Colleen Roy

Professor Sumpter

BMS 106 Introduction to the New Testament

13 February 2021

Module 5 Assignment: Early Christianity and Religious Persecution Paper

 The persecution of Christians is anything but foreign to believers in Christ. There has

been and continues to be, people who mistreat other people based on their religious beliefs.

An article found on the persecution of Christians in the first century highlights the many

“the persecution of Jesus’ earliest followers in their historical and chronological contexts”

(Schnabel, 525). One ruler in particular, name Nero, was a Roman emperor who exemplified a

dislike for the Christian faith as it was a threat to his power. Nero’s rule came after that of the

emperor known as Claudius. A key example of the persecution that can be seen during the rule of

Nero is in relation to “the Neronian persecution of Christians after the fire of AD 64 in which

Christians were killed” (Schnabel, 536). The Great Fire of Rome was an absolutely devastating

event. According to the article, “after the fire which raged in Rome from July 19-28, Nero

persecuted and killed many Christians whom he used as scapegoats for the fire” (Schnabel, 543).

There is no evidence of who started the fire, so it was simply Nero’s word against the word of

the Christians. The article mentions that many who confessed were at first arrested, but then

Nero made it personal, attacking the Christians, as “they were wrapped in the skins of wild

animals and perished by being torn to pieces by dogs; or they were nailed to crosses and, when

the daylight had gone, burned to provide lighting at night” (Schnabel, 543). There isn’t any

information in the article about a response by Christians to this horrifying event, but one thing

that was mentioned that was very interesting, was the response of the people of Rome. The

article states that “pity for them arose on account of the impression that they were destroyed not

for the public good but to gratify one man’s cruelty” (Schnabel, 543). People were realizing that

it is unfair to blame a people for an event purely because of a dislike for their religious

preferences.
 When stopping to reflect on the world we currently live in, there are still many places

where Christians are persecuted for choosing to practice their religious beliefs, such as the

Orthodox Christians in the Middle East. According to an article by Philip LeMasters, the

“persecution of Christians continues today in the Middle East, as daily reports make graphically

clear” (LeMasters, 390). It is said that the temperament of the government is what’s really

important to look at as “some governors subjected Christians to extortion and destroyed their

churches” (LeMasters, 389). In modern times, ISIS is a huge contributing factor in the

persecution of Christians, especially in the Middle East. In fact, “Christians in Iraq and Syria

have endured kidnapping, rape, slavery, and murder-even by crucifixion-at the hands of ISIS, the

al-Nusra Front, and other militant groups” (LeMasters, 390). This persecution occurs mainly

because of a push from one group to have conformity in terms of religion. ISIS for example,

wants every single person in the Middle East to submit to their religious views and beliefs so that

they are in turn that much stronger and powerful. Christians in the world today, similar to those

seen during the rule of Nero, refused to conform and continued to stand for what they believed

in, which is what caused the persecution in both time periods. As for the response, people from

both the Middle East and outward nations “called worried Christians to cultivate patience to trust

in God, and to rely on the basic teaching of their faith; it did not call for a violent response of any

kind” (LeMasters, 394). People of the Christian faith in the Middle East and all of over the world

know in their hearts that they are called upon to love others regardless of how they are treated.

The article said it best explaining that “instead of fueling conflict and division, [Christians in the

Middle East have a] commitment to mutual understanding and philanthropic service [that

highlights their view] in which all human being may live with dignity and freedom” (LeMasters,

406) in the name of Christ.

Works Cited:

LeMasters, Philip. “Peaceable Responses to Persecution: The Experience of Eastern Christian

Communities in the Middle East.” Journal of Ecumenical Studies, vol. 53, no. 3, Sum

2018, pp. 386-406. EBSCOhost, search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?

direct=true&AuthType=ip,shib&db=rfh&AN=ATLAiGU0181231000141&site=ehost-

live.

Schnabel, Eckhard J. “The Persecution of Christians in the First Century.” Journal of the

Evangelical Theological Society, vol. 61, no. 3, Sept. 2018, pp. 525-547. EBSCOhost,

search.esbcohost.com/login.aspx?

direct=true&AuthType=ip,shib&db=rfh&AN=ATLAiGW7181031002228&site=ehost-

live