Persecution in the Early Church - Research Paper Example

? Persecution in the Early Church Persecution in the Early Church Owing to the devastating effects that it can cause, persecution is undoubtedly the most agonizing experience an authority can subject a human race to, reflecting on persecution history. It can mean mental, physical, emotional, and moral suffering to an individual or a sect with the objective muzzling, or negating their agenda. More often than not, persecution has always led to the massacre of hundreds of thousands, if not millions. The early church was forcefully met with great persecution aimed at destroying it, but in reality, persecution strengthened the church and created a faction of martyrs and apologists. The Reason for Persecution Although there was no recognizable or serious offence with the early Christians professing their faith in Jesus Christ, the Roman Empire and the pagan fraternity did not bother but instead fabricated a number of allegations1. At no point did the Christian religion in the early days interfere with or distract their normal operations or peace of mind therefore one can only read mischief and ulterior motives in their quest to wipe away the early church out of existence2. Unanimously, both the pagans and the Roman Empire leveled allegations of incest, perversions, and cannibalism against their Christian counterparts3. With Emperor Nero in their lead, the persecutors insisted that their Christian brothers and sisters constantly partook of illegal and inhuman ritual and activities contrary to the acceptable norms within the Roman Empire4. Fully appreciating the government’s support, the pagans pressured the Nero, the Roman Emperor who rained from 54 AD to 64 AD, to succumb to their demands. In real sense, the good followers of Jesus Christ only practiced what they read from their respective Bibles like Baptism5. With John the Baptist as the pioneer of Baptism in water, Jesus Christ only sanctified the same through the incorporation of ‘fire’ baptism where He emphasized on the essence of involvement of the Holy Spirit6. It is by this doctrine that the early Christians based and practiced their strong beliefs, irrespective of what their ‘enemies’ thoughts and opinions. When the pagans and some officials of the Roman Emperor saw the relentless worship by the early church, they accused them of ill practices, allegation which cost most staunch Christians their lives while maiming others in the process7. Perhaps one of the most controversial reasons as to why the early church faced senseless persecution was subversion and ungodly behavior, at least according to those who strongly supported the idea of persecution. Ordinarily, the atheists and those who believed in the Roman gods united on some fronts especially those pertaining to the official religious practices as manifested by the Roman Emperor8. Occasionally, all the inhabitants of the Roman Emperor offered sacrifices to the Roman gods as a sign of gratification and honor, a practice the early church came strongly against for their own reasons. During the first century, most Romans and atheists believed that by worshipping and offering sacrifices to their gods, they would receive blessings, protections, and improve in their general wellbeing9. The early Christians on the other hand, believed in and followed strictly the teachings inscribed within the Christian Bible that fiercely condemned the worship, honor, or offering of sacrifices to the so called ‘idols’. Duly guided by this clause, these believers in Jesus Christ objected to the pleas by the vast majority of the officials of the Roman Emperor10. As if that was not enough, the cult extended to the honor and offering sacrifices to the Roman Emperors, fully acknowledging the fact that they were sanctified monarchs, who deserved equal and undivided attention as other gods11. The successive Roman Emperors highly encouraged this trend as it they felt that it boosted their ego besides elevating them above normal human beings. Beginning with Emperor Nero to Diocletian, all supported the doctrine and fiercely persecuted any presumed opposition12. As usual, those who dearly held Christ as their Savior objected to this practice, although some who succumbed to fear of torment and execution obeyed the command. Perceiving the early church and its respective followers as rebels who did not work for the best interest of the Roman Empire, the anti-Christians decided to subject the Christian faithful to agonizing pain and inhumane executions, mostly using fire and dogs to torment their subjects. The Roman governor Pliny in 110 AD specifically approved the persecution of the church terming it as superstition on an excessive scale13. When disasters and misfortunes befell Rome as it had been in the past, the pagans in collaboration with the Roman Empire forged suspicious intrigues against the early church. It was very evident that the frequent occurrences of natural disasters had absolutely no connection with the practice of the Christian faith as alleged by a faction of the Roman government officials and the pagans14. They courageously believed that their misfortunes were in relation to the fact that the Christian fraternity had refused to worship and offer sacrifices to their gods, a factor that forced them to direct their frenzy towards their counterparts. Notably notorious in this regard was Diocletian, a Roman Emperor who reigned between 292 AD and 304 AD when the Roman Empire was on the verge of destruction. The devastating aspect instilled a chilling effect on the pagans and the Roman Empire at large with most concurring that the disasters were due to the anger of their gods. They strongly insisted that their gods were not happy with the prevalence of Christianity in the Roman Empire, and had to demonstrate their anger through natural disasters and misfortunes. With a strong conviction on the cause of these uncalled for occurrences on their land, nearly all non-Christians resolved to punish the Christians for their ‘wrongful’ acts through persecution15. In as much as the Roman Empire persecuted the early church for whatever reasons, it only served as an encouragement to most of the staunch Christians as they reflected the wise words of Apostle Paul that the world is not without challenges. Many paid with their lives for the sake of the belief in Christ while others who feared for their lives and those of their loved ones decided to follow suit by aping the prevailing Roman doctrines of tolerance to all cults16. The Reality and Extent of Persecution The actual persecution of the early Church began with the acts of the then Saul who traversed major cities in the ancient times persecuting perceived Christians before he was converted by Jesus Christ. This revelation astounded many who encouraged the persecution of Christians at the time. Apostle Paul essentially cites his main reason for persecuting the early church as being folly and disbelief in the risen Christ just as many he preached were17. In reality, the persecution proper started when the Roman Empire under its various Emperors took over the mantle of and took every aspect of persecution to its possible extreme. When one sequentially follows the persecution history of the Roman Empire between the first and the fifth century, it is nearly impossible to deny that virtually all the Roman Emperors, governors, and Heads of Government had significant involvement18. In the pursuance of the partially tolerant Roman statutes, most Emperors committed various atrocities to the early Christians with some of them practically accused of genocide against the early Christian community19. Beginning from Emperor Nero to Diocletian, it is not arguable that each adopted more or less similar persecution criteria with some like Emperor Trajan of 98 AD to 117 A.D. taking the persecution to indescribable limits. Fundamentally, ten major periods in the Roman calendar of persecution exist with each being presided over by a different Emperor. Under the leadership of Emperor Nero of 54 A.D. to68 A.D., the Roman government oversaw major persecutions of the early Church in regards to their opposing trajectory of religious beliefs20. However, he did not actively participate or advocate for the persecution of Christians based on their faith but his unscrupulous and unbecoming behavior as a leader landed him into trouble with the public opinion21. The only surest way he could secure the support and confidence of those he ruled upon was to divert the attention and falsely accuse the early Christians. By doing so, he subjected thousands of Christian believers into agonizing deaths in his quest to secure his legacy. It was during his reign that the persecutors beheaded John the Baptist under controversial circumstances22. On the other hand, Domition, ruled the Roman Empire from 81 A.D. to 96 A.D. persecuted Christians including his own brother for malicious gains. Under the influence of overwhelming greed, he mercilessly executed the Roman Senators in order to grab their vast real estate investments. Among prominent Christians condemned during this period was Timothy and John, with the latter miraculously surviving death plan by boiling oil, a plan that Christians believe God counteracted. In a period between 98 A.D. to 117 A.D., Pliny the second felt compassion for the thousands of Christians murdered without logical reason, compassion that s him address a letter to Trajan. Credible historical documents record that the pleas of his letter were ignored with a famous Roman commander named Eustachius paying dearly with his life for disobeying the then Roman law of worshipping and offering sacrifices to the idols23. These were indeed the most trying moments for the early church and believers of Christ even as some strong believers in Christ opted to pay the price of martyrdom. The kikes of Polycarp of Smyrna, Irenaeous, and Ignatious were just but a few who had the strength to endure the persecution without an element of sympathy for prophesying the word of God. The faith of the early martyrs grew even stronger amid intensification of the persecution procedure for the Christian faithful24. It all started with the Roman government accepting and tolerating all sorts of religious and cultural cults with the only condition that they abode by the religious demand of the Roman Empire and its subsequent Emperors25. However, this was not to be as far as the early church was concerned because the early Christians emulated their Savior, Jesus Christ and followed His teachings strictly. Forcing them to congregate in worship of the roman gods that they referred to as ‘idols’ was a significant transgression of God’s Holy Law, at least according to them26. Concerning the extent of persecution of the early Christian church, the Roman Empire under various governors employed extreme execution procedures that could have disheartened many Christians27. A case in point was the mass murder of the Christian faithful by Emperor Nero, who categorically stated that he did persecute the presumed Christian’s in a senseless manner not to persuade them to change their beliefs, but to instill fear in prospective Christians28. One of the weirdest and most absurd persecution methods employed by the Roman Empire was the use of fire to burn their victims29. This was especially so in 64 A.D. under the reign of Emperor Nero when the early church was on the verge of destruction amid torching of presumed Christian faithful. The extent of fire execution became so rampant that most Romans and historians termed it as the Great Fire of Rome30. In this case, the Roman officials ignited perceived Christians and used them as human torches to light up the extravagant feats of the emperor at night. At some instance, Emperor Nero tied up to fifty Christians on one tall pole and ignited them to illuminate the entire city. If this was not the most painful death at the time, then one wonders. To intensify the already excruciating pain, the y poured cold water on already lit Christians, lest they expired quickly31. Correspondingly, some Roman Emperors chose the use of wild animals as their favorite execution procedures, pleas for leniency notwithstanding. This was particularly so with emperors Diocletian and Severus who could choose a milder punishment of letting wild dogs tear apart the bodies of the Christian faithful, painful experience that took some time before they could finally die. To make it worse, the Roman officials poured salt and vinegar on the wounds of those whom the dogs had torn apart32. Another persecution method with animals was the use of horse to hang those who refused to comply by the Roman doctrines. The pagans did not approve of this method, as it was the easiest and quickest way of persecuting the Christians, hence denying the chance to enjoy the suffering of the Christian faithful33. Perhaps the most bizarre incident in the persecution of early Christians was the enclosing of victims in a net together with highly venomous snakes before being plunged into the sea. A more similar atrocity involved tying the neck of those who professed Christianity to a rock so that they did not escape when thrown into a river34. The Results of Persecutions Although the Romans spent relentless efforts in attempting to destroy the early church, there were some elements of ambiguities in that their efforts bore little fruits, contrary to their expectation. Christianity continued to gain popularity, as many sympathizers held themselves back for fear of persecution35. Nevertheless, after the persistent preaching and spreading of Christianity within the Roman Empire and beyond, many people believed that there was one God especially because they witnessed some miraculous deeds by some apostles and martyrs. Despite the fact that the pagans insisted on the persecution of early church, the conversion of Constantine and the perseverance of the martyrs and apologists saw the triumph of Christianity over the perpetuation of the Roman doctrines36. Contrary to what many had envisaged, Emperor Constantine’s conversion elicited mixed reactions from various entities within the Roman Empire37. He was a person that many people das associated with various atrocities, including the persecution of Christian believers and at no one time were the Roman officials expected him to declare his conversion and subsequent tolerance to Christianity. Even though he did not wholly embrace the Christian doctrines as enshrined in the bible, he made great strides as far as advancing the course of Christianity was concerned as compared to his predecessors38. He made this momentous declaration in the year 312 A.D., bringing a sigh of relief to the Christian fraternity of the early church39. Another reason that contributed to the triumph of Christianity was its simplicity as regards moral teachings, a factor that encouraged the dominance of Christianity in Cyrenaica where the early church was more organized. Besides, the martyr spirit was still intact considering the fact that several persons grew suspicion over the cruel massacres that the Roman government had to execute in order to secure honor for her gods40. A vast majority of rationally thinking individuals arrived to the conclusion that they better embraced the God of peace and mercy, a God that was living within the early church as opposed to the roman gods that were more or less like idols41. In conclusion, the Roman Empire was arguably the most intolerant authority in the history of religion considering that it oversaw a spate of massacres over a period of five centuries. One can conclude that the persecutions perpetrated against the early church were unwarranted as they only left painful memories besides the fact that they lacked objectivity. They were simply religious interest driven by individual or group interest and therefore there is no justification for their acts whatsoever. On a partial note, it was a god thing for some Christians to have escaped the agony to tell of their encounters as this has helped shape the modern Christian beliefs over the years. Bibliography A?dna, Jostein. The Formation of the Early Church. Tu?bingen: Mohr Siebeck, 2005. Canfield, Leon H. The Early Persecutions of the Christians. Clark, N.J.: Lawbook Exchange, 2005. Castillo, Dennis A. The Early Church. Mystic, CT: Twenty-third Publications, 2005. Ferguson, Everett. Backgrounds of Early Christianity. Grand Rapids, Mich: Eerdman, 2006. Ferguson, Everett. Baptism in the Early Church: History, Theology, and Liturgy in the First Five Centuries. Grand Rapids, Mich: William B. Eerdmans Pub. Co, 2009. Glover, T. R. The Conflict of Religions in the Early Roman Empire. Kila, MT: Kessinger, 2003. Green, Bernard. Christianity in Ancient Rome: The First Three Centuries. London: T & T Clark, 2010. Herron, Thomas J. Clement and the Early Church of Rome: On the Dating of Clement's First Epistle to the Corinthians. Steubenville, Ohio: Emmaus Road Publishing, 2008. Kelhoffer, James A. Persecution, Persuasion, and Power Readiness to Withstand Hardship as a Corroboration of Legitimacy in the New Testament. Tu?bingen: Mohr Siebeck, 2010. Lo?ssl, Josef. The Early Church: Christianity in Late Antiquity. London: T & T Clark, 2009. McKinion, Steven A. Life, and Practice in the Early Church: A Documentary Reader. New York: New York University Press, 2001. Novak, Ralph Martin. Christianity and the Roman Empire Background Texts. London: Continuum International Pub. Group, 2001. Read More