When a friend emailed Bob Dahl, “My Bible does have the part about congregations coming together unless the government says you can’t,” he responded,
Mine doesn’t either.
One of the reasons Christianity spread rapidly in the urban Roman world was because of how Christians responded to epidemics in Rome and other cities. Epidemics were frequent because the close packed apartments in Rome were breeding places for disease. … With no protection available from disease, anyone who could leave the city in an epidemic would flee, abandoning sick friends and family members to whatever fate might overtake them. There were no hospitals. If a sick person didn’t have someone to care for them, they would die of starvation and dehydration or at least be wallowing in their own filth, if the disease du jour didn’t take them first. The Christians stayed in the disease ridden city, running a high risk of infection and death, to nurse their fellow Christians who were sick. That dedication to help others despite the risks made a deep impression among Romans. They admired the love Christians showed by what they did (works, not words). That attracted Romans to seek out Christians and learn more about this strange religious cult that worshiped an executed criminal. …
Ahem. No danger of our fellow Americans seeking us out now, is there?
2:33 pm on July 24, 2020
