This was the case in the Roman E. Sicknesses were common. Most people lived in squalor. Tenement apartments were crowded. Overcrowded, more like it. Decent plumbing was enjoyed by less than 10% of the population. When a plaque arrived, great numbers died.
How did Christians react? What did they do when neighbors became deathly sick?
Perhaps the greatest compliment was that given by an enemy of Christians. Emperor Justinian, who was trying to get pagan temples to be prominent again, wrote this in AD 361.
"The pagans need to equal the virtues of the Christians. Recent growth in the Christian sect has been caused by their moral character and by the benevolence to strangers. I think that when the poor happen to be neglected and overlooked by our priests, the Christians see this and devote themselves to benevolence. And what is worse, the Christians support no only their own poor, but ours as well. Everyone can see that our people lack support because of this."
Christians didn't look to die. They helped the sick, taking them in, buying food, visiting them and comforting them, all the while sharing the Gospel. They didn't want to die. They didn't want to get sick. But they believed in eternal life. They had hope in their hearts. And this hope gradually won over more and more people in the corrupt, plague-ridden, Roman Empire.
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