Why did the Roman Empire persecute Christians so much? Ep. 70
Summary
TLDRThis episode explores early Christian history from the New Testament era to around 300 AD. It highlights the spread of Christianity within the Roman Empire, the pagan Roman government's lack of religious tolerance, and the resulting persecution of Christians. The video discusses the initial rise of Christianity, the refusal of Christians to worship pagan gods or the emperor, leading to mob violence and official persecution under emperors like Nero. Despite the destruction of Jerusalem and the loss of the apostles, Christianity continued to grow. The script also touches on the development of church leadership and internal debates, culminating in the relative peace under Emperor Gallienus and the subsequent severe persecution under Emperor Diocletian.
Takeaways
- 🕊 Early Christian history from the end of the New Testament to around 300 AD is explored.
- 🌐 The Roman Empire's pagan beliefs contrasted with Christianity, as they worshipped many gods without a focus on afterlife salvation.
- 🔱 Christians faced persecution for refusing to worship Roman gods and the Emperor, seen as a threat to the Empire's religious harmony.
- 🔥 The Great Fire of Rome in 64 AD led to Emperor Nero blaming and persecuting Christians, with many, including Peter and Paul, being killed.
- 🏛 The destruction of Jerusalem's temple in 70 AD by Emperor Vespasian did not deter the spread of Christianity.
- 📚 Post-apostolic Christian literature flourished in the 2nd century, contributing to the faith's growth despite being a minority religion.
- 🛂 The leadership of the early Christian church transitioned from the apostles to local bishops, influencing the development of church authority.
- 🏰 The Bishop of Rome, later known as the Pope, began to emerge as a central figure in mediating disputes among bishops.
- 🤔 Internal debates and the rise of splinter groups within Christianity highlighted the challenges in maintaining a unified belief system.
- ⛩ Emperor Gallienus's Edict of Toleration in 260 AD granted Christians relative peace, which was later revoked by Emperor Diocletian's persecutions in 303 AD.
Q & A
What is the time period covered in this episode of early Christian history?
-The episode covers early Christian history from the end of the New Testament up to about 300 AD.
How did the ancient Romans view their gods and religion?
-The ancient Romans were pagans, meaning they worshipped many gods. There was no separation between church and state, and the Pontifex Maximus, often the Emperor, regulated religion in the Empire.
Why were the pagan gods different from the Christian God according to the script?
-Pagan gods were concerned with the here and now, offering blessings for worship and sacrifices, but none offered salvation in the afterlife, which was a key belief of the Christian God.
What was the initial Roman response to Christianity and why was it problematic?
-The initial Roman response was to persecute Christians because they refused to worship Roman gods or the Emperor, which was seen as unloyal and potentially dangerous as it might anger the gods.
How did the Christians practice their faith during the early persecutions?
-During early persecutions, Christians had to worship in secret, and they were publicly villainized and subjected to rumors and false accusations about their beliefs.
What is the significance of the Great Fire of Rome in 64 AD in the context of Christian persecution?
-The Great Fire of Rome in 64 AD is significant because Emperor Nero, accused of starting the fire, blamed the Christians and ordered their persecution, leading to the death of prominent figures like Peter and Paul.
How did the destruction of the temple in Jerusalem in 70 AD affect Christianity?
-Despite the destruction of the temple in Jerusalem in 70 AD, Christianity continued to grow as the promise of salvation and religious zeal kept the faith moving forward.
Who were some of the post-apostolic Christian writers mentioned in the script?
-Some of the post-apostolic Christian writers mentioned are Ignatius, Justin Martyr, Irenaeus, and Clement of Alexandria.
What role did bishops play in the early Christian church?
-Bishops played a significant role in the early Christian church, with those in metropolitan areas or churches established by apostles having the most influence. They helped maintain unity and mediate disputes among the Christian community.
What was the situation for Christians under Emperor Gallienus and how did it change under Emperor Diocletian?
-Under Emperor Gallienus in 260 AD, Christians were allowed to worship freely. However, this relative peace ended in 303 AD under Emperor Diocletian, who issued edicts to destroy churches, seize land, and burn books, attempting to revert Christians back to traditional Roman paganism.
How did the internal debates and the formation of splinter groups impact the early Christian church?
-Internal debates and the formation of splinter groups challenged the unity of the early Christian church, making it difficult to maintain a unified set of beliefs across Christendom.
Outlines
📜 Early Christian History and Persecution
This paragraph delves into the early history of Christianity, highlighting the period between the end of the New Testament and around 300 AD. It discusses how Christianity spread through the Roman Empire despite the pagan beliefs of the Romans, who worshipped multiple gods and had no separation between church and state. The Pontifex Maximus, often the Emperor, regulated religion. Christians were seen as a threat due to their refusal to worship pagan gods or the Emperor, leading to mob violence and local government persecution. The narrative also touches on the portrayal of Christians as cannibals and a scandalous sex cult due to their secretive practices. Official persecution is said to have begun under Emperor Nero in 64 AD, following the Great Fire of Rome, where Christians were blamed and brutally killed. The paragraph also mentions the destruction of Jerusalem in 70 AD and the continued growth of Christianity despite the loss of its central hub and the apostles. The rise of post-apostolic Christian literature and the challenges of maintaining unified beliefs within the faith are also discussed.
🕊️ The Ebb and Flow of Christian Persecution
The second paragraph continues the historical account by discussing the fluctuating levels of persecution faced by Christians. It notes a period of relative peace beginning in 260 AD when Emperor Gallienus allowed Christians to worship freely. However, this peace was short-lived, as Emperor Diocletian, in 303 AD, issued edicts demanding the destruction of churches, seizure of land, and burning of Christian texts. His aim was to force Christians back to traditional Roman paganism, leading to a period of intense violence and persecution. The paragraph concludes by setting the stage for the next episode, which will explore how Christianity, despite external persecution and internal divisions, persisted and evolved.
Mindmap
Keywords
💡Christianity
💡Apostles
💡Roman Empire
💡Pagan
💡Pontifex Maximus
💡Persecution
💡Nero
💡Post-apostolic
💡Bishops
💡Diocletian
💡Salvation
Highlights
Early Christian history is explored from the end of the New Testament to around 300 AD.
Christianity spread throughout the Roman Empire despite the apostles' deaths.
Ancient Romans were pagans with no separation between church and state.
The Pontifex Maximus was a government position responsible for regulating religion.
Pagan gods did not offer salvation, focusing on worldly benefits and disasters.
Christians were seen as disloyal and dangerous for not worshipping Roman gods.
Early persecution of Christians included mob violence and local government actions.
Christianity was portrayed negatively, with sacraments equated to cannibalism.
Official persecution began under Emperor Nero following the Great Fire of Rome in 64 AD.
Peter and Paul were believed to be killed during Nero's purge.
Despite the destruction of Jerusalem, Christianity continued to grow in the second century.
Post-apostolic Christian literature emerged from figures like Ignatius and Justin Martyr.
Leadership of the church shifted to local bishops, with the Bishop of Rome acting as a mediator.
Internal debates and splinter groups arose as Christianity was the minority religion.
Emperor Gallienus allowed Christians to worship freely in 260 AD.
Emperor Diocletian's edicts in 303 AD led to the destruction of churches and increased persecution.
Christianity's resilience is highlighted despite external persecution and internal division.
Transcripts
Hey guys! Hey guys! Hey guys! Hey! So in this episode, we're gonna get a
bird's-eye view of some early Christian history. We're gonna cover some key
events between the end-ish of the New Testament up to about 300 AD. Let's dive
right in.
So previously in Christianity, Christ atoned for our sins, he organized his
church, he died and was resurrected, Christ's apostles preached the gospel
and even as they were dying off, the Christian message continued to spread
throughout the Roman Empire. Now the ancient Romans were pagans meaning they
worshipped many gods and in Roman government there really was no
separation between church and state like there is now.
In fact, the Pontifex Maximus was a government position often the Emperor
himself which was responsible for regulating religion in the Empire, like a
secretary of religion, paganism was sponsored by the government and Rome
accepted gods from all over the empire into their pantheon of options. "Just so
many options. That one's good. Looks like a medieval warrior." But interestingly,
none of those pagan gods offered salvation in the afterlife. "You're a
fraud. So anything you can do." Pagan gods were very concerned with the here and
now. If you worship them and offered sacrifices, they bless you with rain or
military success, etc. If you didn't, there'd be a famine or a natural
disaster or other bad stuff. In fact, if the Romans lost a battle, sometimes
they'd send investigators to that area to figure out which gods they weren't
worshiping and then they'd add them to the pantheon. "That's called stealing you
know." The problem with the Christian God, however, was multifaceted. First of all,
Christians believed that salvation came via their God alone and all others were
false gods. They refused to offer sacrifices to pagan gods and refuse to
offer sacrifices to the Roman Emperor who was considered quasi divine so not
only were they seen as unloyal to the Empire but also the fact that they
weren't worshipping Roman gods was construed as dangerous because it might
call down the wrath of those gods. "It's time for the mortals to pay." So
anytime something bad happened, this new religious cult was an easy target.
"There you go again, blaming everything else but yourself." Early persecution
consisted mainly of mob violence or persecution at the local government
level. Christians had to worship in secret while people publicly villainized
them and spread rumors about their beliefs. The sacrament was portrayed as
cannibalism. Since they met in secret and greeted one another with a holy kiss,
they were portrayed as a scandalous sex cult. Things like that. Most scholars
believe official government sanctioned persecution began under the rule of
emperor Nero. So in about 64 AD, most of Rome was destroyed by a devastating fire.
According to the Roman historian Tacitus, rumors were circulating that Nero
himself had orchestrated the fire so he in turn blamed the Christians and
ordered that they be rounded up and killed. "Men in beast skins were torn to
death by dogs or attached to crosses or, at nightfall, lit as living torches." It's
believed that both Peter and Paul were killed in the purge. It was not a good
time to be a Christian nor was it a good time to be a Jew. In 70 AD, under Emperor
Vespasian, Rome put down a rebellion in Jerusalem destroying the temple and much
of the city, but even though Christianity central hub in Jerusalem had been
destroyed and the apostles were being picked off the Christian religious zeal
and promise of salvation kept the faith moving forward and they continued to
gain followers into the second century, persecution continued in varying degrees
throughout this century under various Emperor's but this century is also
noteworthy for the amount of new post-apostolic Christian literature that
comes forth stuff from Ignatius, Justin Martyr, Irenaeus Clement of Alexandria
and others and remember that Christianity was by far the minority
religion at this time. As converts came into Christianity, of course they brought
with them baggage from their previous faiths and after the era of the
travelling Apostles came to an end, leadership of the church fell to local
bishops. Bishops in more metropolitan areas or in churches established by
apostles generally had the most influence. For
example, the Bishop of Rome sometimes acted as a mediator. When disagreements
arose between other bishops but the absolute authority of the Bishop of Rome
later known as the Pope, was a concept that would continue to develop over many
years maintaining a unified set of beliefs across Christendom was a tough
deal. There was internal debate about beliefs and quasi christian splinter
groups had started to develop and would continue to appear into the third
century. In 260 AD, Emperor Gallienus issued a welcome edict allowing
Christians to basically worship freely and they enjoyed relative peace for more
than 40 years that ended in 303 AD when Emperor Diocletian issued multiple
edicts commanding that Christian churches be destroyed, land seized and
books burned. He wanted Christians to revert back to traditional Roman
paganism and things got bloody. This is where we're gonna end this episode but
as we'll see in the next episode, despite external persecution and internal
division, Christianity in one form or another,
was here to stay. There's obviously a lot we didn't cover feel free to fill in
some of the blanks in the comments section or check out the links in the
description for more info on this subject and have a great day.
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