Introduction
It is very interesting to note that while Christianity seemed to be a Western religion, reality has it otherwise. Missionary and historian Dr. Samuel Moffett provided an intensive and quite uknown fact that “The church began in Asia. Its earliest history, its first centers were Asian. Asia produced the first known church building, the first New Testament translation, perhaps the first Christian king, the first Christian poets, and even arguably the first Christian state. Asian Christians endured the greatest persecutions. They mounted global ventures in missionary expansion the West could not match until after the thirteenth century.”
Jesus spent all of his earthly life in Palestine, on the continent of Asia, and the early church had its strongest congregations in Asia Minor, which was conquered by Islam, which today is Turkey. It was also indicated that when the church began on the day of Pentecost, many Asians were there who were from Persia, Medea, and Mesopotamia, which are modern day Iran and Iraq, Cappadocia, Pontus, Phrygia, and Pamphylia areas of modern Turkey which can be referred to in Acts 2:9-10. In addition, many of these Asians were among the three thousand who were baptized that day.
The apostle Paul went first to the cities of Asia Minor, of which the books of Galatians, Ephesians, and Colossians were epistles written to Asian churches. The churches of Revelation 2-3, specifically Ephesus, Smyrna, and Pergamum, were all in Asia Minor. It was also said that the greatest botched opportunity in all church history was in the 1260s the court of the great Kublai Khan asked the Polos when they returned to Italy in 1269 to request the pope to send 100 teachers of science and religion to instruct the Chinese to learn sciences and the faith of Europe. Only two Dominican friars were sent with the Polos in November 1271, and yet a war frightened and made the two friars back out.
Early church tradition also points out to Christianity’s spread eastward of which Jesus’ disciples drew lots for which parts of the world they would evangelize. India fell to the apostle Thomas and Christians in India until today have a strong tradition that Thomas came to their land in 52 AD.
Marco Polo and Vasco de Gama in the late fifteenth century found Christians continuing the liturgy of the ancient Syrian church in India. However, Hindu rulers and the Indian caste system prevented extensive evangelism among the populace, and only the Malabar Indian Christians were able to pass their beliefs to their own children for centuries.
It was also said that Edessa, modern Urfa in Turkey, was an early trade center between the East and the Roman world, of which by 150 AD had strongly established Christianity. Early church writer Tertullian indicated a strong Christian community in Persia by 220 AD. Likewise, China’s T’ang dynasty (618-907) received foreigners at its court, including a large number of Nestorian Christians. Some portions of the Scripture, such as the Sermon on the Mount, were translated into Chinese, while the “Gloria in Excelsis Deo” became a Chinese hymn of praise. Ninth-century Arab traders visiting China also noted the Chinese emperor’s knowledge of Noah, the prophets, Moses, and Jesus.
Discussion
The Moslem Arabs conquered large portions of Asia in the seventh century, making Christianity illegal so that in India, Persia, and Mesopotamia, Christians became ghettos in Islamic culture and society. This made Christianity become a prevalent “western” religion which until today had its leaders of many denominations basically “westerners.” As Christianity was easily identified with the colonialism of the Europeans and later the United States, it could not be separated from the biases as well as the discrimination the ruling “nations” imposed on their subjects that include Asians, Africans, and South Americans and even the Native Americans.
Mike Cope of the Highland Church of Christ, Abilene, TX quoted Ken Greene calling it “a past filled with some of the ugliest possible examples of racial brutality and degradation in human history.” The book confronts readers with the remnants of racism in society and even in churches, however, offering hope for repentance and renewal.
The book noted how much inconsistency people today knew about the history of the Christian churches, a serious lack of knowledge of the past. The book accounts for the history of Churches of Christ as well as aims to serve newcomers and even long-time members of the church insights into a heritage. It shows that spiritual ancestry is a painful part of history with background on the American churches as well. In fact, it was noted how until recently, churches still pushed for the abolition of apartheid in Africa, of which Christians are heavily involved.
In the restoration movement, known historically as the “Stone-Campbell Movement,” two leading figures Barton W. Stone and Alexander Campbell of four independent movements with like principles, merged together into two religious movements of significant size with about a total population of 4,000,000 in the United States alone. They sought to renew the whole Christian church disregarding the creeds developed over time in Catholicism, Orthodoxy, or Protestantism that divided Christianity. They aim to focus on the essential aspects of the Christian faith, allowing for a diversity of understanding with non-essentials. They emphasize belief in Jesus Christ the Son as the savior and authority of the church and that less is given to doctrines that may differ on minor subjects.
The key principles of the movement include:
- That Christianity should not be divided and that there should be the creation of one church.
- To accept that creeds divide, but Christians should find agreement by reliance on the Bible itself instead of the opinions or various interpretations of people about the Bible.
- To accept that Ecclesiastical traditions divide and that Christians should find common ground by following the practices of the early church.
- To understand that names of human origin divide and that Christians should find commonality by using Biblical names for the church and that even the “Stone-Campbell Movement” must be substituted with Christian Church.
Conclusion
Obtaining a genuine and true racial reconciliation in the early 21st century could be attainable if church leaders would lay a common ground of understanding, interpreting as well as putting into action the real and most concise teachings of the Bible. The Sermon in the Mount is considered as the most compelling and powerful message of the Bible by all religious denominations that Christians and its leaders should provide to their congregation as well as converts in order that a true church will be fully recognized.
Until such time that Christians are unable to live up to the teachings of Jesus, other forms of beliefs and divisions within the Christian movement will continue. While other forms of movement such as the Restoration may be promising, a genuine change will always start from the heart, with the promise filled with challenges as daunting as the carriage of the cross and all the sufferings of an innocent prior to death. Sacrifice that great could not be replicated, but as many religious leaders have emphasized, it could be possible with sincere and frequent prayers.
In addition to the above, all forms of discrimination and injustices must be openly condemned, most specifically where large groups of peoples are concerned or victimized, such as the war in Iraq and elsewhere, and massive hunger in many parts of the world where thousands of children die of preventable causes. Greed should be properly addressed by all churches with conviction. Only then will social justice be highly accredited to the churches of Christianity.
Reference
Welch, Claude Emerson. (2001). “Mobilizing Morality: The World Council of Churches and its Programme to Combat Racism, 1969-1994.” Human Rights Quarterly – Volume 23, Number 4, November 2001, pp. 863-910.
Moffett, Samuel Hugh (1992). A History of Christianity in Asia: Volume 1, Beginnings to 1500. Harper and Row San Francisco.
Holloway, Gary and Douglas A. Foster (2002). Renewing God’s People: A Concise History of Churches of Christ. Abilene Christian Univ Press.
North, James B. (1994). Union in Truth: An Interpretive History of the Restoration Movement. Cincinnati, Ohio: The Standard Publishing Company.
Christian Books. (2008). “Reviews.” Web.
Holloway, Gary and John York (2003). Unfinished Reconciliation: Justice, Racism, and Churches of Christ. Acu Press.