Persecution of the early Christians began with the crucifixion of Jesus Christ under the reign of Emperor Tiberius. After Jesus death, the Romans took the lead in subjecting early followers of the Biblical Jesus Christ to cruel mistreatment and eventually death. Those Romans ensured that those early Christians were either burnt or stoned to death in public for one reason or another. This persecution began in early 1st century to the mid 4th century. Several reasons are behind this early martyrdom that rocked the early Christian fellowship.
One of the key reasons for the persecution of the early Christians was their refusal to acknowledge idolatry in the roman emperor. In fact, the emperor wanted to become a sole god in the Roman Emperor and everybody was subject to worship him without objection. (Boer 45)
Going by the Christian teachings, no human being should worship any gods apart from the Almighty God who s above everything. So by the early Christians ignoring the emperor’s decree to abandon worshiping their God and worship him alone, they were victims of the roman politics by then. The emperor’s statue was designed and put everywhere for the people to worship at designated times. Ballard (2002) emphasizes that the Christian’s refusal to worship the roman emperor was treated as agnostic, disloyal act against the Roman government. He further reiterates that the early Christians faced the worst wrath of the Romans during the reign of Emperor Diocletian who ruled between 283 and 305. This emperor ordered for the arrest and detention of all Christians in that land and the burning of their scriptures. (Ballard 145). He further ensured that those christians were tourtured to death as the public watched so as to serve as a warning to those who followed them and their doctrins.
Nero’s reign is yet another political aspect of the early christians persecution. The first Roman persecution was odered by and conducted under the Nero’s leadership. His deed were extreme and to capture the attention of his subjects, he quickly turned to the chiristians. After burning half of rome to pave way for his building program, he diverted to scape goating the christians’ worship and right away started hunting them down. These ealy cristians under his reign became subjects of mockery, mistreatment and deaths. Guy states that some of these christians were torn by dogs, nailed on crosses or were excumed by the flames either in the broad daylight or at the night. To facilitate their persecution, the roman government charged them of arson which was not challeangable before the roman courts. In fact, mentioning of the term christianity alone was regarded as an arson. Guy further cites that those who died under this brutality against christians includes apostles Paul and Peter. (Guy 62-63)
Pliny’s letter to the emperor Trojan shows no cause for Nero’s persecution of the christians. Pliny’s investigations find no guilt on the christians actions or in the maner of their worship. His writings reveal that he had to punish or excute christians for persistently cofessing their faith for this was tantermount to stubbonness hence punishable. Those who escaped this wrath had to confess allegiance to the Roman gods and prayed using incest and wine in the portrate of the emperor. Pliny also ensured that the christians assembled and took good food other than feasting on ‘flesh and blood’ as the roman authorities alleged. (Pliny)
The lack of christian’s involvememt in the Roman government and the army was no taken lightly by the roman emperors. They viewed this as selfishness and lach kindness to humanity. This prompted for their persecution on the basis that their preachings were provocative and did not support peaceful co-existence. The roman government accused the christians annoying the roman gods by refusal to offer sacrifices to those gods. Besides, the roman authorities claimed that those christians preached about the end time hence causing anxiety, havoc and break up of families. Green (2010) emphasizes that for the fear of associating with adolatry and paganism, christians drew their boundary in the participation in the public matters. He states that Tertullian explanations on the christin’s commitment to the public affairs is not sufficient as they kept off very many political and commercial occasion in the Roman empire. (Green 125)
The early Christians were victims of false accusations of indecent behavior. The roman governors lacked outright laws to prosecute Christians and thus just acted on their own capacities to eliminate them. According to Boer (197), Christians were accused of immorality in their religious gatherings. They were also accused of cannibalism, adultery, incest and being drunk. These accusations stemmed out of the Christians’ way of worship according to Jesus teachings. The practicing of the Holy Communion that involves the activities of the Lords supper and the recitation of the phrases ‘this is my body’ and ‘this is my blood’ was viewed as incest. The roman authorities took these phrases and interpreted them literary. This they viewed as a cult that involved eating of human flesh and drinking of the human blood. (Boer 45)
The early Roman political leaders feared the rate at which the followers of Christ moved crowds. These ruler feared that sooner than later, the christians would trigger revolt against them. The rate at which the christian faith was spreading alarmed the roman rulers. They thought that the christians would soon take over their authority. For them to survive politically and contain the attention of their subjects, they had to get rid of the christians and their faith as soon as possible. This prompted thorough mistreatment, sufferings and death of the early christians. Green (2010) writes that Pliny’s letter to emperor trojan defined christianity as form of a denegerated and uncontrollable cult that fast spreading from cities to the countryside. This shows the extent to which christianity spread. (Green 122). For instance, Canfield (2005) asserts that Emperor Nero started to persecute the early christians upon realization that Peter was using his miracles to win many converts. In fact those new converts denounced the traditional Roman relgions for christianity. (Canfield 55)
In conclusion, Roman religions were intergrated to bring about unity for the states and not to satisfy one’s spiritual needs. This required a high state of divinity to the Roman gods and especially to the Roman Emperors who turned themselves to gods and demanded to be worshiped. Christians thus contradicted this notion as they had personal relationship with their God. This prompted their mistreatment, suffering and finally brutal deaths. The early christians were persecuted and killed not simply because of their faith but due to various political, economic and social factors. In deed, all the writings of the early christians clearly show the hardships they went through as they preached the Lord’s Gospel.
Works Cited
Ballard, Harold Wayne. A Journey of Faith: An Introduction to Christianity. USA: Mercer
Boer, Harry R. A Short History of the Early Church. Michigan: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing,
1976.
Canfield, Leon H. The Early Persecutions Of The Christians. New Jersey: The Lawbook
Exchange, Ltd., 2005.
Green, Bernard. Christianity in Ancient Rome: The First Three Centuries. New York:
Continuum International Publishing Group, 2010.
Guy, Laurie. Introducing Early Christianity: A Topical Survey of Its Life, Beliefs & Practices.
Nottingham: InterVarsity Press, 2011.
McCarter, Parnell. "The First Thousand Years of Christian Martyrdom." Fox's Books of Martyrs
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Pliny. "Martyrdom of Perpetua." Christians Writings. 18 March 2013
