Page 101 - LD215 History of the Church in Africa A4 final

CH A P T E R 6

Triumph

and

Trouble

The Kingdom of God Advances

n previous chapters, we have followed the advance of Christianity
from Jerusalem, Judea, and Samaria to the Roman World. In
I chapter five we traced the progress of Christianity along the Nile
Corridor from its beginning to the Middle Ages. It is exciting to observe
the flow of this mighty “river.” The constraints of this course do not
allow us to trace the advance of Christianity in detail. However, by
A.D. 500, Christianity was no longer perceived as a “small Jewish
sect” but rather as a religion held by the majority of the people in
many places. In the words of historian Kenneth Latourette, “Never
in the history of the race had so complete a religious revolution been
wrought in so short a time among so large a proportion of civilized
man” (1970, 1:369). More important, Christians reflected the teaching
of their founder, for they had been mightily impacted by His life, death,
and resurrection. As a result, the Holy Spirit used them as witnesses
to advance the kingdom of God.

With great enthusiasm and zeal, Christ’s followers carried the
gospel to other nations. There is evidence the church had advanced in

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