Re: The Early Christians: In Their Own Words

More and more soldiers of the Spirit were sworn to the symbol of the 
“military oath” through baptism and confession of the truth. This mystery 
bound them to the service of Christ and the simplicity of his divine
works. 
Through immersion, the believers buried all their ties and involvement of 
their former lives. Plunged into the water as symbol of the blood of the 
crucified Christ, the believers accepted as their own the victory of the 
cross and its power to sever all demonic powers. Now they could live in
the 
strength and future of the risen one. Each believer broke with the status 
quo and was committed to live and to die for the cause. A triumphal march 
of fighters for the new time invaded the old with truth and power. Through

baptism, the Christians found themselves in sharp conflict with their 
relatives – households were dissolved, whole families were split, 
engagements annulled, and marriages destroyed. Celsus launched bitter 
attacks against the weavers, cobblers, and tanners who confronted young 
people and women when they were alone. He accused them of persuading their

“victims” with wonderful words to leave parents and teachers in order to 
learn what was good from artisans in their workshops. Celsus admitted that

they often achieved their purpose. 


> Oh, that the Lord Jesus would lay his hands upon our eyes, too, so
> that we too begin to look not at the visible but at the invisible! Oh,
> that he would open our eyes, too, to see not the things of the present
> but the things of the future! Oh, that he would unveil to us too that
> vision of the heart which perceives God in the Spirit through him, the
> Lord Jesus Christ.