The History Book Club discussion

On another thread, there arose the topic of the Romans and the Christians.

This thread is dedicated to the discussion of the Romans and the Christians and any persecution of the Christians by others (including the Romans).

Here is a thread on Wikipedia which deals with the Persecution of the Christians by the Romans as well as by other groups of Christians during the Protestant Reformation. This article traces this persecution though time to the present day.

However, Constantine (a Roman) in the fourth century legalized the religion even some other Emperors were not tolerant.

Wikipedia states:

Persecution of Christians is the religious persecution of Christians as a consequence of professing their faith, both historically and in the current era.

Early Christians were persecuted for their faith, at the hands of both Jews from whose religion Christianity was an offshoot, and the Roman Empire which controlled much of the land early Christianity was distributed across.

This continued from the first century until the early fourth, when the religion was legalised by Constantine I.

There is also a history of individual Christian denominations suffering persecution at the hands of other Christians under the charge of heresy, particularly during the 16th century Protestant Reformation.

In the 20th century, Christians have been persecuted by radical Muslim and Hindu groups inter alia due to conversion act conducted by Evangelicals, and by (officially) atheistic states such as the USSR and North Korea.

Currently (as of 2010), as estimated by Open Doors UK, an estimated 100 million Christians face persecution, particularly in the Muslim world, North Korea and the hands of Hindu extremism in India, with a rising tendency

According to other sources an estimated 200 million Christians face persecution and a further 350 million Christians are oppressed and discriminated against.

In North Korea, Saudi Arabia, Iran, Afghanistan, Somalia, Maldives, Yemen, Laos, Eritrea and Uzbekistan are the most persecuted Christians, according to the Open Doors.

Article:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Persecut...

Here is another article about the Romans:

Reasons for persecution

The Roman Empire was generally quite tolerant in its treatment of other religions.

The imperial policy was generally one of incorporation - the local gods of a newly conquered area were simply added to the Roman pantheon and often given Roman names. Even the Jews, with their one god and refusal to worship the Emperor, were generally tolerated.

Christianity in the 1st century was largely still a Jewish sect, so-called Jewish Christianity, thus the status of Jews in the Empire is valuable background to Roman persecution of the sect that would become known to the Romans as Christians, which began largely in the 2nd century.

Historian H. H. Ben-Sasson has proposed that the "Crisis under Caligula" (37-41) was the "first open break" between Rome and the Jews.

After the First Jewish–Roman War (66-73), Jews were officially allowed to practice their religion as long as they paid the Jewish tax.

Historians debate whether or not the Roman government distinguished between Christians and Jews prior to Nerva's modification of the tax in 96. From then on, practicing Jews paid the tax, Christians did not.

For the Romans, religion was first and foremost a social activity that promoted unity and loyalty to the state - a religious attitude the Romans called pietas, or piety.

Cicero wrote that if piety in the Roman sense were to disappear, social unity and justice would perish along with it.

According to Simon Dixon, the early Roman writers viewed Christianity not as another kind of pietas, but as a superstitio, or superstition.

Pliny the Younger, a Roman governor writing circa 110 AD, called Christianity a "superstition taken to extravagant lengths."

Similarly, the Roman historian Tacitus called it "a deadly superstition," and the historian Suetonius called Christians "a class of persons given to a new and mischievous superstition."

In this context, the word "superstition" has a slightly different connotation than it has today: for the Romans, it designated something foreign and different - in a negative sense.

A religious belief was valid only insofar as it could be shown to be old and in line with ancient customs; new teachings were regarded with distrust.

The Roman distaste for Christianity, then, arose in large part from its sense that it was bad for society. In the 3rd century, the Neoplatonist philosopher Porphyry wrote:

How can people not be in every way impious and atheistic who have apostatized from the customs of our ancestors through which every nation and city is sustained? ... What else are they than fighters against God?

As Porphyry's argument indicates, hatred of Christians also arose from the belief that proper "piety" to the Roman gods helped to sustain the well-being of the cities and their people.

Though much of the Roman religion was utilitarian, it was also heavily motivated by the pagan sense that bad things will happen if the gods are not respected and worshiped properly.

"Many pagans held that the neglect of the old gods who had made Rome strong was responsible for the disasters which were overtaking the Mediterranean world."

This perspective would surface again in the 5th century, when the destruction of Rome caused many to worry that the gods were angry at the Empire's new allegiance to Christianity.

Saint Augustine's opus The City of God argued against this view.
On a more social, practical level, Christians were distrusted in part because of the secret and misunderstood nature of their worship.

Words like "love feast" and talk of "eating Christ's flesh" sounded understandably suspicious to the pagans, and Christians were suspected of cannibalism, incest, orgies, and all sorts of immorality.

According to H. B. Workman, the average Christian was not much affected by the persecutions; rather, Christian “extremists” would have been singled out as disruptive.

Persecution of Christians acquired increasing significance in the writings of the Church Fathers during the 3rd and 4th centuries, on the eve of Christian hegemony.

The Roman persecutions were generally sporadic, localized, and dependent on the political climate and disposition of each emperor.

Imperial decrees against Christians were often directed against church property, the Scriptures, or clergy only.

Everett Ferguson estimated that more Christians have been killed for religious reasons in the last 50 years than in the church's first 300 years.

Source of article: Wikipedia
Full article: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Persecut...

One thing to note is Gibbon's quote about any persecution in our spotlighted text:

Edward Gibbon, in The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire, estimates that "the whole might consequently amount to about fifteen hundred ... an annual consumption of 150 martyrs."

The Western provinces were little affected, and even in the East where Christianity was recognized as a growing threat, the persecutions were light and sporadic.

H.H. Ben-Sasson

Simon Dixon

Edward Gibbon

Roman Civilization and the Gladiators:

There are some interesting excerpts in this article which one may agree or disagree with. But it is worth noting:

http://abacus.bates.edu/~mimber/Rciv/...

Here is a BBC article on Christianity and Persecution especially at the hands of Nero:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/ancient/...

Author of the above article:

About the author

Sophie Lunn-Rockliffe is a Lecturer in Roman History at King's College, London. Her research interests include the history of early Christianity, political thought, and the history of ideas.


Some sources cited:

Peter Robert Lamont Brown

Peter Robert Lamont Brown

Henry Chadwick[

[book:Martyrdom and Persecution in the Early Church: A Study of a Conflict from the MacCabees to Donatus|1204865] - there is no cover available on goodreads by W. H. C. Frend

Robin Lane Fox

Robin Lane Fox

R.A. Markus

Despite the sporadic persecutions, Christianity was persistent.

Between the beginning of the cult through the Great Persecution of Diocletion, some estimates have placed the death toll as high as 100,000 people during that period.

Others, like the ancient source Origen, list the number of Christian martyrs simply as 'relatively few'.

Edward Gibbon, the 18th century writer lists the number at 'less than 2000', but the truth of the matter will never be known for sure and these numbers are also dependent on semantics.

Some viewed the concept of 'martyrdom' as any Christian who had been killed for any reason.

Others defined it more conservatively as only those that were executed in defense of their religion.

Regardless, by 337 AD and the ascension of Constantine as sole Emperor, the population of the Christian world continued to surge forward.

As many as 25 to 30% of the population of the Roman Empire (15 to 20 of 60 million people) has been estimated as being Christian. Together with other similar monotheistic cults, like those of Mithras and Sol Invictus, the old Pagan traditions were slowly becoming a thing of the past.

The church too, would do everything in its power to be sure of its continued path to dominance, and the tables would be completely turned on both traditional Pagans and dissenting 'heretics'.

Source: UNRV History

http://www.unrv.com/culture/christian...

Please feel free to discuss this topic here and add urls and articles of your choice. Citations of books should include book cover, author's photo (when available) and author's link.

Bentley

The Christians as the Romans Saw Them:

http://www.religiousstudies.uncc.edu/...

Robert Louis Wilken

Isn't it logical that a society in which a lot of decisions were made based on what some guy was "reading" by poking around in the entrails of a dead animal, isn't it logical that such superstitious people were skeptical of a religion based on one poor fellow who told his audience about a kingdom to come. A man who apparently was able to raise the dead?
Fear and superstition led to gossip and finger pointing. The same thing happened a few hundred years later with the oh so devoted Christians erasing the witches, the Cathars, other Christians, Muslims etc.etc.
If for a second we would imagine some figure running around our city centers telling those same stories, wouldn't we put him in jail or in the mental institution?
Ah, what a crazy experiment: the human race... It seems to me we are nothing more than just freaks of nature...

Wanted to suggest a book:

Mark Humphries

Early Christianity

I found Chapter 4 to be particularly helpful. Cheers.

Thank you, Ruru.

Here is the proper citation with the book cover:

by M. Humphries (no photo)

Here is a 23 minute video about Roman persecution of Christians.

"History of Christianity 2 – Persecution of Christians by Rome

In the first four centuries CE the religion of Christianity spread in the Greco-Roman world and beyond. It had begun as a first century Jewish sect, went through periods of persecution by the Roman Empire, and became Rome’s official religion under emperor Theodosius in 380."

http://vimeo.com/30789756

Christianity in Ancient Rome: The First Three Centuries

by Bernard Green (no photo)

Synopsis:

The reader is taken from the very first generation of Christians in Rome, a tiny group of Jews who acknowledged Jesus as the Messiah, down to the point when Christianity had triumphed over savage persecution and was on the verge of becoming the religion of the Roman Empire. Rome was by far the biggest city in the Roman world and this had a profound effect on the way Christianity developed there. It became separate from Judaism at a very early date. The Roman Christians were the first to suffer savage persecution at the hands of Nero. Rome saw the greatest theological movements of the second century thrashing out the core doctrines of the Christian faith. The emergence of the papacy and the building of the catacombs gave the Roman Church extraordinary influence and prestige in the third century, another time of cruel persecution. And it was in Rome that Constantine's patronage of the Christian faith was most evident as he built great basilicas and elevated the personal status of the Pope.

Daily Life of Christians in Ancient Rome

by James W. Ermatinger (no photo)

Synopsis:

Christians in ancient Rome were a persecuted minority, living in communities of worship and sometimes in fear. Despite this, their daily lives were largely similar to that of the Romans they lived among. This volume explores the private and public daily lives of Christians in the ancient Roman world--primarily in the city of Rome--from the death of Jesus to Emperor Constantine's legalization of Christianity in 354 C.E. From the New Testament's vivid descriptions of the earliest Christians, the followers of Jesus of Nazareth, to the archaeological evidence from ancient Rome itself (catacombs, inscriptions, etc.), to the bloody accounts of the Roman states occasional persecution of Christians, this compelling title in the Greenwood Daily Life through History series brings to vivid life the ancient Christians of the Roman empire.

Thematic chapters examine the day to day behavior of Christians in the Roman world, including the conversion of Gentiles, religious practices and afterlife, food, housing and clothing, interaction with paganism, and private and public life.

Thank you Vicki

Pagan Rome and the Early Christians

by Stephen Benko (no photo)

Synopsis:

As perceived by the average Roman citizen, the early rites and behavior of Christians laid them open to charges of cannibalism, immorality, and the practice of magic and conspiring and fomenting rebellion aganst the state.

The early church fathers rejected these accusations and portrayed pagans as victims of misinformation or perpetrators of ill will. Benko proposes to give the pagans the benefit of the doubt and analyzes their charges against Christianity under the premise that they may have been right within the context of the times. He has provided a persuasively argued and refreshing--if controversial--perspective on the confrontation of the pagan and early Christian worlds.

Christianity and Roman Society

by Gillian Clark

Synopsis:

Did Christianity transform the Roman world in which it began, or did the Roman world shape Christianity? This work explores current debates and new interpretations of Early Christianity in Roman Society. Adopting an interdisciplinary and thematic approach, it offers the student unfamiliar with the Christian tradition, a comprehensive introduction to its role in the Roman world.

Coming Out Christian in the Roman World: How the Followers of Jesus Made a Place in Caesar’s Empire

by Douglas Ryan Boin

Synopsis:

The supposed collapse of Roman civilization is still lamented more than 1,500 years later--and intertwined with this idea is the notion that a fledgling religion, Christianity, went from a persecuted fringe movement to an irresistible force that toppled the empire. The "intolerant zeal" of Christians, wrote Edward Gibbon, swept Rome's old gods away, and with them the structures that sustained Roman society.

Not so, argues Douglas Boin. Such tales are simply untrue to history, and ignore the most important fact of all: life in Rome never came to a dramatic stop. Instead, as Boin shows, a small minority movement rose to transform society--politically, religiously, and culturally--but it was a gradual process, one that happened in fits and starts over centuries. Drawing upon a decade of recent studies in history and archaeology, and on his own research, Boin opens up a wholly new window onto a period we thought we knew. His work is the first to describe how Christians navigated the complex world of social identity in terms of "passing" and "coming out." Many Christians lived in a dynamic middle ground. Their quiet success, as much as the clamor of martyrdom, was a powerful agent for change. With this insightful approach to the story of Christians in the Roman world, Douglas Boin rewrites, and rediscovers, the fascinating early history of a world faith.

Thanks to Teri for adding to the Roman history threads.

The Rise of Christianity: How the Obscure, Marginal Jesus Movement Became the Dominant Religious Force in the Western World in a Few Centuries

by Rodney Stark

Synopsis:

The idea that Christianity started as a clandestine movement among the poor is a widely accepted notion. Yet it is one of many myths that must be discarded if we are to understand just how a tiny messianic movement on the edge of the Roman Empire became the dominant faith of Western civilization. In a fast-paced, highly readable book that addresses beliefs as well as historical facts, Rodney Stark brings a sociologist's perspective to bear on the puzzle behind the success of early Christianity. He comes equipped not only with the logic and methods of social science but also with insights gathered firsthand into why people convert and how new religious groups recruit members. He digs deep into the historical evidence on many issues--such as the social background of converts, the mission to the Jews, the status of women in the church, the role of martyrdom--to provide a vivid and unconventional account of early Christianity.

The author plots the most plausible curve of Christian growth from the year 40 to 300. By the time of Constantine, Christianity had become a considerable force, with growth patterns very similar to those of modern-day successful religious movements. An unusual number of Christian converts, for example, came from the educated, cosmopolitan classes. Because it offered a new perspective on familiar concepts and was not linked to ethnicity, Christianity had a large following among persons seeking to assimilate into the dominant culture, mainly Hellenized Jews. The oversupply of women in Christian communities--due partly to the respect and protection they received--led to intermarriages with pagans, hence more conversions, and to a high fertility rate. Stark points out, too, the role played by selflessness and faith. Amidst the epidemics, fires, and other disasters that beleaguered Greco-Roman cities, Christian communities were a stronghold of mutual aid, which resulted in a survival rate far greater than that of the pagans. In the meantime, voluntary martyrdom, especially a generation after the death of Christ, reinforced the commitment of the Christian rank and file. What Stark ultimately offers is a multifaceted portrait of early Christianity, one that appeals to practical reasoning, historical curiosity, and personal reflection.

Very nice add Michele

Conflict at Rome

by James S. Jeffers (no photo)

Synopsis:

Utilizing archeological evidence and an analysis of two early Christian texts related to the church at Rome, James S. Jeffers offers a penetrating glimpse into the economic, social, and theological tensions of early Roman Christianity. Clement and the Shepherd of Hermas are shown to represent two decidedly conflicting conceptions of Christianity and hierarchy: Clement represents the social elite and a more structured approach to church organization, and Hermas displays a tendency toward sectarianism. Photographs and line drawings illustrate archeological evidence.

Thank you Vicki

Memory in Ancient Rome and Early Christianity

by Karl Galinsky (no photo)

Synopsis:

What and how do people remember? Who controls the process of what we call cultural or social memory? What is forgotten and why? People's memories are not the same as history written in retrospect; they are malleable and an ongoing process of construction and reconstruction. Ancient Rome provided much of the cultural framework for early Christianity, and in both the role of memory was pervasive. Memory in Ancient Rome and Early Christianity presents perspectives from an international and interdisciplinary range of contributors on the literature, history, archaeology, and religion of a major world civilization, based on an informed engagement with important concepts and issues in memory studies. Moving beyond terms such as 'collective', 'social', and 'cultural memory' as standard tropes, the volume offers a selective exploration of the wealth of topics which comprise memory studies, and also features a contribution from a leading neuroscientist on the actual workings of the human memory. It is an importamt resource for anyone interested in Roman antiquity, the beginnings of Christianity, and the role of memory in history.

From the old Frontline series "From Jesus to Christ"

The Empire's Religions
The Empire offered a banquet of religious options: the gods of Olympus, mystery cults, and dieties from foreign lands.

https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontl...

Religion in The Roman World
An essay by Marianne Bonz describing the myriad of religious options available in the Roman Empire.

https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontl...

The Collision with Paganism
Conspicuous by their absence at the great Roman civic festivals, early Christians were often viewed with suspicion and mistrust.

https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontl...

Kingdoms in Conflict
Could Christians who believed in the Kingdom of God be loyal citizens of the Roman Empire? Many pagans thought 'no.'

https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontl...

Pliny's Policy: Execution
Marking the beginning of the Roman Empire's legal prosecution of Christians.

https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontl...

The Martyrs
Treated as criminals in the second and third centuries, the early Christians were subject to empire-wide persecution.

https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontl...

Legitimization Under Constantine
From persecuted minority to official imperial religion - what caused this extraordinary reversal for Christianity?

https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontl...

The Great Appeal
What did Christianity offer its believers that made it worth social estrangement, hostility from neighbors, and possible persecution?

https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontl...

Thank you Michelle

The Darkening Age: The Christian Destruction of the Classical World

by Catherine Nixey

Synopsis:

The Darkening Age is the largely unknown story of how a militant religion deliberately attacked and suppressed the teachings of the Classical world, ushering in centuries of unquestioning adherence to 'one true faith'.

Despite the long-held notion that the early Christians were meek and mild, going to their martyr's deaths singing hymns of love and praise, the truth, as Catherine Nixey reveals, is very different. Far from being meek and mild, they were violent, ruthless and fundamentally intolerant. Unlike the polytheistic world, in which the addition of one new religion made no fundamental difference to the old ones, this new ideology stated not only that it was the way, the truth and the light but that, by extension, every single other way was wrong and had to be destroyed. From the 1st century to the 6th, those who didn't fall into step with its beliefs were pursued in every possible way: social, legal, financial and physical. Their altars were upturned and their temples demolished, their statues hacked to pieces and their priests killed. It was an annihilation.

Authoritative, vividly written and utterly compelling, this is a remarkable debut from a brilliant young historian.

Thank you so much for keeping up the Roman folder and its threads.

Great to hear that Catherine Nixey wrote a book about this.
But the editor calling it "largely unknown" is slightly overdoing it.
I almost dare to say it's "common knowledge" among historians writing about the period.
Rome was quite tolerant regarding other religions and their means of worship (hence the many different temples). That is until the first "Christians" started popping up telling everybody else they're wrong :-)

Also "from the 1st century to the 6th" is a mighty long time. What were the "first Christians" , I'm asking because most people at the time (1st century) did not know and did not even call them that.

For those interested, you might want to look up when the Romans actually officially started calling Christians Christians and when the so often mentioned and dramatized persecutions actually took place.
We now see history - especially Classical - through a Christian eye.
Going back over the basics can help put things into a much more objective perspective.

After reading the book you might also be interested in what other historians have to say about it and why. It puts the book's theories into perspective :-)

Thank you Andre for the clarification.

The Final Pagan Generation: Rome's Unexpected Path to Christianity

by Edward J. Watts (no photo)

Synopsis:
The Final Pagan Generation recounts the fascinating story of the lives and fortunes of the last Romans born before the Emperor Constantine converted to Christianity. Edward J. Watts traces their experiences of living through the fourth century’s dramatic religious and political changes, when heated confrontations saw the Christian establishment legislate against pagan practices as mobs attacked pagan holy sites and temples. The emperors who issued these laws, the imperial officials charged with implementing them, and the Christian perpetrators of religious violence were almost exclusively young men whose attitudes and actions contrasted markedly with those of the earlier generation, who shared neither their juniors’ interest in creating sharply defined religious identities nor their propensity for violent conflict.

Watts examines why the "final pagan generation"—born to the old ways and the old world in which it seemed to everyone that religious practices would continue as they had for the past two thousand years—proved both unable to anticipate the changes that imperially sponsored Christianity produced and unwilling to resist them. A compelling and provocative read, suitable for the general reader as well as students and scholars of the ancient world