Persecution in the Early Church



Persecution in the Early Church

Introduction

The War on Christmas is one of a number of political moments in which Christians have begun claiming persecution. When the Ten Commandments are removed from public courthouses and when crosses are removed from public land, some complain loudly that Christians are under attack in America. Frequently, the solution to this perceived deterioration is framed in terms of taking America back. Perhaps it is a faint awareness of this deficiency, alongside the profound reach of Judeo-Christian ethics, which has also made Americans sympathetic to the character of the victim. Indeed, one might argue that the success of the American Civil Rights Movement was, in part, due to the ability of well-trained activists to sustain the most inhumane treatment imaginable and to then advertise this suffering as proof of the nobility of their cause. Activists who were previously characterized as dangerous or radical could now be recast as innocents, as victims, whose protection had to be provided by all of those with consciences. Practically speaking, this study offers insight into one sort of resistance to progressive projects aimed at producing social equity. Theoretically, this project offers an investigation and further refinement of counter public as a useful conceptual tool for the study of the public sphere. Therefore, all the issues related to Persecution in the Early Church will be discussed in detail.

Discussion

The relationship between Jews and Christians at any time in the history of the two religions is difficult to describe. This is especially true of the first few centuries of the Christian Era because of the nature of the evidence. Despite the various, complex issues involved in describing the relationship between Jews and Christians, certain scholars suggest a complete split in contact and influence. In this model Judaism and Christianity, as religious entities, had a clear “parting of ways” at some time before the end of the second century. In this model, it is primarily meant that Jews and Christians “parted ways” in their religious identities. In the traditional model, ancient Judaism and Christianity are well-defined religious entities; where one ends and the other begins is (somewhat) easy to determine. The separation of the two religions is typically centered upon theology or praxis. In this model Christianity is typically conceived of as a “child” of the “parent” Judaism. If one can determine what constituted mainline Judaism, or at least construct the common threads that run through various Jewish groups, then one can determine where Christianity strayed from it.

An understanding of Jewish-Christian relations that is predicated upon a distinct rupture at some point before the end of the second century has come under much criticism. Scholars are now presenting radically different historical reconstructions than their predecessors. Existing cultural, geographical, literary, exegetical, and historical data is being used in an attempt to understand the complex relationship each religion shared. Before an examination of some of the evidence scholars present in support of interaction can take place, it is necessary to turn ...