Persecution of a Roman Citizen
1. In the passage Acts 23:31, Paul is accused of treason by Ananias. Paul was a Jew, but since he was a Roman citizen, he was not executed right away like Jesus, rather, he got a trial. Paul was summoned to appear in front of Felix, and his accusers were asked to make their case against him. Furthermore, Paul was allowed to respond to their accusation and defend himself.
From this account, when a roman citizen is accused of a crime, he will not simply be dismissed, rather, he will have to go through the judicial procedures of the Roman system. The accused Roman, along with his accusers, will appear in front of a judge. The accusers will present their case and convince the judge that the accused person is in fact …show more content…
Judea was a city under the Roman control. The Jewish elite in Judea had welcomed the Roman control because the conquest was economically and administratively beneficial to them. The Romans had granted the Jewish elite to decide on Jewish judicial matters. However, they were not allowed to decide on matters that fall under the Roman jurisdiction. Felix was the Roman governor of Judea, therefore, any judicial matter that was under Roman jurisdiction would be presented to him.
Tertullus was a spokesman for the Jewish elite. The Jewish elite had accused Paul of treason, and they had wanted to decide on the matter by themselves. However, since Paul was a Roman citizen, his case would be under the Roman jurisdiction. The Jewish elite needed someone that was familiar with the proceedings of a Roman judicial system to present their case. Tertullus served as a lawyer representing the Jewish elite.
3. Paul was accused on three accounts: agitating the Jews, being ringleader of the Nazarenes, and attempting to profane the temple. Paul stated that he hadn’t been in Jerusalem for more than 12 days, and that he hadn’t caused any disruption either in the temple or the city. He attempted to discredit his accusers by stating that they had no proof for their accusations. He further states that what his accusers called a sect, is in fact the way of his ancestors. He also states that his beliefs were according to the law and the writing of the prophets; therefore, his accusers have no reason …show more content…
Consequently, Christians were able to construct churches throughout the Roman Empire. All of a sudden, the religion that was basis for persecution has now become the official religion of the empire.
The sudden acceptance of Christianity as the religion of the Roman Empire presented many challenges. The early Christians didn’t have a formal religious system, rather, they followed the teachings of Jesus in the form of Gospels. Some of the churches had the letters from Paul, and others didn’t. Some of the churches had female leaders, and the others didn’t. Since Christianity was no longer illegal, the Christians didn’t need to be scattered. Therefore, the Christians needed to come together and set common beliefs and rules.
Additionally, the differences in teachings of the Christian churches now had more significance than before. Early Christians didn’t have political participation in the Roman Empire. After its acceptance as a legal religion, however, differences in teaching could possibly start a riot. In addition to that, since the emperor had accepted Christianity, differences in teaching would also undermine his credibility. Due to the increased significance of Christianity, the Roman Empire was becoming more involved in religion. In 325 CE, Constantine organized a meeting, the council of Nicea. During the meeting, Arianism, which stated that Jesus was a creation of God and
1. In the passage Acts 23:31, Paul is accused of treason by Ananias. Paul was a Jew, but since he was a Roman citizen, he was not executed right away like Jesus, rather, he got a trial. Paul was summoned to appear in front of Felix, and his accusers were asked to make their case against him. Furthermore, Paul was allowed to respond to their accusation and defend himself.
From this account, when a roman citizen is accused of a crime, he will not simply be dismissed, rather, he will have to go through the judicial procedures of the Roman system. The accused Roman, along with his accusers, will appear in front of a judge. The accusers will present their case and convince the judge that the accused person is in fact …show more content…
Judea was a city under the Roman control. The Jewish elite in Judea had welcomed the Roman control because the conquest was economically and administratively beneficial to them. The Romans had granted the Jewish elite to decide on Jewish judicial matters. However, they were not allowed to decide on matters that fall under the Roman jurisdiction. Felix was the Roman governor of Judea, therefore, any judicial matter that was under Roman jurisdiction would be presented to him.
Tertullus was a spokesman for the Jewish elite. The Jewish elite had accused Paul of treason, and they had wanted to decide on the matter by themselves. However, since Paul was a Roman citizen, his case would be under the Roman jurisdiction. The Jewish elite needed someone that was familiar with the proceedings of a Roman judicial system to present their case. Tertullus served as a lawyer representing the Jewish elite.
3. Paul was accused on three accounts: agitating the Jews, being ringleader of the Nazarenes, and attempting to profane the temple. Paul stated that he hadn’t been in Jerusalem for more than 12 days, and that he hadn’t caused any disruption either in the temple or the city. He attempted to discredit his accusers by stating that they had no proof for their accusations. He further states that what his accusers called a sect, is in fact the way of his ancestors. He also states that his beliefs were according to the law and the writing of the prophets; therefore, his accusers have no reason …show more content…
Consequently, Christians were able to construct churches throughout the Roman Empire. All of a sudden, the religion that was basis for persecution has now become the official religion of the empire.
The sudden acceptance of Christianity as the religion of the Roman Empire presented many challenges. The early Christians didn’t have a formal religious system, rather, they followed the teachings of Jesus in the form of Gospels. Some of the churches had the letters from Paul, and others didn’t. Some of the churches had female leaders, and the others didn’t. Since Christianity was no longer illegal, the Christians didn’t need to be scattered. Therefore, the Christians needed to come together and set common beliefs and rules.
Additionally, the differences in teachings of the Christian churches now had more significance than before. Early Christians didn’t have political participation in the Roman Empire. After its acceptance as a legal religion, however, differences in teaching could possibly start a riot. In addition to that, since the emperor had accepted Christianity, differences in teaching would also undermine his credibility. Due to the increased significance of Christianity, the Roman Empire was becoming more involved in religion. In 325 CE, Constantine organized a meeting, the council of Nicea. During the meeting, Arianism, which stated that Jesus was a creation of God and