For example, an important Christian thinker, Origen, was arrested and tortured under this edict in 251 AD. It is possible that his death three years later was associated with wounds he had suffered during his persecution (257). The persecutions during this time were documented by correspondents between bishops. The bishop of Alexandria, Dionysius, described some of his church’s struggles in a letter to Fabius, the bishop of Alexandria. Dionysius indicated that there was persecution before the edict but the edict itself turned many believers away from the church.
Figures who people would look up to as “holy” would take advantage of their positions and their power. The Church began to conduct religious abuses such as selling church positions, selling indulgences, and supporting the luxurious lifestyle of the popes. Even corruption and immortality began to spur within the clergy. Churches charged their dedicated Catholic followers for the sins they committed in order to appease their own selfish greed. The Catholic Church was heavily corrupted, and once he realized it, what did he do?
By the description about the background, on the one hand, from the responses of the Christians to the plague and the persecution, for the Christian themselves, the story in the Bible made them have the the thought of tolerance and the spirit of love. No matter how hard the persecution were, no matter how many people have died of them, they still believe the Lord, the only god in their mind. They had no fear. And for the other people, because of the plague, the Bible made them realize their evils, they got saved from the plague and became the Christians, which I think it was a good influence in people's moral development. It is also a great event in the development of
America is very similar to Ancient Rome, but there are several differences. For example, the Roman Empire "fell" and America is still “standing”. Before ancient Rome “fell”, Rome started out as a small settlement of farmers on the Palatine hill. About one hundred years later, Rome became a republic. The Roman Empire started when Pax Romana or Roman peace began in 27 BCE under the rule of Augustus Caesar.
There were Christians who are known for being martyrs who were intentionally portrayed as being like Socrates. From this chapter, we learn that the connection between Christian and pagan martyrs happen to be problematic. The inspiration for killing Christ by these executions of Greek idols became argument within this chapter. This is where the idea of all martyrs was accepted. However, the reason for them being accepted was they died for Christ and followed in his
New York: HarperOne. Before reading “Chapter Four: How Persecuted Were the Early Christians?” in Candida Moss’ “The Myth of Persecution”, I had always believed the life as a Christian in the years following Jesus’ death as being times of constant suffering and death for people who had faith in Jesus, for that was what I had been taught in my twelve years of Catholic schooling. Candida Moss’s book argues for the truth surrounding Christian beliefs, the laws that were made that caused Christians to be persecuted, and the time periods the persecution of Christians had occured.
Although the cause of Christ is always advancing, as people have chosen death over life throughout history, nevertheless during the Crusades it does not seem to be effective. Efforts to evangelize the Muslims did arise however they often were performed under a heavy militant hand. Therefore, when the Holy Land was given back, Islam remained faithful to Muhammad. Additionally, the Fourth Crusade would reunite the East and West for a little more than fifty years. However, at the end of the Latin Empire in 1261, when Constantinople was retaken, enmity between the Greek East and the Latin West grew more intense.
That is why all the disciples had a radical change and became bold witnesses to everything they had seen, even to the point of dying for their beliefs. Therefore if the crucifixion and resurrection were not true then there would not be a point of them dying for something that is just a lie and made up it just does not make logical sense. For example, Simon Peter who was a coward that denied Jesus three times but after the resurrection became a courageous leader who later on ended up crucified upside down because of his convictions. I chose to believe this claim because only through Jesus a person can change like that, no person ever changes night to morning into a totally different person and it is pretty trustworthy that they were willing to give up their life because they protected and proclaimed the truth instead of giving up if it was just a lie. As well as women being the ones who discovered the empty tomb.
The Roman Empire had a largely corrupt government, which mismanaged the itself into a collapse. As a Representative Democracy, Roman leaders were “elected” to represent their people. But, their system was far from perfect. Voting was restricted for most, limiting the actual representation of the people to only the social elite. According to an anonymous primary source from the era, “Now in addition to these injuries, were with the arts of [greediness] afflict the provinces, comes the appalling greed of the provincial Governors, which is ruinous to the taxpayers’ interests.” These men work for their own self interests, not the public’s, which defeats the purpose of a democracy.
Those who did not acknowledge the pope as God’s representative and the Roman Catholic Church as the only true church was doomed. The Catholic Church used this as an advancement to raise money. The church would sell indulgences who would get you saved and less time in purgatory. Clergy were to promise to remain abstinence, but often fathered children. They were to