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Andrea Jaramillo Reflection Paper

Christians in the Roman Empire

Todays class lecture made me want to reflect on the persecutions on Christians during the Roman Empire and how they remained so strong to their religion. The persecution of Christians began with Caesar Nero in the year 64 d. C.
The letter to Diognotes gives us more insight on the real thought of the Romans of the Christians: Christians are distinguished from the other inhabitants of the Roman Empire not by customs but for their behavior. So they stand out for their exemplary behavior. Also, he says that while living on earth, know that they will one day live in heaven. But it also tells us that they are insulted, persecuted and punished as if they were criminals. Christians however, following the teachings of Christ, loved his pursuers.
There are reasons why Christians were prosecuted:
- They refused to do military service.
-They not involved in the terrible circus shows.
-No worshiped the emperor and saw this as an affront to God.
-Many people see Christians as strange beings who performed clandestine meetings of questionable content.
-They were accused of infanticide (killing young children), of cannibalism (ie cannibalism) and grave moral disorder.
-They were accused of going against atheists and Roman customs, because the Romans were polytheistic and monotheistic Christians.
-They were accused of many things that did not as the famous fire of Rome in 64 d. C.
-The intellectuals of the time accused Christianity of being an absurd doctrine that was unthinkable at the time. It seemed absurd that God became man, it seemed absurd that God died on the cross. It seemed more absurd the idea of resurrection because they believed in the immortality of the soul but not in the resurrection.

How is it that after so many persecutions against Christians, they, instead of decreasing the

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