God-centered resources from the ministry of John Piper

In response to my “God’s Unsinkable Ship” entry from earlier this week, Jane wrote,

How would you respond to the statement that all the world's religions are old and have been subject to the same attacks as Christianity plus they are not even true and they are still hanging in there? I guess what I am asking is this: is your argument for survival a sound one for explaining why the Church has endured?

That’s a great question, Jane. Thank you for asking.

Really, I wasn't thinking of my statement as an apologetic for Christianity, but rather as an observation of awe. The church, from its inception to its current spread around the world is simply stunning. It is so unlikely. It really is Jesus’ parable come true that the smallest seed has grown into the largest tree in the garden (Matthew 13:32).

Christianity is not unique in having its beliefs attacked. But is there anything about the survival of the church that is unique to the other religions? Here are a few things I see. I hope they’re helpful.

The Church Survives (and Thrives) as a Minority

Most of the other major religions thrive best when they are woven together with government and culture to form one cohesive social structure. The church, on the other hand, oddly has thrived as a minority element in a culture more or less hostile to it—in the world but not of the world. Political or military power has tended to corrupt it. It is a story of lambs somehow surviving in the midst of wolves (Luke 10:3), repeatedly attacked, yet continually multiplying.

The Church Survives Despite Having No Home

Most of the other major religions were established through military conquest, followed by cultural domination and biological growth (having children) over a long period of time. That’s why Islam is largely concentrated where it has been able to conquer and rule with an iron hand. Hinduism barely exists outside of southern Asia. And Buddhism has not substantially spread outside of Asia. But the church is not entrenched in any geographical area. It has been almost nomadic, migrating from the Middle East to the Near East to Europe and Africa, to India, the Americas, to remote islands, and to Asia. At different times it has been vibrant in one place and then another. And the church has had an amazing ability to adapt to very different cultures without losing its essence.

The Church Survives Despite a Meek Method of Spreading

No other religion in history has spread to as many places around the world and to as many diverse cultures as Christianity. But how it has spread is particularly unique. Instead of military conquest (coercion has been a tragic exception to the rule in Christianity), the church from its inception has largely spread through fragile missionaries who endured alienation, persecution, disease, and death to bring the gospel to unreached peoples. They then have been followed by fragile pastors, elders, and saints who often endured the same things and carried on the work. This level of cross-cultural spreading is unique to anything the world has ever seen.

So do these form an argument for the authenticity of the church as the holder of truth over other religions? Certainly not alone. But I do think they are pointers. From the broad historical view (with all her grievous sins and blunders painfully noted), the church bears a resemblance to her Master and hopefully points to him and makes people listen to what he has to say.

As a side note, in his essay titled, "De Futilitate" (found in the book Christian Reflections), C.S Lewis pointed out that only a handful of religions (distinct from philosophies such as Confucianism, etc.) have survived from antiquity: Judaism, Christianity, Islam, Hinduism and Buddhism. He asserted that Old Testament Judaism, without the Temple and sacrificial system, no longer exists and that Christianity is Judaism in full flower. Islam is a Christian heresy and Buddhism is a Hindu heresy (Lewis said neither were improvements on the originals). So in his mind that left only two ancient religions standing worth exploring for truth: Christianity & Hinduism. You can take that for what it’s worth.