during the third century A.D. would likely have concluded that Christianity would have been stamped out. Yet a few years later a Roman emperor converted to Christianity. Throughout 20 centuries, the faith of Christians has proven to be unconquerable, and there is no telling the extent to which today's Islamic lands might someday be fully open to the spreading of Christianity."