We now consider the strengths of the early Christian communities. Why were they not “strangled at birth” by the vicious persecutions? Not only did they survive them — but they went from strength to strength. How was it done?
The sturdiest plants are the ones which can push through the stoniest soil. Christianity was the sturdiest of plants. It would seem they all echoed the words of Peter, “Lord, to whom shall we go? Thou hast the words of eternal life. And we believe and are sure that thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God.” (John 6:68, 69). Faith thrives on persecution. Faith is only shown to be faith when it is put to the test. Tertullian (about A.D.200) stated that ‘the blood of the martyrs is the seed of the church’.[1]
Persecution not Continuous
Those first 200 years witnessed peaceful times as well as persecution. The persecution was only sporadic. It was rather like the alternating effect of sun and rain on the soil. The resultant growth was great. After the persecutions of Nero, there was no continuous persecution. Slanderous stories were widespread; but it is clear from the correspondence of the Emperors Trajan (A.D.112) and Hadrian (A.D.123)[2] that they did not regard Christians as dangerous, and had discovered -no evidence to support the popular assertions that they ate human flesh, etc. Trajan’s correspondence with Pliny the Younger, governor of Bithynia, in Asia Minor, is the best illustration of this. Confessed Christians were executed simply because they were Christians and Pliny was puzzled as to the exact nature of their crime.
Pliny is told by the Emperor to take no notice of anonymous accusations naming people as Christians. He was also not to organise any general inquisition himself. Only if an individual brought a proper charge against someone could he be arrested as a Christian; and if the charge was proved false, under Roman Law, the accuser could himself be charged with slander.
Chadwick states,[3] “The Authorities had now discovered that the Christians were virtuous folk, but inexplicably hostile to the old religious tradition and so obstinate in their dissent as to forfeit sympathy and preclude toleration. Christianity remained a capital offence and several in the second century suffered martyrdom: Ignatius, bishop of Antioch; Teleshorus, bishop of Rome; Polycarp, bishop of Smyrna; Justin ‘the Christian philosopher’ at Rome sometime between 162 and 168.”
Later in the 2nd century the persecutions became more severe. The Christians were always the first ones to be blamed for anything. Tertullian expostulated, “If the Tiber rises too high or the Nile falls too low, the cry is, ‘The Christians to the lion’.[4] The common pagans were ready to believe that any natural catastrophe was because the gods were angry at some neglect and naturally any neglect of the gods was the fault of the Christians. But there was no clear pattern of oppression. Much depended on the local governor. Many, like Gallio (Acts 18:17) “cared for none of these things”.
A Pagan View of the Church’s Success
About A.D.180, a pagan writer named Celsus provides, from outside, an eyewitness view of the success of Christianity. He writes, obviously envious of their strength and internal harmony,[5] “Their agreement is quite amazing, the more so as it may be shown to rest on no trustworthy foundation. However, they have a trustworthy foundation for their unity in social dissidence and the advantage which it brings and in the fear of outsiders — these are factors which strengthen their faith.”
Celsus could only conclude that opposition had made them united and strong. Their separation from the general community prevented the general community from having any influence to the good on them — thus they must not be permitted to continue.
A closer look produces many more reasons for the continuing strength of the growing Ecclesias. Surely the centre-pin was the appeal of the Gospel itself. Here was truth. It had the ‘ring’ of truth compared to the conflicting superstitions of the pagan world. The pagan could not believe in one supreme all-powerful God, like the Christian could. It would be a subject in itself to compare the Christian appeal to that of the Stoics and Epicureans, suffice it to say that the Christian doctrine of grace and peace in Christ had real meaning when viewed in comparison with the current philosophical trends of the day.
The Appeal of Fellowship in Action
A modern historian attributes Christian charity as the greatest reason for the early church’s triumph over opposition. In his judgments:[6]
“The practical application of charity was probably the most potent single cause of Christian success. The Pagan comment ‘See how these Christians love one another’ (reported by Tertullian) was not irony. Christian charity expressed itself in care for the poor, for widows and orphans, in visits to brethren in prison or condemned to the living death of labour in the mines, and in social action in time of calamity, like famine, earthquake, pestilence, or war. A particular service which the community rendered to the poor brethren was to provide for their burial (following Synagogue precedent) . . . Hospitality to travelers was an especially important act of charity: a Christian brother had only to give proof of his faith to be sure of lodging for a period of up to three nights with no more questions asked.”
Thus the spirit of fellowship and good works was a powerful factor in both strengthening the brotherhood and attracting people to its membership. But we doubt that it should be described as “probably the most potent single cause”. In these days, we see people attracted to lodges and clubs, such as Apex and Rotary, solely for these reasons. But this was only one of the strengths of Christianity. Jesus said, “No man can come unto me except the Father draw him” (John 6:44), and truly the Father was at work drawing out from among the Gentiles a people for His name.
Women and Slaves
It also seems that Christian doctrine concerning the status of women and slaves had some influence. There is considerable evidence that Christianity penetrated into the higher classes of society fairly early in the picture. The 3rd century historian Dio[7] tells of action taken against Titus Flavius Clemens and his wife Domitilla. Clemens was a Consul in the year A.D.95. Fourth century Christian tradition has it that Domitilla was a Christian. Dio says they were guilty of ‘atheism and Jewish sympathies’ — perhaps this a nom-de-plume for Christianity in Roman records. According to Chadwick, Marcia, the concubine of the Emperor Commodus (180-192) was a Christian and “was able to gain for the church in Rome a considerable measure of relief” [8]
Christian teaching on the sanctity of marriage greatly helped the position of women. Women were to be honoured and their rights respected. What a contrast to the Pagan world and the prostitution cults in the temples.
The church did not seek to abolish slavery: it attempted no social crusades, what a contrast to today. But it did encourage their emancipation; and to free a slave was regarded as a ‘good work’. Chadwick says there is evidence that the church treasury was used for the manumission of slaves in bad households and also those who became slaves by being prisoners of war.[9]
The Church — The Great Educator
Another major reason, which may not on the surface be evident, for the growth and strength of the church, was education. The church became the great educator of the common people. Books were too expensive for them, but the advent of the Christian movement brought a certain change. Adolf Harnack has painted this picture of that era:[10]
“No doubt a powerful stimulus was . . . given to the extension of the art of reading, and therein of education. The Church was compelled to lay stress upon Bible reading because, according to her doctrine, souls could be lost through want of knowledge, and so she became the great elementary schoolmaster of the Greeks and Romans. And not of these people only. The Church — especially the Greek Church —for the Latin Church proceeded otherwise —pressed on to the translation of the Bible in other tongues, and by thus neglecting her own national prerogative laid the foundations of national literature among the peoples that hitherto had possessed no literature, and in some cases, were even without the knowledge of writing. All this came about because the Greeks demanded that the Bible must be read.”
Here is revealed a real strength of the Ecclesias, particularly in the 2nd century. Iranaeus wrote (about A.D.180)[11] “Let a man take refuge in the church . .. let him be educated in her bosom and be nourished from the Holy Scriptures. The church is planted like paradise in this world: of every tree of this paradise ye shall eat: that is, eat ye from every scripture of the Lord”. Origen,[12] writing early in the 3rd century, recalled how, during his boyhood, the Bible was read daily and children were set passages to learn by heart. This habit was beginning to fade when Origen was writing, and with it faded the true knowledge that lightened the pathway of the common believer.
The brotherhood was slipping fast towards apostacy and the writings of Origen and Tertullian bear the marks of the inroads of human philosophy. Maybe the declining attention of the community generally to the detail of the word of the Gospel allowed the human philosophies to flourish as the years passed. However, there is much evidence of opposition to the new doctrines, but it is unfortunate that most of the literature which has survived is from those who supported the Apostate teachings. These writings indicate there is much opposition to their views — “heretics” as far as they are concerned — but these “heretical” writings have either not survived or church historians have rarely bothered to research and quote them.
It can be seen very clearly that that which was and still is the strength of our own community was the strength of the Ecclesias in the 2nd century. “Give attendance to reading” advised Paul to Timothy (1 Tim. 4:13) — advice which was taken up and made a principle of the church. Truly the words of David in Psalm 119 spell out the purpose of the precept, “Thy word have I hid in my heart that I might not sin against thee”.
Sources
[1] Pelican History of the Church. Vol. 1. H. Chadwick. P.29
[2] Documents of the Christian Church. H. Bettenson, pp. 3-6
[3] H. Chadwick, pp. 27-28
[4] Ibid, p.29
[5] Ibid, p.54
[6] Ibid, p.56
[7] Ibid, p.26
[8] Ibid, p.29
[9] Ibid, p.60
[10] Ibid, p.29
[11] As quoted in Back to The Bible. H.G. Herklotts, p.96
[12] Ibid, p.95
Daniel The Prophet – (Part 3)