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Apologetics

11. Questions about the Early Church

and PERSECUTION

(The Physical Opposition)

A series that helps consider the foundations for faith

Contents:

   

Introductory Comments

•  It is important to know about the early Church. 

1. What were the Main Problems facing the Early Church?

•  Setting the scene for what follows.

2. What were the times of Persecution in those early Centuries?

•  Identifying the periods of persecution/

3. How do these affect our Beliefs in the Historicity of the Early Church?

•  Understanding builds faith.

 

    

      

Introductory Comments

   

      

On this particular page we'll be looking at some of the difficulties of the early centuries of the Christian Church, particularly the persecutions that occurred in the centuries after Jesus' ascension and the passing of the Twelve.   On the following pages we'll see the Competitors that challenged the faith, the Heresies that sought to undermine the faith, and the people of the early centuries of church history who God used to overcome these problems. For the time being we focus on the persecutions.

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1. What were the Main Problems facing the Early Church?

Answer:     The centuries following Jesus were characterised by persecutions, competition and heresies   Without doubt these were centuries of all-out spiritual warfare with the enemy seeking to inhibit church growth, yet the opposite happened:   Enemy action Intention Effect Persecutions To frighten Christians and those who might be turning to the faith. The grace of God in the martyrs showed the reality of the faith and many were converted.   Competing Beliefs To steal away converts or prevent people becoming Christian believers    In fact were revealed as inadequate in the face of Christianity   Heresies To distort, confuse and water down the faith. The struggles against untruth meant the New Testament was written and creeds formulated to establish accepted doctrine.     In what follows we will consider the first of these attacks.

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2. What were the times of Persecution in those early Centuries?

Answer:        Sometimes historians suggest that persecution of the Christians by the Romans fall into the following main periods:     33 – 64 AD A low key time of opposition 64 – c250 AD Sporadic and localised c250 – 313 AD Systematic   Let's identify some of the opposition the Christians received (dates rough and vary according to scholar):   Romans Persecutions Emperors Ruled   Augustus 27BC-14 AD   Tiberius 14-37 AD ?33/34 Stephen stoned (by the Jews). Persecution breaks out (Acts 8). Jerusalem church scattered Caligula 37-41   Claudius 41-54 44 AD James the Greater (the apostle) killed by Herod (Acts 12) Nero 54-68 Early in 64 James the Less (the brother) was killed in Jerusalem by the high priest Later in 64 Nero blamed the fire of Rome on the Christians and persecuted the church harshly. It is possible that Peter and Paul both died in this persecution. A year later John Mark was martyred in Alexandria Vespassian 69-79   Titus 79-81   Domitian 81-96 Persecuted both Christians and Jews Nerva 96-98   Trajan 98-117 Eventually established the policy that he would not seek out Christians but if they were brought before the authorities they were to be punished for being Christians – this was usually execution. Ignatius killed about 110 Hadrian 117-138 Comparative lack of persecution Antonius Pius 138-161 155 – Polycarp burnt Marcus Aurelius 161-180 Put aside Trajan's policy and actively persecuted Christians Lucius Verus 161-169 Justin Martyr beheaded in Rome c165 Commodus 177/80-192 Very little persecution Pertinax 193 Very little persecution Didius Julianus 193   Septimius Serverus 193-211 Persecution now regulated by new edicts – mostly against new Christians Caracalla 198/2112-217   Macrinus 217-218 No persecution Elagabalus 218-222 No persecution Severus Alexander 222-235 No persecution Maximinus 235-238 Persecution mainly against leaders Gordian I & II 238 No persecution Balbinus & Pupienus 238 No persecution Gordian III 238-244 No persecution Philip the Arab 244-249 No persecution Decius 249-251 Full scale systematic persecution against the Christians certificates issued for sacrificing to Roman gods : failure = death Gallus 251-253 Maintained but not so strong Valerian 253-260 Near end of reign church leaders singled out to worship gods: failure = exile or imprisonment, and later, death. Origen died in this. Gallienus 260-268 Only little persecution Various 270-284 Minor persecution only Diocletian 284 – 305 303 - Fiercest full scale systematic persecution against the Christians – edicts for destruction of church buildings, imprisonment of clergy etc. 304 – edict to worship gods – in Asia Minor and Rome many killed Galerius 293-311 issued an edict of toleration for all religious creeds including Christianity Constantine 306-337 the Edict of Milan in 313, bestowed imperial favor on Christianity in the Empire for the first time & persecution stopped   To see fuller details of those who were martyred go to Christian Classic Ethereal Library - http://www.ccel.org/ and look under author for “Foxe” for Foxe's Book of Martyrs. Alternatively try Christian Martyrs by Robert Backhouse.

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3. How do these affect our Beliefs in the Historicity of the Early Church?

Answer:     There are those somewhat unwise people who question the very historicity of Jesus Christ. That we consider elsewhere on these pages, but what these later years indicate (and it is very clearly attested to) is that spreading all over the area we now call the Middle East, was an increasing number of people called Christians – from Lyons in the west in Gaul, in Rome, in many of the towns of Asia Minor and in the great metropolis of Alexandria in Africa.   More than this, as we'll see on the following pages, the leaders were quite clear as to their beliefs in the historical person of Jesus Christ, and wrote at great length about his being and about the doctrines of the church, and this on top of the witness of hundreds if not thousands who died for their certainty of their faith, builds a massive foundation of belief for us.   This phenomena of a rapidly spreading church that is clear about its beliefs and willing to die for them, is not only almost unique in history but is numerically so great as demands the attention of any person of intellectual integrity to look into these things.   Again, we must suggest, there would be absolutely no point in so many of these men dying for their beliefs, unless they were utterly convinced of the truthfulness of them.   The fact of the persecutions, so many Roman emperors being threatened by this new faith, and the fact of so many dying for their faith, attests to the historical certainty of the existence of the early church and its founder, Jesus Christ.

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