Jason Wilson
3-31-16
Ancient History
Essay 3: The Jews and Christians in Rome
The Romans in the long time of power in the ancient world, had a swayed view of what they considered a real religion in their empire. They were intolerant of other religions, or what they would see as cults, so they wouldn’t give them any legitimacy. This is an important detail in understanding Rome’s treatment of the Christians and the Jews. In some cases Rome would let certain Religions/Cults practice their believes in their empire, though if any of them go on to effect or rile up the citizens of Rome would be wiped out. It’s also important while analyzing Christianity and Judaism, that Christianity was created within Judaism. While the time the Jewish and Christian …show more content…
For one they didn’t like that the Christians didn’t believe in the roman gods and second was that it questioned the status quo at the time. This as a result caused many problems for Christian community, “Why were Christians persecuted? Much seems to have depended on local governors and how zealously or not they pursued and prosecuted Christians. The reasons why individual Christians were persecuted in this period were varied. In some cases they were perhaps scapegoats, their faith attacked where more personal or local hostilities were at issue” (Lunn-Rockliffe). Despite this constant persecution, the Christian followers became a movement that could not be stopped. A big side effect to the Rome’s leader’s constant abuse of the Christians created the idea that those who were killed were considered martyrs. So if the Romans would continue to kill Christians it would only make things worse in the long run for them. Then there was a spark of hope for Christians when the Roman Emperor Constantine was put into power. At around 312 A.D., Emperors previously have been overly aggressive towards the Christian community. But with Emperor Constantine he had a spiritual experience that changed his view on the Christians, “It is said that while marching against his rival Maxentius, he beheld in the heavens the luminous sign of …show more content…
In Conclusion, the resolve and overall believe of their faith, the Jewish and Christian people spread throughout the Roman Empire and would not be wiped out. Through multiple attacks and persecution of the two religions, they came out victories over Rome who would later lose all their power.
Works Cited
1. Lunn-Rockliffe, Sophie. "Christianity and the Roman Empire." www.bbc.co. 17 Feb. 2011. Web. 06 Apr. 2016.
2. Morey, William C. "Outlines of Roman History, Chapter 28." Outlines of Roman History, Chapter 28. American Book Company. Web. 05 Apr. 2016.
3. Graves, Robert. "The Twelve Caesars by Gaius Suetonius Tranquillus Translated by Robert Graves (1965)." The Twelve Caesars by Suetonius, 1965. Web. 18 Mar. 2016.
4. "Jews Under Claudius." In Professor of Biblical Criticism and Exegesis. Manchester: University of Manchester.
5. "Flavius Josephus: Titus and the Destruction of Jerusalem, 70 A.D." In Blackboard Montgomery College.
6. "Hadrian: Persecution of the Jews." In Blackboard Montgomery
3-31-16
Ancient History
Essay 3: The Jews and Christians in Rome
The Romans in the long time of power in the ancient world, had a swayed view of what they considered a real religion in their empire. They were intolerant of other religions, or what they would see as cults, so they wouldn’t give them any legitimacy. This is an important detail in understanding Rome’s treatment of the Christians and the Jews. In some cases Rome would let certain Religions/Cults practice their believes in their empire, though if any of them go on to effect or rile up the citizens of Rome would be wiped out. It’s also important while analyzing Christianity and Judaism, that Christianity was created within Judaism. While the time the Jewish and Christian …show more content…
For one they didn’t like that the Christians didn’t believe in the roman gods and second was that it questioned the status quo at the time. This as a result caused many problems for Christian community, “Why were Christians persecuted? Much seems to have depended on local governors and how zealously or not they pursued and prosecuted Christians. The reasons why individual Christians were persecuted in this period were varied. In some cases they were perhaps scapegoats, their faith attacked where more personal or local hostilities were at issue” (Lunn-Rockliffe). Despite this constant persecution, the Christian followers became a movement that could not be stopped. A big side effect to the Rome’s leader’s constant abuse of the Christians created the idea that those who were killed were considered martyrs. So if the Romans would continue to kill Christians it would only make things worse in the long run for them. Then there was a spark of hope for Christians when the Roman Emperor Constantine was put into power. At around 312 A.D., Emperors previously have been overly aggressive towards the Christian community. But with Emperor Constantine he had a spiritual experience that changed his view on the Christians, “It is said that while marching against his rival Maxentius, he beheld in the heavens the luminous sign of …show more content…
In Conclusion, the resolve and overall believe of their faith, the Jewish and Christian people spread throughout the Roman Empire and would not be wiped out. Through multiple attacks and persecution of the two religions, they came out victories over Rome who would later lose all their power.
Works Cited
1. Lunn-Rockliffe, Sophie. "Christianity and the Roman Empire." www.bbc.co. 17 Feb. 2011. Web. 06 Apr. 2016.
2. Morey, William C. "Outlines of Roman History, Chapter 28." Outlines of Roman History, Chapter 28. American Book Company. Web. 05 Apr. 2016.
3. Graves, Robert. "The Twelve Caesars by Gaius Suetonius Tranquillus Translated by Robert Graves (1965)." The Twelve Caesars by Suetonius, 1965. Web. 18 Mar. 2016.
4. "Jews Under Claudius." In Professor of Biblical Criticism and Exegesis. Manchester: University of Manchester.
5. "Flavius Josephus: Titus and the Destruction of Jerusalem, 70 A.D." In Blackboard Montgomery College.
6. "Hadrian: Persecution of the Jews." In Blackboard Montgomery