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Key Bible Verse: But the believers who were scattered preached the Good News about Jesus wherever they went. (Acts 8:4) Dig Deeper: Acts 8:1-4

As the witnesses of Jesus began to spread out from Jerusalem in the middle of the first century, Roman civilization was already on the rocks. It was nothing like the Golden Society that some historians so romantically picture. Roman culture was morally wasting. It was ravaged by political divisions and scandalized by widespread slavery, the commonly accepted abuse of children, and a widening gap between the haves and the never-would-haves. When the Huns, Goths, and other northern tribes finally poured down into the heart of Europe, they found a society so soft and rotting that they sliced through it like a laser through an overripe tomato. It was not the church but Roman decadence and barbarian pillaging which created the Dark Ages.

People today are routinely taught that it was the support of the Roman Empire under Constantine that led to the explosive growth of Christianity. In reality, however, it was the collapse of that Empire that unleashed the church to play the strategic role God had for it in this part of history. As Dinesh D'Souza observes, "Slowly and surely, Christianity took this backward continent and gave it learning and order, stability and dignity." Bit by bit, the distinctive beliefs and practices of Christ's followers began the ultimately profound reshaping of Western civilization.

—Daniel Meyer in Witness Essentials

My Response: What is one way Christianity has had a positive impact on culture or history?

Thought to Apply: The entire ocean is affected by a pebble.—Blaise Pascal (French scientist, religious philosopher)

Adapted from Witness Essentials (IVP, 2012) by permission. All rights reserved by the copyright holder and/or the publisher. May not be reproduced.

Copyright © 2012 by Christianity Today/Men of Integrity magazine. Click here for reprint information on Men of Integrity.

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Prayer for the Week

Lord, help me to see the truth as you see it, so that I can have courage to share my faith.

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