¶ … Persecution of the Early Church (pick a specific outbreak caused by a Roman emperor, the reasons for the outbreak, and the results). The article that was written by De Ste. Croix (1963) is talking about how Christians were persecuted after the Great Fire of Rome in July 64 AD. At the time, Nero believed that they were responsible for these events in order to challenge the Emperor Nero's leadership. He was paranoid and felt that Christians were a threat to his rule. As he believed, that they intentionally started the fire to draw attention to his incompetence and encourage others to embrace their faith. This meant abandoning state sponsored religions and engaging in acts of disobedience. While at the same time, they wanted to challenge many of the large public works projects and the polices of the government. However, De Ste. Croix thinks that Nero did not use the fire as a way to enhance his power. Instead, it was Nero's opinion that Christians were responsible, which led to their persecution and hundreds of deaths in the aftermath....
The result is that Christians were seen as martyrs who were directly challenging Roman beliefs. This meant that their faith grew stronger because of the actions taken by Nero in the aftermath. De Ste. Croix is a theological and history professor at Oxford University. His insights helped to provide other theories as to why this occurred and its historical legacy.[footnoteRef:2] [2: GE De Ste. Croix, "Why were the Early Christians Persecuted," Past and Present, 26, no.2, (November 1963): 6 -- 38. ]
Christianity THE ROMAN WAY Rome exerted tremendous pressure on its colonies to conform, and do things in the Roman Way. When in Rome, one does as the Romans do. The Via Romana is a road referring to the Roman way. Rome conquered Alexander's vast empire and then imposed the Imperium (the imperial right to rule) upon the world. Religio-Romana refers to the Roman religion of paganism and polytheism. Roman religion. Romans are
Subsequently, other Daoist sages who were influential include Yu, Shun, and Yao. The principle early Daoist text was written by unknown individuals in the 3rd century BC and based on the earlier teachings of Lao Zi. Unlike most other religions Daoism does not emphasize any specific doctrines or beliefs, instead focusing mainly on the mechanisms for teaching and sharing communal values. The most popular deity accepted by Daoists is
He notes that the word used is "metamorphoustai," a Greek word, and it contains the word "morphe," whihyc means "essence." The process involves the aforementioned sacrifice of the body, and it also involves a renewal of the mind, meaning that the inner self is changed by the process to become like Christ. This is discussed elsewhere in the scriptures, notably in Philippians chapter four. John Piper writes that the aim
All classes of people during the Middle Ages were averse to bathing, as it was seen as a way to care for the body. The body was not respected in any sense, and was neglected as much as possible. Indeed, many saw the fleas and lice that resulted from a prolonged lack of sanitation and hygiene as simply part of the body and hence of sin. The combination of early Christianity
Papal authority is challenged by Protestants, who generally support a more personal relationship between the individual and the divine. However, all Christians share several fundamental philosophical beliefs in common, including monotheism; dualism; sin and salvation. These beliefs are expressed through the Christian worldview, concepts of afterlife, and commentary on the major metaphysical problem of human existence: sin. First, monotheism precludes anyone sympathetic to polytheistic worship from completely embracing Christianity, although Catholic
Decius had come to the throne at a particularly crucial time. Rome had just celebrated its one thousandth year of rule in 247, but the Goths had attacked Rome in 248. Decius had forced the Goths out of the Danube provinces and in return had been hailed emperor by his troops (he would die fighting the Goths in June 251). In the midst of this crisis, Decius appealed to
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