Rome's Persecution of Early Christians
The Roman authorities persecuted early Christians for several main reasons linked to their religious beliefs and practices that conflicted with the established norms of the state cult. Firstly, Christians refused to participate in Roman rituals and the worship of pagan gods, which was seen as a mockery of state tradition and a breach of the law. As noted: "However, the primary reason for the persecutions was that the Christians did not honor the gods according to the law. Not only did the HP tables, but also common law, state that the benevolent ruler himself should honor the gods in accordance with the laws, and equally compel his subjects to do so. Therefore, the Christians' refusal to honor the pagan gods was classified as a crime against faith — sacrilegium." (source: link txt)Secondly, their religion proclaimed an exclusive faith in one God and a refusal to partake in public religious acts of other beliefs, which was interpreted as a challenge to state authority. In this context it is noted: "Christians did not want to recognize for themselves the mandatory public requirements of the government, and the government could not excuse such avoidance of public demands by the followers of the new religion. Thus, tension arose between the government and the Christians. Their religion did not allow participation in public acts of other faiths, which was seen as a challenge to state authority." (source: link txt)Furthermore, the Roman authorities viewed the unique aspects of Christian doctrine as a potential threat to public order and stability. Christianity, with its critical stance towards traditional cults and its drive to attract new followers, was perceived as a destabilizing factor. It is stated here: "The Roman state persecuted the Christians not only because of the aforementioned reasons. The very nature of Christianity, with its preaching of worshiping God in spirit and in truth (John 4:23), was profoundly alien to the religion of the Romans. Christians had neither sacrifices nor traditional forms of cult. All of this appeared to the Roman authorities as incomprehensible, unnatural, and dangerous." (source: link txt)Thus, the harsh persecutions of Christians were due to their refusal to participate in the state cult, the incongruity of their monotheistic beliefs with the traditional polytheistic religion of Rome, and the Roman authorities' desire to maintain public order through adherence to established rituals and traditions.