Persecution in the early church V1

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1 Persecution in the early church CHHI520: History of Christianity I 10/9/2022

2 Contents INTRODUCTION ............................................................................................... 3 THE CHRISTIAN PERSECUTION ....................................................................... 3 POLICES ESTABLISH AGAINST THE CHRUCH ................................................... 5 WHY THE PERSECUTION ................................................................................. 8 CHRISTIAN IDENTITY ....................................................................................... 8 CHRISTIAN RELIGIOUS ACTIVITIES .................................................................. 9 CHRISTIAN BELIEFS ...................................................................................... 10 THE REPLY TO PERSECUTION ....................................................................... 10 DEFENDING THROUGH APOLOGISTS ............................................................ 11 MARTYRS OF THE FAITH ............................................................................... 12 CONCLUSION ................................................................................................ 13 Bibliography ................................................................................................. 14

3 INTRODUCTION As the Christian church began to impact the world, many did not understand the anxiety and reluctance to embrace it with an open mind. The Christian church underwent constant harassment at the hands of the Roman emperor concerning the faith by slowly taking note of Christianity’s encouragement over people. “The relations of the church with the Roman Empire constitute one of the major themes in early Christian history.” It has been considered that the Christians experienced 129 years of persecution and 120 years of tolerance and peace; the first persecution was under Nero in 64 to the Edict of Milan in 313. Of the 54 emperors who ruled, only about a few emperors went out of their way to oppress Christians. The reason as de, Ste. Croix states, “in the generally tolerant Roman Empire, Christians, Gnostics apart, were persecuted for ‘their total refusal to worship any god but their own and active rejection and denunciation of all other forms of worship.” 1 This paper will examine the history of early church persecution and the perseverance of those who would rather die before denouncing their faith. In addition, this paper will explore the writings of the apologists and martyrdom and how Christianity became a religion of the State. THE CHRISTIAN PERSECUTION Before the development of the persecution of Christian believers by the Roman Empire, it was essential to recognize that persecution started between Jews and Christians. The book of Acts 7 1 Geoffrey de, Ste. Croix. Christian Persecution, Martyrdom, and Orthodoxy, edited by Michael Whitby, and Joseph Streeter, Oxford University Press, Incorporated, 2006, 5.

4 accounts for what was perhaps the first martyr of the Christian faith. The book of Acts accounts for the first Marty of Christianity, as the scriptures state, “and they cast him out of the city and stoned him. And the witnesses laid down their clothes at the feet of a young man named Saul. And they stoned Stephen as he was calling on God and saying, “Lord Jesus, receive my spirit.” Then he knelt and cried loudly, “Lord, do not charge them with this sin.” And when he had said this, he fell asleep (Acts 7:58-61 NKJV).” 2 Jesus Christ spoke of the persecution and suffering because of our faith in the book of Matthew, “Blessed are you when they revile and persecute you, and say all kinds of evil against you falsely for My sake. (Mat 5:11, NKJV).” 3 Jesus Christ provided the way for the early believers to stand for the faith even to death. The Christian faith was increasing and had grown in numbers by the year 64 A.D when Nero was the emperor of Rome. Christian preaching would stir up trouble and often created more comprehensive disturbances by preaching against the Roman pagan society; this did not go over well with the local authorities. During this time, Rome was destroyed under Nero’s watch; he blamed a rebellious new cult; the Christian group was considered a threat to society and deserved punishment. Ferguson stated, “Christians were now recognized by the authorities in Rome as distinct from Jews. The persecution under Nero was confined to Rome.” 4 Nero, the cruelest and most violent of all emperors and the most wicked and immoral, started his pursuit against the Christian church based on the pretense of the burning of Rome. Shushma states that “during his reign, in AD 65, a group of Christians in Rome were put to death – some were fed to beasts, others fixed to crosses, and still more set alight at night as Torches. Their crime was arson – 2 Unless otherwise noted, all biblical passages referenced are in the New King James Version. 3 Ibid. 4 Everett Ferguson, Church History: From Christ to the Pre-Reformation (Grand Rapids, Michigan: Zondervan, 2013). Ch. 4.

5 Rome had caught fire the year before” 5 . His hate was so strong that not only were they convicted to death, but they also experienced cruel misery. Nero’s persecution was short-lived, but soon after, the profession of Christianity was well-defined as a capital crime yet of a specific kind because one gained pardon by the apostasy the denunciation of their faith once admitted confirmed by offering sacrifice to the pagan gods or the emperor. POLICES ESTABLISH AGAINST THE CHRUCH During Nero’s reign, Christianity began to be persecuted “for the name” of being Christians. During Trajan’s reign from A.D. 98-117, as Ferguson states, he “continued the policy that made Christianity punishable “for the name.” 6 The policy punished anyone that was associated with the faith. Ferguson also states, “no effort was made to determine whether individuals were involved in any illegal or immoral activity; membership in the group was a sufficient reason for expulsion.” 7 The real issue was how to handle those who quickly denied the faith. His correspondence with Pliny concerning those issues. Trajan’s reply to Pliny: "You have adopted the proper course, my dear Secundus, in your examination of the cases of those who were accused of you as Christians, for indeed nothing can be laid down as a general ruling involving something like a set form of procedure. They are not to be sought out; but if they are accused and convicted, they must be punished - yet on this condition, that who denies himself to be a Christian, and makes the fact plain by his action, that is, by worshipping our gods, shall obtain pardon on his repentance, however suspicious his past conduct may be. Papers, however, which are presented unsigned ought not to be admitted in any charge, for they are a very bad 5 Shushma Malik, "Introduction: Neronian Myths." In The Nero-Antichrist: Founding and Fashioning a Paradigm, 1-15. Classics after Antiquity. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2020. 6 Everett Ferguson, Church History: From Christ to the Pre-Reformation (Grand Rapids, Michigan: Zondervan, 2013). Ch. 4. 7 Ibid

6 example and unworthy of our time. 8 When Marcus Aurelius came to power in A.D. 161, Christians suffered long and cruel persecution. Marcus Aurelius was educated in philosophy and thought of a high moral standard. One would think he should have shown favoritism toward the Christians. However, his philosophical prejudices, beliefs, and misfortunes turned him into one of their harshest oppressors. The next emperor that reigned around A.D. 249 during this persecution was Trajan Decius; he issued an edict, in which Rives states, “requiring the inhabitants of the Roman Empire to sacrifice to the gods. With this decree, he also inaugurated the first empire-wide persecution of Christians” 9 . This edict against Christians created new persecution throughout the emperor’s organized, universal persecution of Christians. Although Decius implemented this edict, Phillips states, “Decius tried to impose a uniform, empire-wide form of worship by issuing an edict demanding that all citizens take part in public acts of sacrifice. Decius did not seem to have deliberately targeted Christians; rather, he sought to promote social cohesion” 10 . Around 253 A.D. Valerian came into power as the emperor of Rome; during his reign, Christians were about to prosper, allowing African bishops to meet the discussion of baptism. of and the validity of baptism by misbelievers. But there was a sudden shift in Valerian’s policy regarding religion in 257 A.D. due to claims concerning Valerian's stance towards the church. 8 Edwin M. Yamauchi, Harpers World of the New Testament (New York: Lion Publishing, 1981), 79. 9 J. B. Rives, The Decree of Decius and the Religion of Empire (Cambridge: (University Press, 2012), 1. 10 Gervase Phillips, Deviance, Persecution and the Roman Creation of Christianity (Journal of Historical Sociology, 2016), 255.

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