Lecture 7: The Unpopular Cult—Persecution
• Christians put Roman rulers and administrators in a difficult situation.
o So long as Christianity flew under the flag of Judaism (as a
“sect” of Judaism), it would enjoy the same privileges accorded
that ancestral tradition, but when relations with Jews were
severed, as they were by the late 1st century, the subversive
elements in Christianity could not be ignored.o Unlike Jews, Christians had no temple where sacrifices could
be offered for the emperor, thus smoothing relations. In fact,
Christians were aggressive in their attacks on Gentile idolatry:
The gods of the nations were idols and demons. Aggressiveness
was shown, as well, by intense proselytism.o The separateness of the cult, above all its refusal to participate
in the “city of gods and men,” marked its members for the
same attacks that had been made on Epicureans (and Jews):
They were atheists and were guilty of misanthropy.o The earliest Roman sources concerning Christians (Suetonius,
Tacitus, and Pliny the Younger) considered them superstitious
and were impressed by their stubbornness.Historical Facts of Persecution
• Constructing an adequate historical account of persecution from the
1 st to the 4th centuries is difficult. The precise events are uncertain,
and there are large gaps in the evidence.
o For the most part, evidence comes from Christian sources,
which understandably tend to maximize state opposition
and oppression. Thus, in Christian lore, Marcus Aurelius
is a notorious persecutor, but there is little evidence of this
persecuting activity under him.o It is difficult to distinguish the occurrence of local riots (as in
the Martyrdom of Polycarp) or even regional repression (as
in Pliny the Younger) from systematic state persecution, or
temporary spasms of persecution from sustained efforts.