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| Roman Graffiti, Jesus Depicted as a Crucified Donkey |
Pliny the Younger
Pliny was compiled to deal with the Christian problem in his province. He had no desire to mistreat Christians, for they were not causing harm to any one or breaking no Roman law.
Yet, from Pliny's Roman perspective they needed to be dealt with .
All those people who were accused of being Christians need do was to renounce Christ and affirm their loyalty to Rome by offering a small burnt offering to the Empire and they would then be free to go their way.
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| Pliny the Younger |
Pliny found that Christians were guilty of really nothing worthy of harsh punishment other than being faithfully committed to someone other than the Emperor. Christians were committing no crimes against Rome.
Trojan's Policy
Pliny resolved to ask for guidance from his Emperor Trajan as to how Christians, were ,or were not, to be delta with.
Trojan wrote back his instructions to Pliny stating that there was no one policy that was established to the treatment of Christians.
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| Trajan |
That Pliny should only act to arrest and prosecute Christians if they were proven to be ,and admitted to being Christians.
Trajan also advised Pliny to not investigate anonymous accusation for they created a legal precedent for the courts which could cause future problems for the whole Roman judicial system.
Ignatius
Martyrdom however, was apart of the early Christan experience and these Christians faced it with confidence and boldness.
Ignatius was an early Christian minister and Bishop from Antioch, around 107 AD, he was arrested and was being transported to Rome where he would be tried and ultimately executed.
On his was to Rome Ignatius wrote a series of letters that were the result of conversations which Ignatius had with various Christians and church leaders in Asia Minor as he was being taken for trail.
Bishop Polybius from Tralles came to talk with Ignatious as did Bishop Philemon from Ephhesus, Ignatius also wrote letter to Bishop Polycarp who had been a disciple of the Apostle John.
It was reported that Ignatius received word that some Christians in Rome had a plan to get him released, but the aged minister refused their plan , he wrote them and discouraged them from going through with it. Ignatius would face his death and be a sacrifice for his Lord Jesus.
Early Christians saw martyrdom as something that some were ordained by God to face so as to bring glory to Christ, that Christians did not really choose to die but rather God chose them, that not all Christians were meant to die a martyrs death.
Bishop Polybius from Tralles came to talk with Ignatious as did Bishop Philemon from Ephhesus, Ignatius also wrote letter to Bishop Polycarp who had been a disciple of the Apostle John.
It was reported that Ignatius received word that some Christians in Rome had a plan to get him released, but the aged minister refused their plan , he wrote them and discouraged them from going through with it. Ignatius would face his death and be a sacrifice for his Lord Jesus.
Polyarp
Polycarp had been a disciple of John and had become a prominent leader in the Church. At the city of Smyrna Polycard along with other Christians were accused of being Christian;s they refused to recant their faith in Jesus and were to be executes.
One elderly Christian named Germanicus refused to turn form Jesus and faced death by wild beast. His boldness enraged the crowd and they demanded that Polycarp being found and brought to the arena.
Polycarp eluded capture for a few days. It was becoming harder to avoid arrest so Ploycarp came to the conclusion that God wanted him to face martyrdom and be a witness of the resurrected Jesus publicly, so he waited to be found by the authorities.
When Polycarp was brought before the Proconsul he refused to recant. The Proconsul shouted "away with this atheist" .
No threats from the Proconsul could frighten the aged Polycarp. He would face death thanking God that he was counted worthy to die in the service of Jesus.
Early Christians saw martyrdom as something that some were ordained by God to face so as to bring glory to Christ, that Christians did not really choose to die but rather God chose them, that not all Christians were meant to die a martyrs death.
Marcus Aurelius
Emperor Marcus Aurelius though a scholar and refined he was superstitious and would look to "seers" and always made scarifies to the "gods" before he did anything of consequence.
While he was Emperor there were several natural disasters, floods, epidemics, and military clashes. It became convenient to blame Christians for these occurrences. Marcus Aurelius put his voice behind such assertions as well in order to have reason to persecute Christians.
Felicitas
Felictas was a widow who served the church, she was so effective in serving Jesus that priest of the pagan "gods" reporter her to the authorities.At Rome she was brought before a Prefect who was unable to convince her to turn from Jesus. A message was sent to Marcus Aurelius requesting instructions ,explaining that the widow would not turn from Jesus. He answered back that she and her seven sons should die.Each of them were put to death in separate sections of the city of Rome.
Justin Martyr
Another who laid down his life for Jesus was Justin Martyr. He was one of the foremost Scholars of that time.Justin had been born to pagan parents in Judea Palestine around 100 AD and had an engaging mind and personalty. His interest always , at that time , were morals ethics and philosophy until he met and had discussions with and elderly Christian minister who explained the Gospel message about the person of Jesus. Justin became a convert and then a defender of the Christian message about the Lord.
At one point Justin had established an academy at Rome it;s self in
order to teach Christian thought. He had in a public setting
defeated a well known and highly admired pagan philosopher which may
have led to his arrest and his death at Rome in about 165 AD
"I Am a Christian"
In Lyons and Vienna Gaul, laws were enacted that were designed to keep Christians from interacting with people in the public places , so that they could not evangelize the populace of those communities . The atmosphere grew so hostile toward Christians that a mob began to seek out Christians and harass them.
Then calls for their death were shouted, several Christians were arrested and were to be taken to the Governor. A man named Vetius Epagathus stepped forward and asked if he could defend the arrested Christians, he asked if he could speak on their defense. The assembled mob asked if Vetius was a Christian, and he replied that he was, and was himself taken into custody.
Then calls for their death were shouted, several Christians were arrested and were to be taken to the Governor. A man named Vetius Epagathus stepped forward and asked if he could defend the arrested Christians, he asked if he could speak on their defense. The assembled mob asked if Vetius was a Christian, and he replied that he was, and was himself taken into custody.
The spontaneous persecution of the mob was unexpected by some of the Christians and when placed before the authorities found themselves unprepared and they renounced their faith, though most held firm which angered the Governor.
One Christan named Sanctus under painful torture would only answer "I am a Christian" . The worse that his torment became the more he asserted that he was a Christian. Some who denied Christ in the moment of weakness saw the faith and courage of their brethren, they then returned to the authorities and confessed that they ,like Sanctus, were Christians and would face suffering and death for Jesus.
With death of Emperor Marcus Aurelius in 180 AD there was time of relative peace for Christians. Commodus whose interest were in the gladiatorial games speared the church. After Commodus died there was a period of civil war in the Empire that led to the ascension of Septimius Severus to the throne in 193 AD.
Septimius Severus
Under Septimius Christians were, at the first left alone as he consolidated his power but eventually Septimius would bring to bear persecution upon the Christians himself. Through there were few times of "systematic persecution" by the Imperial government , mostly it came from the local circumstances, it was illegal to be a Christian yet Rome did not wish to incur the cost of seek Christians out , they would much rather leave them be alone, if they were able.
Septimius wanted order in the Empire, therefore he arrived at the conclusion that religion could build unity he therefore wanted all to worship "Sol Invictus", the Unconquered Sun.He saw this as a means to accomplish his goal of unity and order within the Roman world.
Under his plan and promotion of religious unity all "religions" and "philosophies" would be brought together as one. His edict was issued in 202 AD and set off several local persecution of Christians. One story is that of a young Christians woman named Perpetua she had come from a family of means, she and others were arrested, and sentence of not being Christians but rather defying the "Sol Invictus" edict, however Perpetua was pregnant.
The authorities hoped that she would renounce Jesus. Even Perpetua's own family attempted to persuade her to renounce Jesus, but Perpetua would not, she go into the area and face the wild beast.
She and another girl were thrown by a wild cow then was run through by the sword ,giving glory to Jesus as she died.
Perpetua after giving birth to a baby girl went to face her death in the area. The Christians in the early years felt that to die for Jesus gave glory to him as they were personally joining him in his sufferings and he with they. For some Roman authorities this gave the impression that Christians belonged to a death cult, but those believers were in truth demonstrating a love and and faithfulness toward Jesus Christ that went beyond the reasoning of this world.
To be Continued
Septimius wanted order in the Empire, therefore he arrived at the conclusion that religion could build unity he therefore wanted all to worship "Sol Invictus", the Unconquered Sun.He saw this as a means to accomplish his goal of unity and order within the Roman world.
Under his plan and promotion of religious unity all "religions" and "philosophies" would be brought together as one. His edict was issued in 202 AD and set off several local persecution of Christians. One story is that of a young Christians woman named Perpetua she had come from a family of means, she and others were arrested, and sentence of not being Christians but rather defying the "Sol Invictus" edict, however Perpetua was pregnant.The authorities hoped that she would renounce Jesus. Even Perpetua's own family attempted to persuade her to renounce Jesus, but Perpetua would not, she go into the area and face the wild beast.
She and another girl were thrown by a wild cow then was run through by the sword ,giving glory to Jesus as she died.
Perpetua after giving birth to a baby girl went to face her death in the area. The Christians in the early years felt that to die for Jesus gave glory to him as they were personally joining him in his sufferings and he with they. For some Roman authorities this gave the impression that Christians belonged to a death cult, but those believers were in truth demonstrating a love and and faithfulness toward Jesus Christ that went beyond the reasoning of this world.
To be Continued
Rev.Todd Crouch, Pastor
The
Fountain of Life Church a Congregation of Grace Communion
2101 Old National Pike.
2101 Old National Pike.
Washington,
Pennsylvania.
www.gcfountainoflife.org
The
Fountain of Life is heard on the RKP Radio Network 1710 and 1670 AM in
Washington and North Franklin ,and 1790 AM in the Arden Fair Grounds area
of Washington Pennsylvania, and on 1710 AM in Bentleyville and Monongahela,
Pennsylvania. And online around the world at www.rkpradio.com
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