Vulnerable Orphaned Christianity
Most of us remember ancient history, if we remember it at all, in generalized blocks without particular details. We know, for example, that Rome persecuted Christianity—but many don’t really know why.
In the ancient world gods were national. When one nation conquered another, the god-stories of the conquered often merged with those of the conquerors. This process of merging religions is called syncretism.
Except for the Jews, who insisted that their God, though national, was more than national. Yahweh was God of the whole world (and the whole creation) and the only real God. The Jews refused to syncretize.
Rather than force assimilation and risk Jewish uprisings, the Caesars respected the long ancestral heritage of the Jewish people and granted exceptions to them: allowing the offering of sacrifices on behalf of the emperor rather than to him, allowing Sabbath observance and the right to assemble, and exemption from military service. Political power was held by the Herod family, half-Jews who worked compromises with Rome to keep themselves in power and peace in Palestine. The Jewish high priests were appointed by Rome and priestly vestments were held by the Romans to control access to them, making the priests subservient to Rome’s wishes.
Christianity, its first adherents all Jews, was seen at first as a sect of Judaism (e.g. Acts 16.16-24). As long as that was the case, the Roman government left Christianity alone. The Romans weren’t interested in the technicalities of Jewish theology.
The first persecutors of the Christians were the Jews, not the Romans. The priests had the Temple guard arrest Peter and John (Acts 3-4) and then others of the apostles (Acts 5). The problem was religious--preaching that Jesus was the Christ--but also social and political—messages that blamed Jewish leaders for executing Jesus.
The rant of Stephen against Jewish hardness of heart in killing Jesus (Acts 7) led to his stoning, approved by a zealous Pharisee, Saul of Tarsus, who, later on his way to arrest Christians in Damascus was converted by a vision of Jesus (Acts 9). Now known as “Paul”, his preaching of Christ in the synagogues of Damascus led to Jewish plots on his life (Acts 9.23).
Most of the remainder of Acts records Paul’s journeys through Asia Minor and Greece, preaching and establishing Christian churches. Paul’s policy was “to the Jews first” and his preaching in the synagogues generated many Jewish conversions to Christianity (e.g. Acts 13.43, 14.1, 17.11-12).
But Jews who didn’t wish to convert saw Christianity as an abandonment of the Mosaic law and Temple worship (Acts 21.21, 28 cf. 18.13). Jewish belligerents often stirred up crowds and fomented riots against Paul and his compatriots (Acts 13.45-50, 14.2, 17.13). Nothing would get the attention of Roman government more than social unrest and a good, disorderly riot!
Jewish agitators tried several times, unsuccessfully, to pin the blame for rioting on Paul and his friends (Acts 18.12ff, 19.33ff). When Jewish pilgrims from Asia Minor recognized Paul in the Jerusalem Temple, they stirred up the Jewish populace, seized Paul, and tried to kill him (Acts 21.27-31). Roman soldiers broke up the attempted murder and arrested and imprisoned Paul to protect him from Jewish rage (Acts 21.31-36).
Most persecutions of Christians were local and brief, e.g. that under Nero (AD 64-68) which led to martyrdom for Peter and Paul and that under Domitian (AD 93-96) which appears to have led to the apostle John’s exile on Patmos (though some historians believe John was exiled under Nero). More systematic persecutions were put in place by later emperors.
The separation of Christianity from its Jewish mother made it an unwanted orphan. Roman persecution wasn’t immediately theological. Rather, Romans disliked the social and political effects of Christian theology—something we should be cognizant of in our own time.
The acknowledgment of faith in one God meant a refusal to acknowledge the Roman gods. Roman gods were intricately wound into the practices and values of the social order, so refusal to participate in important aspects of Roman culture and worse, to espouse values that ran counter to the Roman culture, created discomfort and conflict.
Perhaps the greatest problem, however, was the acknowledgment of Jesus as the King of Kings and Lord of Lords (e.g. Acts 17.6-7) which robbed the emperor of that honor. This faithfulness to King Jesus and their refusal to burn incense to the emperor was seen as a treason worthy of death—and over the early centuries created most of the famous Christian martyrs.
More about that in a future blog…
In the ancient world gods were national. When one nation conquered another, the god-stories of the conquered often merged with those of the conquerors. This process of merging religions is called syncretism.
Except for the Jews, who insisted that their God, though national, was more than national. Yahweh was God of the whole world (and the whole creation) and the only real God. The Jews refused to syncretize.
Rather than force assimilation and risk Jewish uprisings, the Caesars respected the long ancestral heritage of the Jewish people and granted exceptions to them: allowing the offering of sacrifices on behalf of the emperor rather than to him, allowing Sabbath observance and the right to assemble, and exemption from military service. Political power was held by the Herod family, half-Jews who worked compromises with Rome to keep themselves in power and peace in Palestine. The Jewish high priests were appointed by Rome and priestly vestments were held by the Romans to control access to them, making the priests subservient to Rome’s wishes.
Christianity, its first adherents all Jews, was seen at first as a sect of Judaism (e.g. Acts 16.16-24). As long as that was the case, the Roman government left Christianity alone. The Romans weren’t interested in the technicalities of Jewish theology.
The first persecutors of the Christians were the Jews, not the Romans. The priests had the Temple guard arrest Peter and John (Acts 3-4) and then others of the apostles (Acts 5). The problem was religious--preaching that Jesus was the Christ--but also social and political—messages that blamed Jewish leaders for executing Jesus.
The rant of Stephen against Jewish hardness of heart in killing Jesus (Acts 7) led to his stoning, approved by a zealous Pharisee, Saul of Tarsus, who, later on his way to arrest Christians in Damascus was converted by a vision of Jesus (Acts 9). Now known as “Paul”, his preaching of Christ in the synagogues of Damascus led to Jewish plots on his life (Acts 9.23).
Most of the remainder of Acts records Paul’s journeys through Asia Minor and Greece, preaching and establishing Christian churches. Paul’s policy was “to the Jews first” and his preaching in the synagogues generated many Jewish conversions to Christianity (e.g. Acts 13.43, 14.1, 17.11-12).
But Jews who didn’t wish to convert saw Christianity as an abandonment of the Mosaic law and Temple worship (Acts 21.21, 28 cf. 18.13). Jewish belligerents often stirred up crowds and fomented riots against Paul and his compatriots (Acts 13.45-50, 14.2, 17.13). Nothing would get the attention of Roman government more than social unrest and a good, disorderly riot!
Jewish agitators tried several times, unsuccessfully, to pin the blame for rioting on Paul and his friends (Acts 18.12ff, 19.33ff). When Jewish pilgrims from Asia Minor recognized Paul in the Jerusalem Temple, they stirred up the Jewish populace, seized Paul, and tried to kill him (Acts 21.27-31). Roman soldiers broke up the attempted murder and arrested and imprisoned Paul to protect him from Jewish rage (Acts 21.31-36).
Most persecutions of Christians were local and brief, e.g. that under Nero (AD 64-68) which led to martyrdom for Peter and Paul and that under Domitian (AD 93-96) which appears to have led to the apostle John’s exile on Patmos (though some historians believe John was exiled under Nero). More systematic persecutions were put in place by later emperors.
The separation of Christianity from its Jewish mother made it an unwanted orphan. Roman persecution wasn’t immediately theological. Rather, Romans disliked the social and political effects of Christian theology—something we should be cognizant of in our own time.
The acknowledgment of faith in one God meant a refusal to acknowledge the Roman gods. Roman gods were intricately wound into the practices and values of the social order, so refusal to participate in important aspects of Roman culture and worse, to espouse values that ran counter to the Roman culture, created discomfort and conflict.
Perhaps the greatest problem, however, was the acknowledgment of Jesus as the King of Kings and Lord of Lords (e.g. Acts 17.6-7) which robbed the emperor of that honor. This faithfulness to King Jesus and their refusal to burn incense to the emperor was seen as a treason worthy of death—and over the early centuries created most of the famous Christian martyrs.
More about that in a future blog…