The Beginning of Christianity was nothing like that of Islam

One of our viewers, roog49, made a number of observations about the beginnings of both Christianity and Islam which were not exactly historical. Here is one of them: “The way that Christianity and Islam spread is more important than the existence of any original manuscripts. Neither religion would exist today if it had not been embraced by a powerful ruler and propagated by the rulers who succeeded them". Another of our viewers, Morten Simonsen, gave a good response to this view, when he wrote, “Oh, the irony. Islam spread by the tip of the sword. Even Muhammad himself couldn't get things going in Mecca (by peaceful means), so he had to move to Medina and start warring. Christianity cannot boast of military means [in its infancy] but still spread in the Roman empire. Granted, it became much more "popular" after Constantine converted [in the early 300s], but it was substantial before that - in fact, Constantine would never have converted if it wasn't. So, a comparison between Islam and Christianity will show a very important difference - they are really two different species. Islam would be forgotten unless backed by violence and oppression, while Christianity rests on historical facts (as I and millions of Christians see them), Jesus crucified and resurrected - it does not rely on political prop-ups”. The only things I would add to Simonsen's excellent riposte concerning 'roog49's views on our respective religions beginnings, is this. While both the traditions, and the historical narrative clearly state that powerful rulers existed in early Islam, where was there any equivalent powerful rulers in Christianity before 300 AD? Christianity was birthed in poverty and violence, and continued that way for hundreds of years. According to research carried out recently, it seems that Christianity grew from around 500 people immediately after the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, to 30 million in those intervening 300 years, and all under persecution, and then continued to grow the next 2,000 years, especially when under persecution. While Islam has always been dependent on the sword for its growth and stability, Christianity has never used it, for a very practical reason; it was never permitted to because of the clear injunctions by Jesus himself, who, in Matthew 22:21 separated the Church and the state, and that our allegiance was to be towards God alone. He later stipulated in Romans 13 that the state had its own responsibilities, which may indeed include using the sword; yet, Christians, were never to use the sword, because "he who lives by the sword will surely die by the sword" (Matthew 26:52). And that is exactly what the church did for the first 300 years of its existence, refusing to use the sword for the advancement of the 'kingdom of God'. Therefore, don't ever assume that the beginning of Christianity was anything like that of Islam, because it simply wasn't. Our Lord Jesus Christ made sure that the faith he left behind would begin in poverty and be under persecution, proven by the fact that 11 of his original 12 disciples were all killed for their faith in Him. Yet, it was from these first 12 that Christianity grew and grew...not with the sword, but with the power of the Holy Spirit, leading and guiding the early church to the position it is today, the largest faith on the earth. © Pfander Centre for Apologetics - US, 2020 (44,650) friends-by-aleksound-from-filmmusic-io