Premium Essay

Christian Resistance: Christianity's Growth In The Roman Empire

Submitted By
Words 658
Pages 3
Alexa Tomas
Professor Tong
THEO 3310
20 February 2018
Christian Resistance
Christianity’s growth in the Roman Empire encountered difficulties due to social and cultural differences with Roman civilization. Christianity spread throughout the Roman Empire through followers of Christianity called Christians by preaching its messages. However, Romans were intolerant toward Christians because they refused to praise the Roman emperor and Roman gods, which harmed the protection of the Empire, and they were scapegoated for Roman’s social and economic problems. Some view the relations between Christianity and other religions as incompatible, but also shared elements with other surrounding religions. Assimilation is defined as a coexistence between conflicting …show more content…
The empire persecuted Christians, but in the 4th Century when Constantine came to power, he decided the empire would use Christianity as a tool for unifying and integrating the empire. In Eusebius’ Oration in Praise of Constantine he asks, “who has instructed…unnumbered multitudes of all nation, to live in the contempt of death…expecting God’s award to the righteous and the wicked, and therefore true to the practice of a just and virtuous life?” (Eusebius 5). Constantine had united those with differences under Christianity by instruction. However, Eusebius later said, “how shall we enough admire that steadfast firmness of soul which strengthened, not merely his immediate followers, but their successors also…in the joyful endurance of every infliction, and every form of torture, in proof of their devotion to the Supreme God?” (Eusebius 6). Eusebius attributed the prosperity of Christianity under Constantine by strengthening the souls of Christians to endure and challenge the power that would punish them for their name, which often led to …show more content…
The Christians saw their resistance differently than the Romans. Christians were willing to suffer for their devotion to God and instead of choosing survival by giving into the Romans, they chose to be self-sacrificial until their deaths. In Ignatius’ The Letter of Ignatius to the Romans, Ignatius pleaded, “For if you remain silent and leave me alone, I will be a word of God, but if you love my flesh, then I will again be a mere voice” (Ignatius 227). Ignatius saw death as a more meaningful example of what Christians should aspire to and how devoted they are to Christianity. He wanted to prove he was a true disciple and by allowing him to “be an imitator of the suffering of my God” (Ignatius 233). Christian resistance had no hate, but rather rooted in love to show their love and obedience to

Similar Documents

Premium Essay

A Good E-Book on Various Religions Across the World

...THE HANDY RELIGION AN SWE R BOOK JOHN RENARD Detroit The Handy Religion Answer Book™ C O P Y R I G H T © 2002 BY VI S I B LE I N K PRE SS® This publication is a creative work fully protected by all applicable copyright laws, as well as by misappropriation, trade secret, unfair competition, and other applicable laws. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form without permission in writing from the publisher, except by a reviewer who wishes to quote brief passages in connection with a review written for inclusion in a magazine or newspaper. All rights to this publication will be vigorously defended. Visible Ink Press® 43311 Joy Rd. #414 Canton, MI 48187-2075 Visible Ink Press and The Handy Religion Answer Book are trademarks of Visible Ink Press LLC. Most Visible Ink Press books are available at special quantity discounts when purchased in bulk by corporations, organizations, or groups. Customized printings, special imprints, messages, and excerpts can be produced to meet your needs. For more information, contact Special Markets Director, Visible Ink Press, at www.visibleink.com or (734) 667-3211. Art Director: Mary Claire Krzewinski Typesetting: Graphix Group Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Renard, John, 1944The handy religion answer book / John Renard. p. cm. ISBN 1-57859-125-2 (pbk.) 1. Religions--Miscellanea. I. Title. BL80.2 .R46 2001 291--dc21 Printed in the United States of America All rights reserved ...

Words: 245202 - Pages: 981

Premium Essay

The Cultural Patterns of the Native American Groups Prior to European Colonization.

...Beverly, Rose A. His 221 010 August 27, 2011 Morris, Erin The cultural patterns of the Native American groups prior to European colonization. Even though Christopher Columbus claimed to have discovered the Americas in 1492, it was already inhabited some fifteen to twenty thousand years prior. The glaciers were reduced because of global warming and this gave the nomadic hunters access to the core of the North American continent. Amazingly, this contributed to their food supply abundantly and this produced a swift population growth. More changes became evident in the environment which included a new food source such as fish, nuts and berries. These Native Americans, known as Paleo-Indians, adjusted and propelled forward. Because they were exposed to a new food source they discovered how to cultivate certain plants. At this stage, the Agriculture Revolution was born and this significantly altered the Native American culture. With a more stable food source these Indians became docile and established. This also helped in establishing stable villages and eventually led to some type of government which included elders and leaders. The Eastern Woodland Cultures did not practice agriculture first and foremost but supplemented their food chain with hunting and fishing. They had settled in the northern region along the Atlantic coast. The Algonquian-speaking Natives resided from North Carolina to Main and spoke many different...

Words: 7887 - Pages: 32

Free Essay

Chapter 1 Human Geo Notes

...Chapter 1 - Geography Matters: Definitions: * Human geography the study of the spatial organization of human activity and of people’s relationships with their environments * Cartography: the body of practical and theoretical knowledge about making distinctive visual representations of Earth’s surface in the form of maps * Map projection: a systematic rendering on a flat surface of the geographic coordinates of the features found on Earth’s surface * Ethnocentrism: the attitude that a persona’s own race and culture are superior to those of others * Imperialism: the extension of the power of a nation through direct/indirect control of the economic and political life of other territories * Masculinism: the assumption that the world is and should be shaped mainly by men for men * environmental determinism: a doctrine holding that human activities are controlled by the environment * globalization: the increasing interconnectedness of different parts of the world through common processes of economic, environmental political and cultural change * ecumene: the total habitable area of a country. Sine it depends on the prevailing technology, the available ecumene varies over time. Canada’s ecumene is so much less than its total area. * Geodemographic research: investigation using census data and commercial data (i.e. sales data and property records) about populations of small districts to create profiles of those populations for market research ...

Words: 24912 - Pages: 100

Free Essay

Fascism

...4 March: City of God – Utopian Reader – include a little bit on it – 22 volumes in all. Christianity – Augustine – classicly trained greek scholar. City in north Africa. Story like apostle Paul – orginially a person who persecuted Christians – north African wealth family from – found enlightenment in Christianity. Once he joined became one of the early scholars trained in greek – regulized Christian theology. Influence on western world – top four or five who influenced. Confessions and City of God his writings…look up! What’s the purpose of improving human society – complex – why do it? Can human society be made better? Why bother, what is the point, justification? Takes effort, misery involved, change, unknowns, takes energy, takes risks. HAPPINESS – justification for improving society. What do you have to have to be happy? What is happiness – PHI 101 – happiness according to whom? Lack of misery; literally the elimination of misery. Secondly, food – gives pleasure – Happiness is lack of human misery and maximizing /pleasure and happiness. Bliss 24/7 – hedonism Epicureanism – eliminating misery and maximizing happiness. The justification of utopianism = why did plato want the republic? Justisifcation for improving human society among the Greeks? Poor always poor, always unhappy, death claims everyone - it is rational to maximize pleasure and eliminate misery. Do eternally accouding to plato. Opinions – 1. Relativism is a retreat in the 20th century. Can’t...

Words: 44275 - Pages: 178

Premium Essay

Jared Diamond Collapse

...COLLAPSE HOW S O C I E T I E S CHOOSE TO FAIL OR S U C C E E D JARED DIAMOND VIK ING VIKING Published by the Penguin Group Penguin Group (USA) Inc., 375 Hudson Street, New York, New York 10014, U.S.A. Penguin Group (Canada), 10 Alcorn Avenue, Toronto, Ontario, Canada M4V 3B2 (a division of Pearson Penguin Canada Inc.) Penguin Books Ltd, 80 Strand, London WC2R ORL, England Penguin Ireland, 25 St. Stephen's Green, Dublin 2, Ireland (a division of Penguin Books Ltd) Penguin Books Australia Ltd, 250 Camberwell Road, Camberwell, Victoria 3124, Australia (a division of Pearson Australia Group Pty Ltd) Penguin Books India Pvt Ltd, 11 Community Centre, Panchsheel Park, New Delhi—110 017, India Penguin Group (NZ), Cnr Airborne and Rosedale Roads, Albany, Auckland 1310, New Zealand (a division of Pearson New Zealand Ltd) Penguin Books (South Africa) (Pty) Ltd, 24 Sturdee Avenue, Rosebank, Johannesburg 2196, South Africa Penguin Books Ltd, Registered Offices: 80 Strand, London WC2R ORL, England First published in 2005 by Viking Penguin, a member of Penguin Group (USA) Inc. 13579 10 8642 Copyright © Jared Diamond, 2005 All rights reserved Maps by Jeffrey L. Ward LIBRARY OF CONGRESS CATALOGING IN PUBLICATION DATA Diamond, Jared M. Collapse: how societies choose to fail or succeed/Jared Diamond. p. cm. Includes index. ISBN 0-670-03337-5 1. Social history—Case studies. 2. Social change—Case studies. 3. Environmental policy— Case studies. I. Title. HN13. D5 2005 304.2'8—dc22...

Words: 235965 - Pages: 944

Free Essay

Sssssss

...DIVINATION SYSTEMS  Written by Nicole Yalsovac  Additional sections contributed by Sean Michael Smith and Christine Breese, D.D. Ph.D.  Introduction  Nichole Yalsovac  Prophetic revelation, or Divination, dates back to the earliest known times of human existence. The oldest  of  all  Chinese  texts,  the  I  Ching,  is  a  divination  system  older  than  recorded  history.  James  Legge  says  in  his  translation of I Ching: Book Of Changes (1996), “The desire to seek answers and to predict the future is as old as  civilization  itself.”  Mankind  has  always  had  a  desire  to  know  what  the  future  holds.  Evidence  shows  that  methods of divination, also known as fortune telling, were used by the ancient Egyptians, Chinese, Babylonians  and the Sumerians (who resided in what is now Iraq) as early as six‐thousand years ago.  Divination  was  originally  a  device  of  royalty  and  has  often  been  an  essential  part  of  religion  and  medicine. Significant leaders and royalty often employed priests, doctors, soothsayers and astrologers as advisers  and consultants on what the future held. Every civilization has held a belief in at least some type of divination.  The point of divination in the ancient world was to ascertain the will of the gods. In fact, divination is so  called because it is assumed to be a gift of the divine, a gift from the gods. This gift of obtaining knowledge of the  unknown  uses  a  wide  range  of  tools  and  an  enormous  variety  of ...

Words: 45715 - Pages: 183

Premium Essay

Cornalcornalcornal

...Contemporary Developments in Business and Management Kenneth Fee The University of Sunderland © 2013 The University of Sunderland First published September 2013 All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise without permission of the copyright owner. While every effort has been made to ensure that references to websites are correct at time of going to press, the world wide web is a constantly changing environment and the University of Sunderland cannot accept any responsibility for any changes to addresses. The University of Sunderland acknowledges product, service and company names referred to in this publication, many of which are trade names, service marks, trademarks or registered trademarks. All materials internally quality assessed by the University of Sunderland and reviewed by academics external to the University. Instructional design and publishing project management by Wordhouse Ltd, Reading, UK. Contents Introduction vii Unit 1 The contemporary world of business and management Introduction 1.1 1.2 The global business environment The importance of developments in the global environment Case Study 1.3 Organisational decision making and performance vii 1 3 10 14 17 19 19 20 Self-assessment questions Feedback on self-assessment questions Summary Unit 2 Globalisation Introduction 2...

Words: 84990 - Pages: 340