Excerpt from The History of the Christian Religion and Church During the Three First Centuries, Vol. 1 of 2 The history of the Christian Church is a cheering subject for the contemplation of a Christian heart. It may indeed suit the Would-be philosopher to gather arguments against Christianity itself from the dissensions among Christians; but a deeper insight into man's nature and his destinies would read a differ ent lesson from the same page. The history of the Christian Church records, we allow, much of the weakness of human nature, but at the same time it records still more of its strength, when that strength is aided by those high principles which Christianity alone imparts to man. However weak the hu man instruments may have been, with which God wrought, their weakness proves his strength. It is almost impossible not to recognise the hand of God in the rise and progress of the Church. From its earliest infancy, when with godlike strength it strangled the serpents that assailed it, the guidance of God's providence was over it; and through oppression, persecution, contempt, and poverty, it struggled ou, under that guidance to the full ripeness of manly vigour. In the earlier ages of the Church God's protection is more visible; even the eye that seeks it not, can hardly fail to find it there, unless that eye be dimmed to all the dealings of God in the world, unless with Epicurean view it sees in God a being far from any one of as. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.