The Unpopular Cult—Persecution

Lecture 7

T

o this point in the course, the lectures have described the contexts
of Christianity within Mediterranean culture, Greek civilization,
and Roman rule; its birth within the symbolic world of Torah; its
first rapid expansion; and the composition of its earliest literature. But it is
premature to speak of “Christianity” in these earlier stages as though it were
a fully defined and distinct entity; the process of its formation continued into
the 2nd century and only then achieved greater clarity. The next six lectures
trace the history of this continuing formation in the 2nd and 3rd centuries,
beginning in this lecture with a discussion of persecution.

Antecedents of Christian Persecution
• The antecedents to the persecution of Christians reveal the social,
political, and religious issues involved.

•    The Roman Empire, like the Greek Empire before it, was concerned

above all with the good order on which the stability and prosperity

of the city-state and the empire (oikoumene) depended.

o The worship of the gods was an inherent and necessary part of

such world maintenance; the participation of all in the “city of

gods and men” was a fundamental premise of ancient politics.

Plutarch despised the Epicurean philosophy primarily because

its denial of the gods was attached to a withdrawal from

political involvement. It thus represented a challenge to good

order and a threat to society.

o Although the Roman Empire was generally receptive to new

religions, especially when, like Judaism, they were ancient

traditions of a conquered nation, participation in the empire’s

benefits required the recognition of the empire’s gods. Cults

regarded as subversive were dangerous.