Living in World that Hates You: Roman Persecution during
the Early Years

In the popular mind, the early church was a noble army of Christian martyrs. In many
ways, it was. Yet the picture of defenseless believers in white robes before menacing lions
in an amphitheater with the echoes of shouts for blood is largely misleading. Before the
third century, Roman attempts to quell Christians were, at best, half-hearted. Few Roman
emperors were bloodthirst villains.

The Roman Empire was remarkably tolerant of religion in the territory they conquered.
Rome rarely interfered if the conquered lands paid homage to the emperor. The Jews were
the exception because of their willingness to turn their land into a blood-soaked wilderness
before acknowledging any allegiance to Rome. As long as Roman authorities considered
Christianity part of Judaism, followers of Jesus enjoyed immunity. It was not until Jewish
authorities fervently denied having anything to do with Christianity did the situation
changed.

From a Roman point of view, there were differences between the two. The Jews were “a
sort of closed corporation, a people set apart from others by the mark of circumcision, who
lived and worshipped largely by themselves, and did no active proselyting,” noted Bruce
Shelly. On the other hand, Christians always spoke about Jesus. They were set to make
the entire imperial nation followers. The rapid growth of Christianity showed that this was no
ideal dream. Most threatening to Roman authorities was not only their refusal to worship the
emperor, like the Jews, but their attempts to convince every subject in the empire to follow
their way.

The main cause for persecution lies in Christianity. Tertullian wrote in Apology, “We have
the reputation of living aloof from crowds.” The word used to describe Christians in the New
Testament is significant. The Greek word hagios is often translated as “saints.” Literally
translated, it means holy ones, but its root suggests different. So a holy thing is different
from other things. The temple is holy because it is different from other buildings. The
Sabbath day is holy because it differs from other days of the week. A Christian is a
fundamentally different person.

Men always view with suspicion people who are different. Conformity, not distinctiveness, is
the way to a trouble-free life. So, the more early Christians took their faith seriously, the
more they faced crowd reaction.

Fundamental to the Christian life and cause of endless hostility was the rejection of pagan
gods. To the Christians, these gods were nothing, and their denial marked the followers of
Jesus as “enemies of the human race.” One could not reject the gods without arousing
scorn as a social misfit. Pagan meals are initiated with an offering and prayers to a god. A
Christian could not share in that. Pagan ceremonies and feasts took place in temples where
sacrifices to the gods were made. A Christian could not attend such a feast. Refusing such
an invitation marked the Christian as rude, boorish, and discourteous. Other social events
carried the same weight of scorn, including attending gladiator events.

The supreme cause of the rift between Rome and Christians was over emperor worship.
This conflict between Christ and Caesar did not break out overnight. Only gradually did the
emperor’s worship assume a central place in the empire’s life. Thus, Christian worship and
Caesar worship eventually met head-on. The one thing no Christian was willing to say was,
“Caesar is Lord.” Only Christ was Lord. Romans, however, saw Christians as intolerant and
insanely stubborn. But worse, the Christian, in the Roman mind, was a self-professed
disloyal citizen. Had they only been willing to burn a pinch of incense and declare “Caesar
is Lord,” they would have served their God in peace. No true believer was willing to make
that declaration. Therefore, Roman authorities regarded them as a threat to internal
imperial peace.
– Kevin Goddu