09-12-2008, 02:56 AM
The Roman people were very conservative. This is hardly a startling statement by me. We all know this and understand how it affected the lives of Romans. To them honoring the Gods, their traditions, their families were the keys to keeping Rome and her territory safe. In fact when the going got tough they fell back on these traditions and did their best to reinforce them.
One example would be the burying alive a Greek and a Gaul in Rome when things looked bleak fighting Hannibal.
So in this light one can understand the persecution of Christians from the Roman point of view. The Christians did their own thing and refused to follow tradition. This flagrant breach of tradition was tatamount to suicide in the eyes of a Roman looking out at the dangerous world and knowing what the gods might do in response.
So here is my question.
What did the Christians think? There were Christians who were Roman and must have been raised in the idea that only by venerating the gods and tradition could Rome stand up to the challenges around her and avoid the wrath of the gods.
Did Christians move past this thought process and decide it was all bunk? Or as an even more scary thought were there ancient Christian who did follow this belief but combined it with the idea of Armageddon and the End of Days and saw that this could bring about judgement and their ascension to Heaven via salvation?
Which I guess begs another question. When did Ancient Christians start to believe in Judgement Day? If the idea did come about til decades or more after the Roman Empire converted to Christianity then at least that part of my idea would be quickly debunked.
One example would be the burying alive a Greek and a Gaul in Rome when things looked bleak fighting Hannibal.
So in this light one can understand the persecution of Christians from the Roman point of view. The Christians did their own thing and refused to follow tradition. This flagrant breach of tradition was tatamount to suicide in the eyes of a Roman looking out at the dangerous world and knowing what the gods might do in response.
So here is my question.
What did the Christians think? There were Christians who were Roman and must have been raised in the idea that only by venerating the gods and tradition could Rome stand up to the challenges around her and avoid the wrath of the gods.
Did Christians move past this thought process and decide it was all bunk? Or as an even more scary thought were there ancient Christian who did follow this belief but combined it with the idea of Armageddon and the End of Days and saw that this could bring about judgement and their ascension to Heaven via salvation?
Which I guess begs another question. When did Ancient Christians start to believe in Judgement Day? If the idea did come about til decades or more after the Roman Empire converted to Christianity then at least that part of my idea would be quickly debunked.
Timothy Hanna
