"In His Steps, the second most popular book in history, has sold [50,000,000] copies [and just as many downloads] and is still going strong." Gertrude Stein, witness to both World Wars, believed that the there were many differences between the W.W. I American Doughboy and their W.W. II counterparts, but the primary differences was the absence of Bibles. Much to their credit, The Wall Street Journal has run the attached column every Christmas Eve since 1949. In this study concerning the religions of the United States during the mid-to-late period of the Second World War, it was revealed that there were a total of 256 religious bodies in the country; of this 13 reported a membership numbering in excess of one million followers. All-in, there were 72,492,669 who were members of one faith or another:
Catholics:................................... 23,419,791
Methodists:............................... 8,046,129
Baptists:..................................... 5,667,926
All the Protestant denominations added up to 41,943,104. The Jewish congregations clocked-in at 4,641,184.
The oldest known creed in Christendom, the Apostles' Creed is a faithful summary of what Christians believe and holds an unparalleled level of doctrinal authority, beginning with the statement, “I believe in God.” Those simple words contain the basis of the entire Christian faith. This article examines how the creed came to be written. THE BOOK of ACTS has a fourfold structure, as the faith spreads outwards from Israel to the Hellenist fringe, to the Gentiles and to Rome. Paul's own mission repeats a pattern four times. The whole book is cyclical, with a sequence of nine steps in each stage. Each section moves from a descent of the Spirit to a death and resurrection. And behind the pattern of the New Testament story is the pattern of the Old Testament. |
