Christian Persecution

Persecution is a term used to describe the oppressive or inequitable treatment towards someone or a group of people based on their beliefs, exterior appearances, or aspects of their personalities. People have been persecuted for many reasons, such as their religions. Christians, specifically, had been mistreated as long as their religion had been alive. One extreme instance of their suffering is their residency in the Roman Empire. The era of Christian persecution in Rome reigned for well over 186 years. However, the discrimination reached its epitome around 64 A.D. This difficult period for Roman Christians began with the supremacy of Emperor Nero, and spiraled out of control from there. Believers in Christ had already been despised, even

According to the article Nero Persecutes the Christians, 64 A.D., “In their [Christians’] very deaths they were made the subjects of sport…” The article briefly explains how inhumane and revolting the abuse of the Christians were. The punishment of the martyred were repulsive; for the Romans mocked the Christians by nailing them to crosses after their religious leader. Also, they were tied to stakes and burned, serving as a lights to brighten the evenings. Even the emperor, who had only invented the cause of the fire, joined in on the disdainful mockery. Christians were covered with wild animal hides and thrown to the dogs to be torn apart. The believers also faced capitol punishments, and were slain in groups in a disgustingly casual way. These practices were committed in vain, for Christians were not the true culprits of the

The weight of blame on the Christians for starting the fire only added insult to injury. There were many excuses as to why Romans scorned the Christians, such as misconceptions. The people of Rome did not understand the practices of the believers in Christ, and thus believed the only solution of the matter was to reject the latter from society. Another reason why Rome generally tended to persecute Christians was because Rome had a religion of their own, and the refusal of participation from the Christians vexed Romans. They sensed treason, and evicted Christians from the friendly treatment the should have been granted. The article Christianity and the Roman Empire by Dr. Sophie Lunn-Rockliffe reads, “Thus the classic test of a Christian’s faith was to force him or her, on pain of death, to swear by the emperor and offer incense to his images, or to sacrifice to the gods.” This passage explains the terror of the Romans, for they felt that the Christians were deliberately jeopardizing the Roman Empire by angering their gods. There are many more reasons as to why Christians were persecuted by the inhabitants of Rome, but these are the major elucidations.

The persecution of Christians in the Roman Empire started to die down around 250 A.C. For almost two centuries, the suffering and martyrdom the Christians experienced became almost a dull routine