Imperial Valley Christian Center

“ Well said!–defining in a few words a distinction (I have called it ‘proof and content’) and a sequence already met with in dozens of scenes. But Anthony adds, as his biographer imagines, ‘ “ Look now: here are some folk suffering from daemons’ ( for there were present some who were trouble by demons and had come to him; so he brought them forward, and went on). “Either cleanse these men by your logic–chopping or by any other skill or magic you wish, and calling on your idols, or otherwise, if you can’t, lay down your quarrel with us and witness the power of Christ’s cross.”  And with these words he called on Christ, sealed the sufferer with the sign of the cross twice and a third time, and straightway the men stood forth all healed.’

This moment sums up and sharply delineates a great deal that has been discussed in the preceding pages: emphasis on miraculous demonstration, head-on challenge of non-Christians to a test of power, head-on confrontation with supernatural beings inferior to God, and contemptuous dismissal of merely rational, especially Greek philosophical, paths toward true knowledge of the divine…” Christianizing The Roman Empire, page 112.

Most Christians, if they think about it, have only vague ideas about how the Roman Empire was converted to Christianity. These vague ideas tend to follow their present day Christian practices. So, Christians who emphasize conversion through preaching see the history of the early Christian church as a time of great apologetical sermonizing, where people were converted by reason and argument. Those who emphasize the good works aspects of Christianity see this Roman conversion happening as the result of Christian’s ministering to the needs of their neighbors. And those who emphasize Christian suffering emphasize the witness of martyrs and confessors who died or were persecuted for their faith.  MacMullen’s point is that the weight of the evidence shows that Christianity spread as the result of miracles, healings, signs and wonders. 


Here’s MacMullen summing up in a 1998 interview on Mars Hill Journal Volume 34:

“ When today you wonder how was it that Christianity made converts, brought people over to its side. The thing you think of first is the preaching of Saint Paul; which is well attested a marvelous story spreads over a very wide domain. And you suppose that that example would have dictated a long process along the same lines, but it aint so. It doesn't work out that way. My guess is that after saint Paul's death and in a long period of
persecution and hostility directed against the church open preaching was a very difficult thing. In contrast what worked best was one on one talk about the proofs of the truth of Christianity and those proofs would lie in exorcism above all. Keyed into the most common concern of people, ordinary people the man in the street the man on the farm when he thought about religion at all, that is, concern with good things in this life, and principally and above all good health.

On this level, to solve this sort of problem Christianity advertised its own particular remarkable powers through the driving out of the demons that cause ill health. Driving out of the demonic influences that bring anything bad in life. And the tales of miracles which Christians pass around when you come to look for stories of conversions, actual anecdotes and details make up the great bulk of the evidence. Of preaching there is hardly a word. Hardly a word throughout all the centuries that I look at in this book and in fact earlier too in the second century on up to the eighth, ninth, tenth. Very, very little mention of Christians talking to the entirely unpersuaded and trying to bring them over by reasoning. Instead what is talked about is the operation of wonderful things by holy people as a consequence of which those who hear about these wonders are brought over by self interest. They want the benevolent power the Christians promise, and as part of the bargain they enlist in the church, just as pagans would have enlisted in the service of any deity advertised to them and convincingly.

Interviewer: Whichever deity had the best benefits package, in other words…?

Macmullen:  Yeah that's right.”

Saint Anthony doesn’t bother trying to convince by argument but challenges his pagan visitors to a test of power. Let’s see what your gods can do, my God, the Christian God, can deliver from demons, from sickness and disease and then he demonstrates it. In this challenge Anthony follows the Biblical pattern.

We see Elijah doing the same thing in 1 Kings, chapter 18. At this time in its history Israel, as the result of a tax revolt, had been divided into two kingdoms, Northern and Southern, Israel, and Judah. The Northern Kingdom had devolved into a post-LORD God worshiping nation, and had begun worshiping other gods, chief among them, at the time of the Prophet Elijah, was the god Baal.

1 Kings 18:21 NIV Elijah went before the people and said, “How long will you waver between two opinions? If the LORD is God, follow him; but if Baal is God, follow him.” But the people said nothing.

(Most of us tend to think that if we had been there we would have never stopped serving the LORD God to follow Baal, but a god is whatever you trust to provide for you, protect you and help you …. By that standard most Christians, just like most of Israel, have stopped following the LORD God and are trusting in their jobs, their health insurance, their pension, the government, their handgun for their provision, protection and help.)

22 Then Elijah said to them, “I am the only one of the LORD’s prophets left, but Baal has four hundred and fifty prophets. 23 Get two bulls for us. Let them choose one for themselves, and let them cut it into pieces and put it on the wood but not set fire to it. I will prepare the other bull and put it on the wood but not set fire to it. 24 Then you call on the name of your god, and I will call on the name of the LORD. The god who answers by fire--he is God.” Then all the people said, “What you say is good.”

I like to think of it this way, Elijah set up an experiment to prove which god was the real God.

Jesus puts it this way:

Mark 16:15 NIV He said to them, “Go into all the world and preach the good news to all creation. 16 Whoever believes and is baptised will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned. 17 And these signs will accompany those who believe: In my name they will drive out demons; they will speak in new tongues;18 they will pick up snakes with their hands; and when they drink deadly poison, it will not hurt them at all; they will place their hands on sick people, and they will get well.”

Jesus didn’t say that his followers would be the ones with the most convincing arguments. He said his followers would be recognized by the fact that they cast out demons, were unharmed by normally deadly things, spoke with new tongues and healed the sick.

The Apostle Paul describes the proper method for demonstrating the truth of Christianity in this way:

Romans 15:18 NIV  I will not venture to speak of anything except what Christ has accomplished through me in leading the Gentiles to obey God by what I have said and done--19 by the power of signs and miracles, through the power of the Spirit. So from Jerusalem all the way round to Illyricum, I have fully proclaimed the gospel of Christ.

The Gospel of Christ is only fully proclaimed by the power of signs and miracles, through the power of the Spirit. Now, I’ll grant you that it’s a lot easier to come up with a message than a miracle. It’s much easier to philosophize than to heal the sick or cast out demons, but the problem with arguments is that the other guy has arguments too. I like the story T.L. Osborn tells of when he first went as a missionary to India. He was ministering among some Moslem people and he would say to them, “The Bible says…” and they would respond, “Yes, but the Koran says…”

If our God is real, if Jesus Christ really did rise from the dead, then we should be able to say with Saint Anthony, “Either cleanse these men by your logic–chopping or by any other skill or magic you wish, and calling on your idols, or otherwise, if you can’t, lay down your quarrel with us and witness the power of Christ’s cross.” Unfortunately, most people’s Christianity is all hat and no cattle, all blow and no show, all mouth and no trousers. I like to call believers who can actually deliver the goods, believers whose God actually shows up just like Elijah’s and Anthony’s and Paul’s, Blackbelt Christians.

Blackbelt Christians are Christians who have done what it takes, to grow to the point, where their Christianity can do something. A Blackbelt Christian has practiced discipline to the point where he is able to fight the forces of enemy and defeat them. A Blackbelt Christian can do more than just logic chop he can demonstrate the power of Christ’s cross.