[1] On the holy mount stands the city he founded; [2] the Lord loves the gates of Zion more than all the dwelling places of Jacob. [3] Glorious things are spoken of you, O city of God. [4] Among those who know me I mention Rahab and Babylon; behold, Philistia and Tyre, with Ethiopia -- "This one was born there," they say. [5] And of Zion it shall be said, "This one and that one were born in her"; for the Most High himself will establish her. [6] The Lord records as he registers the peoples, "This one was born there." [7] Singers and dancers alike say, "All my springs are in you."

  The Roman Empire had room for all kinds of religions, yet Christianity jus didn’t fit. Many charges were leveled against the believers – some outrageously false, and others true. Many of the chares will surprise you.

III  Program 3: Accusation

Introduction and Background

The church can become very ingrown. We have our own culture, our own ways of speaking and thinking. It’s hard for us to imagine what others think of us. We might say, “My fellow Christian, I was so blessed by you telling me about your faith. The way you live out your stewardship of Time and Talent in the Church, is a real inspiration for me and so many other people!” That sounds very clear to those of us within the circle of believers. But on the outside, people are saying, “Huh? What? Does that mean anything?”

It was the same story in the early church. Christians talked about “brothers and sisters” sharing “love” with a “holy kiss”—no telling what dirty Roman minds would think. They spoke of “eating the Body and Blood of the Son”—and gross pictures of cannibalism were conjured.

We will never make an impact on our world until we communicate with people in their language. The early church, too, had to learn to communicate with the pagan world in which it lived. As the Roman Empire began to understand more clearly what the church really was, two changes occurred. (I) More people were drawn to it. (2) Persecution was stepped up as authorities began to realize what a serious threat it was.

Let’s backtrack. At first, Christianity was seen as a part of Judaism. As such, the authorities didn’t have to pay much attention to it. And, in fact, much of the church’s original growth occurred among “God fearers”: Gentiles who were already drawn to the Jewish faith.

In 64 AD., Nero (along with the rest of the empire) was beginning to see that Christianity was different from Judaism, that it was stepping out into the Gentile world. This made Christians a convenient scapegoat. For the next hundred years or so, it appears that the Romans saw Christianity as a primitive religion with strange, secret rites. Roman historians of this period, such as Tacitus and Suetonius, as well as Governor Pliny, called it a “superstition.” This carries the sense of it being a bit vulgar and lower class. Pliny and others also called Christianity a “club.” There were other guilds, “burial societies,” and social clubs in Roman society, most of these harmless and quite patriotic, but Christians were pointedly anti-social, not participating in the public worship of Roman gods. Thus, this “club” was potentially dangerous and subversive. But, in general, Roman authorities didn’t get too excited about persecuting the church. Christians were ornery children who needed a spanking. It was expected that sharp discipline would bring them into line.

Christianity may have gained some legitimacy in Roman eyes as a “burial society.” The Romans themselves were very supersti­tious about death. (It was extremely important that everyone have a proper burial.) Thus, especially among the lower classes, people would band together, pooling their funds to pay for funerals when one of them died (something like group health insurance). The Christian view of death, as a birth into immortality, was appealing to some; therefore, their funeral services were distinctive. This no doubt gained them adherents among the lower classes and prob­ably gained credibility with the upper classes.

Beginning with Justin Martyr about 150 AD. and continuing through Tertullian, Origen, and lrenaeus, the church had some dynamic spokesmen. We don’t know how many in Roman society read their works, probably very few, but suddenly we have a sense that people within the church were caring about how they looked to those outside the church. They were trying to correct false assumptions the Roman world had made about the Christians.

So, toward the end of the second century, we find the Roman physician Galen speaking respectfully of Christianity as a philo­sophical school. In the 200’s we find Origen debating in print the earlier work of the Roman philosopher Celsus. We don’t have the original writing of Celsus, but some think that he was responding to arguments set forth by Justin. The point is that Christians had entered the larger arena of public debate.

Around the year 200, Emperor Septimius Severus made it illegal to convert to Christianity. This indicates that people were con­verting: probably the upper class, since the emperor probably wouldn’t have cared that much about the lower class. Indeed, the most famous convert killed for her faith in North Africa at that time was Perpetua from an upper-class family. Twenty and thirty years later, we find members of the imperial household converting to Christianity. The mother of Emperor Alexander Severus even invited Origen to tutor her in the faith.

Now Christianity was a major force with which to be reckoned. Emperors launched two more major waves of persecution, around 250 and 300, but they weren’t spanking children anymore. They were wrestling a bear.

The Romans feared the growing numbers of Christians and considered them a threat to their society, religion, and empire. The Christians rejected the pantheon of Roman gods, thus threatening the fabric of society. (Nearly every week, the Romans had a festival honoring some god.) The Christian avoidance of war threatened the Roman military and defense of the empire. It is possible that the Christian sense of the equality of all people even threatened the class-consciousness of Roman society.

For all of these reasons, emperors like Decius and Diocletian made well-thought decisions to eradicate Christianity—or at least to try. They recognized that Christianity could change what Rome was, if it wasn’t checked. They were right. (Of course, later Greek and Roman culture also enriched  Christianity, but that’s another story.

IV. SHOWING THE VIDEO – 3O MINUTES

V. SOME QUESTIONS

   1. What were some of the accusations against Christians and Christianity?

   2. What was the basis of these accusations? Were any of them true? Were some completely false? Were some understandable misunderstandings?

   3. Throughout this Video how would describe the attitude of the pagan, Caecilius?

   4. What was the attitude of Octavius, the Christian?

   5. Caecilius accused the church of meeting in secret early in the morning – therefore they had to be doing something wrong. How did Octavius answer this charge? Might there be other reasons?

   6. What do you think Caecilius’ real problem was with Christianity?

V. TOPICS FOR GROUP REFLECTION

    1. Are We Persecuted Today?

    Some Christians today feel persecuted. They sense that society has slipped away from Christian principles. Thirty years ago, they say, this country was Christian. There was respect for Christian beliefs. Now, they feel, the media laugh at the church. Politicians mouth Christian piety but do not live it. Society knows little about Christ and doesn’t want to. And courts regularly curtail the expression of Christianity in public life. This does not happen just in the United States. What do you think about this?

   2. Christians and the Times

   If some of this is true, some Christians may feel afraid for what the future will bring for the Church and the churches. Some Christians may be angry about this and feel great frustration. Do some of these attitudes spill out to the society around us, rather than the love of Christ? How did Christ deal with opposition? Was He passive and uninvolved, or did he address the negativity He faced frankly and directly? How should Orthodox Christians deal with the misplaced values of our time, and with anti-Christian forces in our society?

   3. Why do some people dislike Christianity today?

     Do they have their own agendas, ethical, ideological, political, life-style, etc. How should we address these concerns? Should we respond in love; consider ourselves “blessed” when we are persecuted, learn from adversity and grow spiritually, isolate ourselves from such influences; respond with gentleness and respect; examine ourselves when we are persecuted to determine whether it is by our behavior or words that we have antagonized others?

V. CLOSING PRAYER – KONTAKION HYMN OF THE PRESENTATION OF CHRIST

   O Christ our God, / who through Your birth / have sanctified the virginal womb / and have blessed the arms of Symeon, / You have come today to save us! / When wars prevail, / keep Your people in peace / and strengthen our public authorities / in every good deed, / for You alone are the one who loves humankind. Amen.