Introduction
The Roman Empire persecuted early Christians for their religious views, and this process continued for several centuries. The pagan government accused Christians of the Roman Empire of promoting the dangerous cult, criminal activity, and treason. In most cases, the officials accused Christians of various offenses to justify violence against the ideological enemies in the pagan society who did not show their willingness to live according to the Roman culture and laws. The persecution of the first Christians and their commitment to religious views are described in the Holy Scripture as an example of martyrdom that manifests the most sincere faith in God.
Main body
The information about the persecutions of early Christians in the 1st century is predominantly indirect. For instance, Paul converted to the Christian faith after being among the zealous Pharisees who persecuted Christians. Paul says in the passage from Galatians 1:13: “For you have heard of my previous way of life in Judaism, how intensely I persecuted the church of God and tried to destroy it” (The Bible). These lines show that persecution of Early Christians who were in the minority in the Roman empire of that time was the usual thing. It was acceptable, but it was the duty of the Roman citizen to oppose the heresy. The laws of the Roman Empire in the 1st century regarded the spread of the new religion as a crime against the government; Christianity proposed people salvation if they broke the existing laws (Hultgren 97). It shows that persecution of Early Christians was supported by the state in the Roman Empire and was legit.
Christianity developed as the sect in Judaism, and the Jews did not regard it as a separate church for decades because the number of its followers was not essential. The opposition became evident when the number of Early Christians increased significantly, and the Pharisees saw the danger in the spread of Christianity. For example, Saint Stephen converted from Judaism to Christianity and was stoned for this decision (Williams 36). Apostle Paul describes a similar experience in 2 Corinthians 11, where he writes about stoning and beating with lashes for his belonging to Early Christians.
The Early Christians were persecuted in all corners of the Roman Empire, which emphasized the negative and prejudged attitude toward them that most people shared. For example, Nero, the Emperor of the Roman Empire, accused Christians of setting the great fire that killed thousands of people in Rome. After it, the Christian community was associated with evil and crime in the Roman Empire, leading to numerous deaths from persecutions (Williams 127). The peculiar detail was the attitude of the Early Christians to persecution. They did not oppose it and did not fight against injustice, thinking that it was their way to follow Jesus Christ’s example and save their souls. With time, the Early Christian community grew significantly and became numerous, and the peaceful attitude to suffering was among the ways that contributed to its popularity.
Martyrdom and willingness to die for the Christian faith have become integral parts of the religious worldview, and the persecutions of the Early Christians contributed to it. Coffey writes that readiness to death that the Early Christians manifested determined the radical attitude to violence in Medieval times, mainly during the Holy Crusades and the persecution of the heretics (108). In all cases, the Bible emphasizes that true Christians should be ready to die for their religious views. In 1 John 2:15-18 that Christians should not love anything in the surrounding world except their God the Father because the material reality and human flesh tempt the faithful. Only those who can get rid of their desires and love only God can save their souls. These lines illustrate the attitude to the earthly lives that Early Christians shared. They believed that death from the persecution emphasized their Christian character and allowed them to save their souls. It was the manifestation of the lowly and meek behavior described in the Holy Scripture as the role model for the believers (Coffey 110). Therefore, the persecution of the Early Christians formed the perception of martyrdom that remained unchangeable for centuries and became an integral part of the Christian doctrine.
Conclusion
To conclude, the persecution of the Early Christians was widespread in all provinces of the Roman Empire. The believers were regarded as criminals responsible for the destruction of society, which led to persecution. They were accused of treason and setting the cities on fire, even though there were no pieces of evidence that supported these words. Suffering, in their turn, made the faith of the Early Christians stronger because they believed that martyrdom helped them purify their souls and become closer to God. It made martyrdom an integral part of the Christian worldview, and Early Christians considered it the way to prove their faith. The period of persecution lasted until Christianity became the dominant religion in the Roman Empire, but until that time, thousands of Christians suffered from torture.
Works Cited
Coffey, John. “Early Modern Religious Violence and the Dark Side of Church History.” Transformation, vol. 34, no. 2, 2017, pp. 101–14.
Hultgren, Arland J. “Paul’s Pre-Christian Persecutions of the Church: Their Purpose, Locale, and Nature.” Journal of Biblical Literature, vol. 95, no. 1, 1976, pp. 97–111.
The Bible. The New Oxford Annotated Version. Oxford UP, 2001.
Williams, Travis B. Persecution in 1 Peter: Differentiating and Contextualizing Early Christian Suffering. Brill Academic Pub, 2012.