The First Christians
Defending the Christians before the Emperor Hadrian, Aristides, a non Christian, said of them:
‘These Christians love one another. They never fail to help widows. They save orphans from those who would hurt them. If a man has something, he gives freely to the man who has nothing. If they see a stranger, Christians take him into their homes and treat him as a brother. And if they hear that one of them is in jail, or persecuted for professing the name of their redeemer, they all give him what he needs. If it is possible, they bail him out. If one of them is poor and there isn’t enough food to go around, they fast several days to give him the food he needs. We are dealing with a new kind of person. There is something divine in them.’