Defending the Faith During Persecution

Very interesting study through the history of Christianity as we continue through the Patristic Period. Our study took us from the apostolic age up through the third century. During this period many Christians were martyred for their faith in Jesus Christ. There was a continues persecution that was legalized by an edict given to Pliny (the Younger, son of Pliny the Older) by Emperor Trajan. This edict was enforce throughout the second and third centuries. There were also periods of more intense persecutions which had an effect on the doctrine and practice of the church, and have had an effect right up through the modern age.

Governor Pliny of Bithynia knew Christianity was illegal, but could not find any crimes that the Christians were guilty of except obstinacy to the court. When brought before the court and told to curse Christ, worship the image of the emperor, and the statues of the pagan gods they refused. Governor Pliny sentenced them to death for their refusal to obey the court. More and more people where being accused, and there was an anonymous document put forth. So, governor Pliny wrote to Emperor Trajan regarding the Christian problem as he saw it. Emperor Trajan responded with an edict stating that the Christians were not to be sought out for punishment, but if they are accused of wrong doing they should be questioned. If they recant and worship the pagan gods then they are to be released, but if they refuse they are to be punished for the dignity of the court. Also no anonymous accusations are to be excepted.¹

In addition to the persecutions, there were three types of Christian writers during this time period:

1. The apostolic fathers (writers) who wrote to address a concrete problem or a specific issue within the church. This is the case with Ignatius of Antioch, Clement of Rome, The Didache, and The Shepherd of Hermas.² The apostolic fathers wrote about problems from within.
2. The apologist who wrote to address questions about the faith brought up by pagans.³ Justin Martyr was such an apologist and he said, “We do not seek to flatter you…but request that you judge on the basis of a proper and thorough investigation.”⁴ Most of the apologist writings deal with the issue of persecution.⁵ They wrote about problems from without.
3. The teachers of the church were the first to write complete expositions on Theology. They did so, in refutation of heresies like that of the Marcions and the Gnostics. The teachers of the church are Irenaeus of Lyons, Clement of Alexandria, Tertullian of Carthage, and Origen of Alexandria.⁶
   

Tertullian’s writings are very important in the life of the church regarding our current understanding of the Trinity and the Hyperstatic union in the God Man, Jesus Christ. Of all of these writers I truly enjoyed Irenaeus of Lyons. Irenaeus had the heart of a pastor, and therefore, described God in terms of a Shepard guiding his flock with His two hands; the Word and the Holy Spirit. He saw God as a loving being who created the world and humankind out of His own desire to have a creation to love and to lead. He saw all of human history as being guided by the divine Shepard who is leading his flock to the final goal.⁷ Even though most Christians do not know much about this time period; both the writings of the early church and the aftermath of early Christian persecution has served to form the doctrine and practice of the church today.

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1 Henry Bettenson and Chris Maunder, Ed., Documents of the Christian Church, 4^th ed., (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2011), 3-5.

2 Justo L. Gonzales, The Story of Christianity, Volume I: The Early Church to the Reformation, 2^nd ed., (New York: HarperCollins Publishers, 2010), 83.

3 Ibid, 59-68.

4 Ibid, 59.

5 Ibid, 83.

6 Ibid, 84.

7 Ibid.

The Apostolic Age

I began studying the history of Christianity this past week and today I would like to reflect on this past week’s study of the apostolic age. The earliest period of the church is called the apostolic age. This age is very important to the modern church’s doctrine and practice, because it is the age in which the New Testament was written. The time period begins around 33 AD with the Great Commission given to the apostles by our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ and ends around 100 AD with the death of the last living apostle. This time period also includes many historical, but non-biblical writings.1

It is very important that we all understand that the gospel is a historical event. Gonzales said, “The Good News Christians have proclaimed through the ages is that in Jesus Christ, and for our salvation, God has entered human history in a unique way.”2 One of the things that we discussed this week was Galatians 4:4 which says, “But when the fullness of the time came, God sent forth His Son, born of a woman, born under the Law.”3 All of human history from our beginning and all of history since points to a specific time in history when the eternal Word became flesh and dwelt amongst us in the person of Jesus, the Christ, the Son of God. We even mark time today, because of this event in human history. All things including culture, language, trade, and even the arts were sovereignly orchestrated at that particular time and place in history for the gospel message to spread.

It is equally important that the church understand the theological message in the book of Acts which is a historical narrative of the life of the early church. According to Gonzales, “the presence of God among us did not end with the ascension of Jesus.”4 To that regard the apostolic age which includes the writing of the New Testament and the spreading of the gospel by Christians in the Roman world was done by the Holy Spirit of God working in the life of the church. From its beginning and today the history of the church is the history of the Holy Spirit working in the lives of men and women in the church.5

Today in my Sunday School class we discussed the last beatitude from The Sermon on the Mount. “Blessed are you when people insult you and persecute you, and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of Me. Rejoice and be glad, for your reward in heaven is great; for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.”6 Our class room lead by Steve Mills7 has a very open discussion forum. I did not speak in class today, but instead listened to my modern American brothers and sisters in Christ’s discussing persecution.

There were three Roman persecutions mentioned by Gonzales in our reading this week: a general persecution demanding worship of the emperor,8 persecution under Nero,9 and persecution under Domitian.10 During the Domitian persecution the book of Revelation was written.11 Our very knowledgeable Sunday School teacher mentioned the general persecution and the Neronian persecutions. Also, the earliest persecution by the Jews was discussed regarding the death of Stephen.12 The doctrine and practice of the church today was formed during the persecution of our brothers and sisters in Christ. Jesus words in Matthew 5:11-12 prophesied the persecution, and He taught his disciples how they should react to it when persecution comes. The one who wrote those words did so during a time that persecution was happening, so that Christians throughout church history would know the command of the Lord when persecution arrives.

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1 Scott McPherson, “The Early Church”, Church History, Biblestudying.net, accessed January, 16, 2017, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ybdx0WYcNTQ&feature=youtu.be.

2 Justo L. Gonzales, The Story of Christianity, Volume I: The Early Church to the Reformation, 2^nd ed., (New York: HarperCollins Publishers, 2010), 1.

3 Gal 4:4 (NASB).

4 Justo L. Gonzales, The Story of Christianity, Volume I: The Early Church to the Reformation, 2^nd ed., (New York: HarperCollins Publishers, 2010), 2.

5 Cf., Ibid.

6 Mt 5:11-12 (NASB).

7 Sylvania Church, Tyler, Texas, www.sylvaniachurch.com.

8 Justo L. Gonzales, The Story of Christianity, Volume I: The Early Church to the Reformation, 2^nd ed., (New York: HarperCollins Publishers, 2010), 43.

9 Ibid, 43-46.

10 Ibid, 46-48.

11 Ibid, 48.

12 Cf., Acts 7:1-60.