Source: Philostorgius, a Roman citizen and bishop in the early Christian Church. Excerpt from his work, Church History, written in the 400s CE.…
Greco-Roman pagan societies feature the belief in many gods and deities, with their immense power create phenomena such as thunderstorms and volcanoes. In these societies, when something positive occurs, you are to give praise and make a sacrifice to the gods. But when something negative occurs like a disaster, these societies believe that you have angered the gods and will suffer their wrath. But when looking at these two occurrences, neither one these events are seen as the right thing or the malicious thing. There is no concept of that idea in these societies. While looking at Judeo-Christian societies they do have the concept of good and evil. When you do something honorable…
10. How did the Christians react to persecution? How did the persecutions contribute to the growth of Christianity? How does the correspondence between Pliny and Trajan contribute to our understanding of the persecution of the early Christians?…
The Sirens in Greek mythology, were the daughters of Phorcys the sea-god. Writers generally claimed to say they were a group of three. Also that their home is an island in the western sea between Aeanea, the island of Circe, and the rock of Scylla. They are nymphs, or beautiful girls, of the sea. Their way of living was to lure mariners to the island by their sweet songs, and viciously kill the mariners. Unfortunately, mariners weren't ever able to escape the sirens once they heard the sweet songs because the sirens songs were hypnotizing. As soon as the mariners were hypnotized by the music the Sirens would then fulfill their duty and eat the mariners. Most did not know how to avoid the Sirens songs until Odysseus, warned by Circe what to do. Odysseus and his crew stopped their ears with wax and Odysseus bond himself to the mast of the ship until he was out of hearing range of the island. The Sirens were destined to live only on the island until someone heard their song without being hypnotized. Then the Sirens would fling themselves into the sea and were changed into sunken rocks. When the adventures of Odysseus were localized on the Italian and Sicilian coasts, the sirens were transferred to the neighborhood of Neapolis and surrentum. The Sirens wanted to be closer to the tomb of one of them, parthenope, was shown in time at neapolis, where a gymnastic contest with a torch-race was held in her honour. Various explanations are given of the Sirens. The Sirens were beautiful women of the sea, which is know known as deceiving calm seas. The sea is known as this because of the Sirens behavior, which is hiding their horrible killing by a deceiving smiling they show. Or, they symbolize the magic power of beauty, eloquence, and song. The Sirens images are placed over the graves of beautiful women and maidens. Another conception of them is that of singers for the dead, which they are often used in the adornment of tombs, and represented…
We were fashioned for fellowship. This is not limited to just our small groups, our Church family, and our saved friends. We were created to build relationships with those, even the non-believers. We should love each person with the love of Christ, despite cultural differences. Paul talks about how the Jews cared for the law so much that they rejected the Gentiles. They did not feel as though they were worthy (which ultimately none of us are) enough to be redeemed by God and that they could not be justified. In Romans 3:28-30 Paul says, “Therefore we conclude that a man is justified by faith without the deeds of the law. Is he the God of the Jews only? Is he not also of the Gentiles? Yes, of the Gentiles also: Seeing it is one God, which shall justify the circumcision by faith, and uncircumcision through faith.”…
Nearly two thousand years ago, the Roman Empire conquered all territories west of the Persian Empire in modern day Iran and Iraq. The empire extended southwards into North Africa, and as far north as the British Isles. For close on to four centuries, the Romans controlled and conquered most of Western Eurasia and the Mediterranean. However, their rule came to an end because of the centrifugal forces of political and economic issues, foreign invaders and belligerent tribes, and socio-religious transformations. This brief response will help highlight the primary reasons why the Roman Empire fell.…
In the epistle of Romans Paul is introducing himself to the Romans and explains the message he plans on teaching before he arrives in Rome. The epistle was sent from Corinth before Paul had sailed of for Troas during Paul’s second missionary journey. Paul had friends in Rome, whom he had planned to visit on several occasions, but had always been prevented from doing so. He had several reasons for being interested in the Roman church: his desire to see the imperial city, their need for instruction, his desires to stop any Judaizing activity, and his hope for possible support for mission to Spain. The central theme of Romans is the revelation of the righteousness of God to man, and its application to mans spiritual needs (Tenney 1985, 304–305).…
The younger Pliny's letters are a rarity an eyewitness account of a disaster that is understood in the modern world largely through a desperate, if deliberate and methodical, groping. Archaeologists, adventurers, scholars and scavengers have all studied Pompeii and the other towns burned up and buried at the foot of Vesuvius. These places were forgotten for nearly 2,000 years then rediscovered by accident in the 18th century. After more than 200 years of continuous excavation, still only a fraction of the story is fully understood and the digging for meaning is bound to continue for centuries.…
Christians were an easy blame for disastrous events. In Asia Minor, the provisional governor, Pliny asked a group of Christians to reconsider their religion, and freed those who denied Christianity, while executing those who refused to. This did not stop the spread of Christianity, in fact many times in which Rome oppressed those who believed in one god, ended fueling a mindset to continue their practice, especially in the early stages of Christianity, when the Jews were being oppressed and enslaved for their particular beliefs. It was easy for Rome to blame the Christians because it was very different from their own beliefs, it affected their traditional values, roles, and sacrifices for the gods as people branched away from the old ideas, it was a quick blame. Those branching to new religions were traitors not only of the religion, but also of society as a…
MacCormack, Sabine. "Sin, Citizenship and the Salvation of Souls: The Impact of Christian Priorities on Late-Roman and Post-Roman Society." Cambridge Comparitive Studies in Society and History 39.4 (1997): 644-73. JSTOR. Web. 25 Sept. 2013…
the way Jesus would treat them and us. It was not Christ but man themselves that perverted the human experience back in the Garden of Eden (Genesis 3). Therefor if…
(1) Persecution is more than a policy; it is a mentality. Why did Romans persecute Christians? How did Christians…
In his letter 6.16, Pliny the Younger tells the story of the demise of his uncle, Pliny the Elder, to his historian friend, Tacitus. Throughout his story, Pliny makes his uncle seem like a larger than life hero who can do no wrong. Pliny the Younger uses a laudatory and slightly boastful tone to show his respect and reverence for his uncle, who Pliny believes should be immortalized in history forever.…
In Plutarch’s Life of Romulus 11.1-3, the Greek historian chronicles Romulus’ creation of Rome, thus employing a textual element to expose the meanings behind the city’s concepts and structures.…
The Epistle to the Romans, was written by the Apostle Paul to “To all in Rome who are beloved ones of God, called as saints,” (Romans 1:7), to explain how salvation is offered through the gospel of Jesus Christ (“Epistole to the Romans” 2014) This is considered to be one of the most important religious texts of any time and a major teaching tool that can be used today. What is it that the Book of Romans can teach us today just like it helped teach Christians throughout time?…