The stories of the Christians being fed to the lions could have been fueled by the insanity of Christians to willingly die according to the pagans. It would be hard to argue that Christians were tossed to the lions for being Christians because most surviving accounts and evidence comes from Christians. The small Christian population at the time would have reason to exaggerate the truth in a empire surrounded by “bloodthirsty” pagans calling for the lions. The Christians being apart of the lower class associated with criminals and robbers who were sent to the lions does make sense. The Christians used the myth of the lions and historians like Tertullian to gather sympathy and popularity. The Christian’s monotheistic belief and intolerance toward
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One reason they did triumph over the persecutors was the simplicity the concept of salvation and that the life after death was the most important which appealed to the poor and slaves of the empire. “By their religion’s simplicity its direct moral teachings and promise uncomplicated by its rivals’ mythology.” The simplicity began to appeal not having to sacrifice and no longer fearing punishment and terrible consequences of the gods that had been praised for so long. The first Christian emperor Constantine did greatly help the Christian movement even though the percentage of Christians was still small his rise pushed them forward. His rise in 313 CE eventually led to the official Christianity become the official religion of Rome in 380 CE. The government becoming Christian did have a significant on the rest of the empire; citizens would eventually buy in if the emperor did too. “We have resolved to communicate his most fully to your care, in order that you may know that we have granted to these same Christians freedom and full liberty to observe there own religion.” Support from the government is what finally pushed Christianity into a mainstream religion that should be noticed and taken seriously. It had already been spreading rapidly through the empire but Constantine and the Roman government made it popular than the prior three
One reason they did triumph over the persecutors was the simplicity the concept of salvation and that the life after death was the most important which appealed to the poor and slaves of the empire. “By their religion’s simplicity its direct moral teachings and promise uncomplicated by its rivals’ mythology.” The simplicity began to appeal not having to sacrifice and no longer fearing punishment and terrible consequences of the gods that had been praised for so long. The first Christian emperor Constantine did greatly help the Christian movement even though the percentage of Christians was still small his rise pushed them forward. His rise in 313 CE eventually led to the official Christianity become the official religion of Rome in 380 CE. The government becoming Christian did have a significant on the rest of the empire; citizens would eventually buy in if the emperor did too. “We have resolved to communicate his most fully to your care, in order that you may know that we have granted to these same Christians freedom and full liberty to observe there own religion.” Support from the government is what finally pushed Christianity into a mainstream religion that should be noticed and taken seriously. It had already been spreading rapidly through the empire but Constantine and the Roman government made it popular than the prior three