When I looked out the window over our balcony from the ship, I was surprised–my first view of Algiers was an amphitheater of four and five story buildings facing the port.
No sand or camels
I’m not sure what I expected—perhaps sand, camels, and heat. After all, 90% of Algeria is the Sahara Desert. That, however, was not here.
I’ve now learned by experience what I suppose I could have learned from the internet: the coast of North Africa is some of the most fertile land you will ever see. The desert—and the camels—are on the other side of the Atlas Mountains.
It’s easy to see now why this strip of land was so coveted over the centuries, and why the Carthaginians, Romans, Vandals, Byzantines, and then Muslims fought to control it.
I was also surprised to see so many police. We were told there would be an escort, but they were all around us wherever we went. All day there was a police car in front of our bus and one behind. When we arrived at our first stop, police were waiting. At Tipasa they locked the gates behind us. I felt like an inmate, not a tourist.
Christianity likely arrived here around the turn of the first century—without a police escort. We don’t know who first brought the gospel here, but by all accounts, Christianity thrived for nearly 500 years, as evidenced by our first stop today: Tipasa.
Tipasa (and the police)
I’ve seen many Roman ruins throughout Europe and the Middle East. Tipasa ranks amongst the most complete I’ve seen outside of Rome.
We walked through the stone amphitheater and then amongst the remaining columns of the temple. We paused among the stone walls of a home perched on the cliffs. And we ended at the highest point in the city — the ruins of a great 5th century basilica overlooking the bay.
The basilica’s foundation was largely intact, and it was massive. The basilica included the burial place of Saint Salsa of Tipasa, the city’s most famous martyr. There was also a baptismal font for Baptist-style, adult, full-body dunking. This church was baptizing converts, not just babies.
What happened to the church here?
As we walked through the windswept ruins of the basilica, they seemed oddly out of place against the older Roman ruins. I couldn’t help but ask: What happened to the church? Here, there are only stones. In North Africa, the church is all but extinct. It is one of the few places in the world where Christianity once flourished and then virtually disappeared.
Historians offer different reasons for why this happened including doctrinal disputes, like the Donatist controversy. That may be true, but the spread of Christianity is not dependent on the freedom and success of the institutional church. The early church is proof of that. Christianity in China is a modern-day example.
What is clear is that when Christians stop making disciples, Christianity stops spreading. Institutional and cultural Christianity are like a movie set—they give the appearance of reality, but there is no guarantee there is anyone living inside.
And so, we return again to the Great Commission:
“Go therefore and make disciples of the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to obey all that I have commanded you.” — Matthew 28:18-20.
This is the calling of every Christian, everywhere and at every time in history. It is the vaccine against spiritual decay, and the cure for godless religion.
It is the lesson of North Africa.
Until tomorrow. GS
