In Tacitus account of Roman history, Christians were burnt, eaten by animals, and crucified. Document C details why the Romans were persecuting the Christians. According to the Theologian professor, the reason for Christian persecution in Rome was because the Romans did not understand Christian rituals.
The Jewish War, also occasionally called The Great Revolt, happened during the years 66 through 73 C.E. (Freedman 848). During this Common Era the Jews from the Judea Province caused a rebellion against the Roman Empire. This lead to a major catastrophe and was a terrible mistake on both sides of the rebellion. There were a number of reasons why these two groups clashed. Beginning with corrupt officials, social hostility and socioeconomic concerns.
Despite the knowledge that it was dangerous to contradict Roman beliefs, they continued to refer to themselves as Christians. As Document G exhibits how Christianity was governed, Pliny the Younger a Roman Judge interrogated whomever claimed to be Christan and persistently threatened them with punishment until they were executed for their stubbornness (Doc G). However, this did not fear the Christians because they knew that Jesus was with them protecting them from harm. Within Roman society the belief in immortality was very difficult, they believed when you die you would be judged by a Roman god (Styx) to then be sent into one of the two afterworlds. As the religious historian, Helemt Koester states that the Christan community was an interest to many because of the promises of a future life free of sickness, poverty, and hatred (Doc B).
Claiming to be the Son of God worried many, but eventually Jesus gained followers called Apostles. Even after Jesus died, Paul, spread his words and religion throughout the Middle East. Christianity took hold of the ancient world for many reasons, because of its peaceful message, its difference from the Roman religion, and the commitment of many like Paul and Jesus’s followers. One reason that Christianity took over the ancient world was because of its powerful message to the world. Jesus sent the message that even the lesser people still have a chance at getting into a great place in the afterlife.
The more Christianity spread, the more fear the Romans had for the religion. The spread of Christianity caused the Romans to take action with violence, but the rapid spread and strong commitment were something the Romans could not beat. To start, looking at the apparent differences between Christianity and Roman ideology, it is understandable that Christianity intrigued the common people and became popular. Christian ideology is a little, with a strong
The Romans and and Jewish leaders felt threatened by Jesus because he thought he was the messiah. Jesus would then be crucified by the Romans. Christianity was able to take hold in the ancient world and flourish because of Christianity 's belief in equality, Rome’s biased
Constantine was a 4th century emperor of Rome. His reign followed Diocletian who enacted harsh laws preventing Christians from worshipping freely. Christianity were perceived as a threat to the Roman empire for several reasons. Roman’s saw Christians monotheistic view and loyalty to Christ as opposing the Roman Empire because it did not acknowledge the official gods and did not place the emperor as its most important leader. Additionally, the Romans were trivialized by the claim of turning bread into a divine substance which further discriminated the Christians from the general population.
When the Roman Empire collapsed in the Fifth Century the Christians could not believe that the society they built could fall under the protection of God. Many during that time could not separate their Roman citizenry from Christianity. The pagans during the fall of Rome felt that the Christians were to blame because the Roman government was not appeasing their gods. After the fall many Christians felt they were living in the “end times” and wrote about it being the end of the world. After Rome fell the societal boundaries were dissolved reducing everyone to equal levels which allowed the Christians the opportunity to minister to others and spread the gospel.
Christianity became a threat to the Romans. They started to send people out to arrest them. This put them in great danger. For this reason, many of them gave up their faith so their life can be spared. Some still had strong faith and were able
Christians were prosecuted in the early centuries after Christ for many reasons which can all be traced back to the roots of their beliefs. Firstly, Christians would not acknowledge any of the gods approved by the Romans. In the eyes of the Roman citizens, this meant that the Christians were therefore atheists because even though they believed in God, they did not believe in the official Roman gods. This also meant that they were now labeled as threats to the integrity of Roman society. According to Emperor Trajan, if a Christian refused to make sacrifices to the Roman gods in his presence , that individual would be sentenced to death.
During the early Pax Romana, Christianity, emerged and it spread rapidly in the Roman Empire. The founder of Christianity was Jesus who used parables with moral lessons to communicate his ideas. Jesus emphasized mercy, sympathy for the poor and helpless, morality, forgiveness, and service to others. Christianity eventually became the official religion of Rome because of its unifying force and the fact that it appealed to all classes in society. The humble, poor and oppressed found comfort in his message of love, equality, human dignity, and promise for a better life.
The views on Christianity throughout Rome changed immensely from the early years of the empire through the fourth century. For a while, Christians were looked at as a threat to many because of their belief in monotheism. Nero and his followers persecuted and punished the lower class and women who followed Christianity as well as use them as political scapegoats. As time went on, the tolerance for Christianity in Rome grew and Christianity gained acceptance. By the fourth century, Christianity was the official religion in Rome.
In the Roman Empire, Christianity started out being a very minuscule religion. However, as Christianity grew, it formed into a significant threat to Roman politics. Before Christianity, the Roman Empire was extremely diverse and they believed the emperor
Ancient Rome and Ancient Greece were very powerful and influential forces around the time that Christianity had began to spread. In Rome’s society, people followed under an emperor, who had strict rules about religion and the type of beliefs one should have. At the time, Rome’s official religion was pagan, but later converted to Christian. Ancient Greece had different religious beliefs than those that Christianity consisted of, but these countries were both powerful and helpful in spreading this new religion. Greece and Rome were impactful on Christian doctrine as well as helping this religion thrive and continue to expand to new areas.
Even though Christians were persecuted on and off during the Roman Empire, Christianity flourished. In the early Roman Empire, when Claudius, Nero, Domitian, and Trajan were emperors, Christianity was banned and Christians were persecuted. Nevertheless, Christians found ways to spread Christianity, and many people converted. As trials occurred and the Empire lost good leaders, the people took security in Christianity and other religions. Christianity grew during the Roman Empire because Constantine helped create the Edict of Milan, Constantine had imperial favor toward The Church, and there was trade routes to spread Christianity to different areas.
