07-15-2018, 10:18 PM
It's not obvious to a lot of folks who read the Bible, but the Christians traced by the New Testament were generally a pretty minor presence in the Roman Mediterranean. There were countless pagan religions from way back already established in various houses of worship around the empire. And just a few decades after Paul's first missionary journey, a significant number of churches left the fold and plunged into all kinds of wild religious nonsense. A great many heretics went off and started new churches.
To the outside audience, there is very little discernment between the thread of biblical churches and all the other stuff that merely claimed to be biblical. Secular history of the era for that region scoops up a lot of crap that didn't belong, and simply assumes there is no substantial difference. That's because secular folk, along with all the outcasts, understood neither heart-led nor the Holy Spirit. They deny that whole area of scholarship in examining such things.
Get used to the idea that we will grow, but we may well remain numerically insignificant, so far as outsiders are likely to notice.
To the outside audience, there is very little discernment between the thread of biblical churches and all the other stuff that merely claimed to be biblical. Secular history of the era for that region scoops up a lot of crap that didn't belong, and simply assumes there is no substantial difference. That's because secular folk, along with all the outcasts, understood neither heart-led nor the Holy Spirit. They deny that whole area of scholarship in examining such things.
Get used to the idea that we will grow, but we may well remain numerically insignificant, so far as outsiders are likely to notice.