Persecution of Christians by the Roman Empire - Essay Example

?Running Head: THE PERSECUTION OF CHRISTIANS The persecution of Christians by the Roman Empire The persecution of Christians bythe Roman Empire Introduction There is a theory that suggests that the way to raise the value of art is for the artist to die. In this same vein of thinking, the way to promote the quick spread of a philosophy is to make martyrs out of believers in order to raise public awareness through the spread of the story of the tragedy. While the artist death means that the existing art is the finite collection of that art, the parallel is through the importance that is created through the absence of the one who had the power over the philosophies espoused within it. Christianity was not begun within the social spheres of the more prominent people of the time period. The beliefs were spread through the impoverished, the lesser citizenry of Rome, and through connecting to the needs of those who were suffering. Therefore, those who believed became a threat to those who were satisfied with the state of society. One of the ways in which to eradicate the belief, or so thought those of prominence within the Roman Empire, was to martyr believers. The problem with creating a martyr is that a rallying point is created. Thus, the martyrdom of Christians within the Roman Empire became an act that helped to promote the beliefs, rather than a way to eradicate them. Because of the persecution of the Christians by the Romans, the religion found power within the martyrdom of its people, thus giving it needed sympathy which allowed for the beliefs to be spread further. The Christians of the first centuries were the anti-establishment group that came up against a goliath of a political system that was defined by its ties to the ritualized worship of the Roman people to the pagan gods. Christians refused to participate, putting their own beliefs above Rome, thus becoming enemies of the state. An example of the persecution of Christians can be found through the experiences of Vibia Perpetua through the firsthand account of Tertullian. Through understanding the sympathy that is created through the terrible events of the persecution, the psychology of martyrdom can help to explain part of the way in which the plight of these early Christians helped to further the expansion of the religion. Christians: The Hippies of Rome Despite the desire to eradicate the Christians, this was not an action that originated because of an objection to that belief. Nero used the Christians as a scapegoat in order to find a plausible criminal element behind the fire in Rome, although Tacitus wrote that Nero had ordered the fire (Cairnes, 1996, p. 27). Tacitus (109 A.C.E.) stated that “Therefore to stop the rumor, he falsely charged with guilt, and punished with the most fearful tortures, the persons commonly called Christians” (p, 286). Christians were used, according to the belief of Tacitus, which suggests was the common belief of the time period, as a scapegoat in order to alleviate political pressures. The first emperor of Rome to begin widespread persecution of Christians was Domitian (81AD to 95AD), the last emperor of the Flavian Dynasty. Belief was not an issue with the Romans, but the refusal to honor the emperor through sacrifice and to confer to him proclaimed divinity provided a fuel with which to separate the empire from the Christian sect and to begin retribution for this insult (Peters, 2005, p. 246). However, the close association with the Jewish community in Rome did not help the Christian cause. The Jewish community, during Domitian’s time, had refused to pay a tax that was to support the Capitolinus Jupiter. The Christians were the easier target to punish, although why it was effective as punitive to the Jewish community is unclear. One of the most potent uses of the Christian ‘plague’ in Rome was to focus on their participation in the economic difficulties of the age. One of the examples that can be appreciated is that the lucrative idol making business was harmed by the lack of a need for idols by the Christians. The idol makers in Ephesus were far more concerned by the loss of business than by the insult to the goddess Diana when their idols were not being purchased at the level that had been before Christianity had come to the region. Priests, idol makers, soothsayers, painters, architects, sculptors and anyone whose work was centrally dependent upon religious worship was threatened (Cairns, 1996, p. 25). Another very potent reason that the Christians were a convenient scapegoat for persecution was that the millennium of Rome, the 1000 year anniversary of the establishment of the Roman Empire, was occurring in 250 A.C.E. At this time, the persecution became widespread and no longer was localized and sporadic. Rome was a superstitious state, thus the fears that have been seen at the turn of every 1000 years of history affected them in such a way to see an ’end of time’ eminent (Cairnes, 1996, p. 25). The empire was suffering from a host of problems, including plague, economic depression, and civic unrest. Therefore, there was a need to find a group on whom blame could be conferred. The reasons Christians were an easy target for the Roman Empire is that they were the anti-establishment group of the period. The political order depended on the structuralized and ritualized worship of the Roman people. The tributes to Roman gods and the tribute to the state were virtually inseparable. However, the Christians were specifically separate; declaring that to pay tribute to the state through the religious ties with pagan gods was to insult their own God. Through this belief, the Christians pointed to the political powers and shed a light on the corruption, their passive and peaceful anti-social, nonconformist behaviors striking a remarkable similarity to the peaceful sections of protest within the counter-culture of the 1960’s This is further supported through some of the comments made by Paul in his letters to the early Christians. In the first letter attributed to the apostle Peter it states “Whose adorning let it not be that outward adorning of plaiting the hair, and of wearing of gold, or of putting on apparel;” (1 Peter 3.3 King James Version). This line has been changed in the New International Version to state that “Your beauty should not come from outward adornment, such as elaborate hairstyles and the wearing of gold jewelry or fine clothes” (1 Peter 3.3 New International Version), which is an interesting change considering that a vital historical reference is missing in the second translation. Elaborate hairstyles were not the issue that Peter had, but the wearing of braids, also known as plaiting the hair. Wearing braids was most often the fashion of a prostitute, and at the very least serving as a sexually alluring form of hairstyle. Thus, in the new freedom that followers of the Christian movement felt, they were expressing themselves in ways that were not conservative, but through exuberance for all aspects of life (Pierce, 2005, p. 235). The early Christians were anti-establishment, counter-culture, and social outcasts as they expressed their belief that the conservative rituals and guilt of the Old Testament had been replaced by the new found freedom of forgiveness through the ultimate sacrifice that Jesus had given. As they believed that the veil had been torn between themselves and God, the only need for salvation being to ask for forgiveness and to try to lead a clean life after, they felt freed from the power that political and social confines that were controlled through the ritualism that was involved in both the Jewish and Roman religions. Thus, they felt a freedom to express themselves in ways that were outside of the socially acceptable norms. This provided perfect fodder for the political machine, both in established religions and for the state, to use them as a scapegoat for the problems of the time period. Creating blame through differences of a one social group from the conformity of a culture is not an uncommon occurrence. Identifiers are used in most cultures to define stereotypes in order to create targets on whom to lay blame for problems, both preventable and outside of the control of human beings. Examples can be found throughout history of groups, which would include the Jewish during World War II, Africans and all those who have similar skin types within the United States, genocides in Darfur, and historical incidents that are too numerous to mention. What happens, however, when one group grievously oppresses another, is that the group that is oppressed gains sympathy, thus promoting their belief system. Perpetua (A.C.E. 181- 203) According to Plant (2004), most accounts of the Christian persecution have not survived with any true credibility as being authentically historical. Either the accounts are fictional or they have been translated and edited to the point that the truth is difficult to define from the storytelling. However, one account that is generally considered both historical and accurately maintained is the story of the events of the persecution of Vibia Perpetua. Perpetua was arrested during the persecution in Carthage by Septimus Severus in 202 and 203 A.C.E. Perpetua was at a time in her life where she was caring for a newborn baby, still nursing and in the middle of the early period of motherhood. Perpetua, however, had become an Christian and was strong-willed in holding to the tenets of her new religion (p. 164) Despite the protests of her father and the needs of her child, she refused to follow the law in making a sacrifice to the emperor’s health. The account written by Tertullian, who is believed to have written it from the experience of having witnessed much of what occurred, details the story in such a way as to qualify as an accurate account with a humanized story. It appears that Perpetua was about 22 when she was finally killed, a woman from a respected family and was a catechumen, which means she was in the learning stage of her conversion to Christianity and hadn’t gone through her baptism as yet. She was eventually baptized in prison. Her father begged her to make the sacrifice, but eventually took her child from her and abandoned her to her fate. The account talks of her visions which have led to her canonization by the Catholic church (Plant, 2004, p. 164). The account of her persecution and that of four other catechumens is related through what is presumed to be her own words. However, the account of her torture and death are given as if from the point of view of one who both watched and was close to the process, suggesting that some of it is fictionalized in order to create a story style history of the event. One of the martyrs, Felicity, gave birth within a few days of being killed in the public arena. Tertullian, as translated by Wallis (1250), states that: (Chapter 6.3) Morever, for the young women the devil prepared a fierce cow, provided specifically for that purpose contrary to custom, rivaling their sex also in that of the beasts. And so, stripped and clothed in nets, they were led forth. The populace shuddered as they saw one young woman of delicate frame and another with breasts still dropping from her recent childbirth. So being called, they were unbound. Perpetua is first led in. She was tossed, and fell on her loins; and when she saw her tunic torn from her side, she drew it over her as a veil for her middle, rather mindful of her modesty than her suffering (p. 23) Despite the accuracy that is attributed to the account, it is written in such a way to elicit a heightened sense of sympathy, her sexuality used as a tool to create the dichotomy of virtue with the sensationalism of her nudity to balance that virtue. In other words, the account, like so many in the history of man, is written in order to sexualize the experience in order to create interest. As much as the reader is touched and sorrowed for the plight of the women, they are titillated by it as well. The martyrdom of Perpetua is an example of how such events can work for a cause in order to create propaganda from which the spread of the agenda of a group can be accomplished. This is not to suggest that horrors such as this should be pursued for such a purpose, nor that these horrors were designed to create stories that could be spread for the purposes of the religion, but that it can sometimes be the result of such terrible events. There is a definitive difference between the event and the way in which an event is related in history and further in the way in which that relation affects the course of history. The Psychology of Martyrdom A martyr will “symbolize…tensions and ideological conflicts” (Fields, 2004, p. xx). A martyr to a cause is defined by the way in which their sacrifice emphasizes the importance of that cause. When someone finds an issue important enough to take a stand and give up their life for that cause, others look at that sacrifice and then to the cause, gaining insight and respect. As in the example of Perpetua, she could have given up and just made the sacrifice, inferring no real intent of worship, but saving her life. However, she felt that her sacrifice supported her beliefs and made a public statement about the importance of her belief system. In becoming a martyr for Christianity, her name is still known almost 2000 years later and her sacrifice still holds importance, her pain still respected for what it meant. According to Knott (2010), some of the foundation of Christianity is in the acceptance of hardship as one of the ways to communicate dedication and devotion. The example of Christ in making a personal sacrifice has been translated as a way in which to fully express the seriousness of acceptance of the belief system. In Second Corinthians, Paul relates the ways in which he has suffered as a follower of Christ. Knott (2010) states in response that “Such an emphatic recital of sufferings puts starkly the message that the follower of Christ must accept hardship and bodily abuse, and it reinforces one of Paul’s fundamental points, expressed in the words of Christ. ‘My grace is made perfect in weakness’ (2 Cor 12:9)” (p. 29). Early Christians found themselves in the position to repeat the sacrifice made by Christ through the gift of their own life to the cause. This is not to say that they wished to be Christ, but to show their devotion in this way if challenged by the state. Through denying an oppressive power to control a ones belief, an empowerment takes place when death is chosen over submission. In this choice, a sort of freedom is expressed. The freedom to choose how a governmental body will affect the beliefs of an individual is a powerful public statement on the inability of a governing power to subvert the individual will. The dynamic between the overwhelming power of a government when measured against the perceived weakness of the individual is challenged when a person actively chooses their beliefs over their own life. While it appears that the political powers have the control of the situation, it is in fact, the reverse. The individual who chooses death over submission makes a much louder noise than a violent, oppressive government. Therefore, the choice to be a martyr, to stand up and be counted as one of the faithful and to sacrifice themselves for their beliefs, is an empowerment that many governments have misunderstood. In having this opportunity to die for their beliefs, early Christians were able to create a wide expansion of their cause, to spread the story of Christ and to bring many into the fold. While the Roman government has long since been changed, reinvented, and obliterated in all be history, the Christian religion is a powerful force that has been built upon the strength of believers to stand against the oppression that the Roman Empire attempted to bring down upon the early Christians. Those who gave their lives did so in order to be counted among the faithful and to show others that their belief system extended beyond this life. They faced their fate because they believed that to not face the consequences of their belief would put their soul at risk, a risk that was not worth the continuation of their life. Martyrdom is a political statement, a position in which the oppressed finds a voice where they have no other recourse. The early Christians came from all walks of life, but in the beginning it was the lower socio-economic classes that first came to their beliefs. The belief system eventually crossed those class barriers, and in the example of Perpetua, a young woman from a good family, it can be seen that none were immune from persecution. Christianity became an equalizer, a religion in which a person could come from any socio-economic background and belong to the same group. With the stories of those who gave their lives, came the appreciation for the importance of the movement, thus helping to spread it across the world. Conclusion The persecution of the Christians by the Roman Empire was done under several governmental heads and for a series of reasons. The central cause of the persecution was the differences that Christians emphasized between themselves and the general society, thus creating them as a counterculture social group. The government was able to point the finger at them and lay blame, the rest of society accepting this because of the general belief that runs through humanity that anything different represents something that is bad or evil. The reasons varied from the fire under Nero to the economic crises of various decades; however each event that was used had little to do with the beliefs of the Christians. However, through the martyrdom that followed, the cause for Christ was perpetuated throughout the world. The stories of martyrs such as Perpetua revealed the importance that Christians put on their beliefs. Others would hear of such stories and come to understand that the cause was important enough that one’s life was not more important than the plight of the soul if those beliefs were not honored. As well, in giving their lives for their religion, Christians were able to emulate Christ for his sacrifice of his life. By giving their lives, they gained control over their fate, their beliefs not subject to the oppression that the government attempted to impose. The persecution of Christians did nothing to stop the spread of the religion throughout the Roman Empire, and more than likely contributed to the growth of the number of believers. References Cairns E. E. (1996). Christianity through the centuries: A History of the Christian church. Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan. Fields, R. M. (2004). Martyrdom: The psychology, theology, and politics of self-sacrifice. Westport, Conn. [u.a.: Praeger. Knott, J. R. (2010). Discourses of martyrdom in English literature, 1563-1694. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Peters, F. E. (2005). The monotheists: Jews, Christians, and Muslims in conflict and competition. Princeton, N.J: Princeton University Press. Pierce, R. W., Groothuis, R. M., & Fee, G. D. (2005). Discovering biblical equality: Complementarity without hierarchy. Downers Grove: InterVarsity Press. Plant, I. M. (2004). Women writers of ancient Greece and Rome: An anthology. Norman: University of Oklahoma Press. Tacitus. (109 A.C.E). Annuls, Book XV (chapter IV). Found in Davis, W. S. 1913. Readings in ancient history: Rome and the West. New York: Allyn and Bacon. Tertullian. (1250). Translation by R. E. Wallis. The Martyrdom of Perpetua and Felicitas. New York: Orthodox Books. Read More