Sociologist Philip Jenkins wrote in his book, The Next Christendom, The Coming of Global Christianity, "Whatever the value of Christian claims to truth, it cannot be considered as just one religion out of many: it is, and will continue to be, by far the largest in existence." (p. 215) He sites the fact that in Africa alone the number of Christians increased from 10 million in 1900 to 360 million in 2000. Christianity has prevailed already in the world. It started out very small in Jerusalem and spread all over the Roman Empire. After being severely persecuted, Christianity eventually dominated the whole empire. Though true Christianity went into a period of decline dureing the middle ages, it broke out again with fresh and powerful vigor at the Reformation. Great revivals broke out in Britain and America in both the 18th and 19th centuries. the great modern missionary movement began with William Carey in the 1790's and the gospel has been planted throughout the world. Though Christianity has declined in some places where it was once strong, it has gained strength in other places. For example, China which had about 1 million Christians in 1949 has now at least 50 million Christians and probably many more and continues to grow. Christianity is not dead or declining. It continues to be a powerful force in the world and will grow more in its influence on the world as a whole. Jesus taught that Christianity would definitely spread in the world and become the dominant religion. This is what he meant in his parable of the mustard seed.
February 14, 2015
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