Love Conquers Prejudice

“A new form of religious community appeared for the first time in history: not a nation celebrating its patriotic cult, but a voluntary group, in which social, racial and national distinctions were transcended: men and women coming together just as individuals, before their god.”​—A History of Christianity, by Paul Johnson.

AS TRUE Christianity spread throughout the Roman Empire, people saw something amazing​—an international spiritual family that had learned to live together in true peace and unity. The secret of the peace of this “family” was genuine love, which was based, not on mere sentiment, but on the very principles taught by God.

God Is Patient With Us

In the first century, many Jewish Christians were initially influenced by long-standing prejudices against non-Jews, a large number of whom were becoming believers. How did Jehovah God deal with this potentially divisive problem? He patiently educated the Christian congregation. (Acts 15:1-5) That patience bore good fruitage, for as mentioned at the beginning of this article, “social, racial and national distinctions were transcended.” As a result, “the congregations continued to be made firm in the faith and to increase in number from day to day.”​—Acts 16:5.