Category: martyrdom
“Crown of Immortality”
“Through endurance he overcame the unjust ruler and thus received the crown of immortality.”(Martyrdom of Polycarp, 19:2) This conclusion to the suffering and eventual death of Polycarp at the hands of persecuting Romans, illustrates perfectly the Christian perspective on the death of a martyr. To “endure” is glorified as a value in Roman culture, and… Continue reading “Crown of Immortality”
Pliny and Ignatius.
For many people outside of religions it is easy to get tangled in which religion has what requirements and the different traditions and initiations of each sect to vary. For example many people do not know the differences between Lutherans and Catholics today. Rome had the same problem for about 300 years during the commencement… Continue reading Pliny and Ignatius.
Martyrdom (Perpetua)
During the second century many Christians were executed for their refusal to worship the emperor and pagan gods, and to deny Jesus. The Christians did not receive special pardon from the worship of idols because they were not a traditionally established religion like Judaism. Christianity was then seen as a threat to the Roman Empire… Continue reading Martyrdom (Perpetua)
Persecutions and Polycarp
The Romans are infamous for their tactics of executions. According to Lynch, in the first and second centuries, Roman authorities encouraged worship of the emperor (80). The emperor was seen as a god in the Roman population. If Christianity was emerging and growing quickly, the worshiping would shift from the emperor to the one true… Continue reading Persecutions and Polycarp
The Attack on Christianity
The focus on finding the explanation for the suffering is an on-going process in the history of Christianity. One of the biggest suffering Christians has to face is persecution. According to both Lynch and Ehrman, the Roman empire’s legal persecution that was held against Christians were developed over a period of the time—the violence against… Continue reading The Attack on Christianity