Resurrection The Apostles

The persecutions of the martyrs strengthened Christianity because the martyrs if they were willing to be killed for their faith then it must be very significant to them. The martyr’s suffering mirrored Jesus’ suffering and reinforced faith among Christians. “They looking upon her in her conflict, beheld with their eyes, through their sister, Him who had suffered for them in order to persuade those who trust in Him

In the early Church, martyrdom was considered a "baptism in blood," similar in itself to the baptism in water. The baptism of martyrdom was at the origin of the conversion of many. To be a true disciple is to die as a martyr. The rationale of costly discipleship is witnessing to non-Christians. This shows that martyrdom can communicate much more deeply than any other discourse. It is difficult to evaluate the intensity and scale of persecution against Christians of the first three centuries; nevertheless what we have are some documents that shed light on the frequency of these afflictions. During the first century, there were occasional persecutions under Nero’s reign, especially the fire of Rome in 64 CE, which Christians were accused of having

Historical research shows that many of the stories about Christian martyrs are not completely true. The stories of these events that happened with Christian martyrs changed over time. The stories became embellished and exaggerated; however, there is one story of Christian Martyrs that is true. This is the Martyrdom of Perpetua and Felicitas. These events were written by two of the martyrs, Perpetua and Saturus.

There are many examples of people in The Holy Bible either losing their lives or putting their lives on the line for what they believed in. In this case it was for Christianity and their way of life. When Jesus of Nazareth came across the

Many people ridicule Christians for believing in a man who resurrected from the dead. They laugh at Christians and criticize them for basing their faith on an event that lack proof and evidence. However, the evidence that skeptics use to challenge the Christian faith, in actuality, support the claims that Jesus truly was the God that he claimed to be. The evidence that affirms Jesus’ claims to be true include his lifestyle and teachings, the prophecies that he fulfilled, historical facts, and the dramatic transformation of the lives of his disciples. Many may ask Christians how they can believe in a Savior without proof of his divinity; but, in reality, God has given us an abundance of signs. He is still providing us with compelling evidence

During the persecutions, churches and scripture were destroyed. Many were killed and tortured. Despite this, many remained brave and unafraid according to accounts. The idea of redemption and a magnificent afterlife led many Christians to almost fervently pursue martyrdom. These martyrs were glorified, and miracles were reported to have occurred in their presence. They refused to reject Christ and, in turn, were subjected to torture and humiliation. Eusebius describes the proceedings during the Great Persecution: “…the rules in question brought a certain man into a public place and commanded him to sacrifice. When he refused,

• Writes about Christ suffering extreme penalty during the reign of Tiberius at the hands of Pontius Pilatus. Refers to an immense multitude of Christ followers willing to die for their beliefs. Pg. 82

The theories of the process and order of writing of the Gospels, the authors of the textbook conclude that “Q” is not a reliable source. The authors believe that relying on “Q” is dangerous; believing that the gospel that has not been found can be a reliable source for the description of Jesus.

by being crucified upside down (that position being requested by him supposedly because of a feeling of unworthiness to be crucified just as his Lord was). It is noteworthy that Christ did predict a martyr 's death for Peter (Jn. 21:18,19). It is thought that Paul was beheaded right outside Rome in 68 A.D. (II Tim. 4: 6-8,16-18). John supposedly lived and labored in Ephesus during his later years, being the only apostle allowed to die a natural death. The lives, ministries, and deaths of the rest of the apostles are far more unknown. These realities do not consider the enormous social differences are often existing in non-Jewish congregations. A person who sold goods only the wealthy bought and a Roman jailer in the same church (Acts 16:14-40)? A "dirt poor" person and the owner of an expensive home in the same church (James 2:1-4)? A slave and his or her owner in the same church--meeting in the owner 's home (Philemon)? A Jewish convert who refused to eat anything sacrificed to an idol and a pagan convert who ate anything in the same church (Galatians 2:11-14)? All those situations existed in the first century! The concepts that this course show me was when the church assembled in the first century, some spoke in tongues, some interpreted those tongues, some prophesied, some introduced a new song, some received a revelation and some performed miracles. To them, those experiences were typical events. That is my under from my studies that It is doubtful first century

Martyrdoms Peter and Paul. Persecution under Domitian (81-96). Persecution under Trajan (112-117). Christianity is outlawed but Christians are not sought out. Persecution under Marcus Aurelius (r. 161-180). Martyrdom of Polycarp Persecution under Septimus Severus (202-210). Martyrdom of Perpetua Persecution under Decius (250-251). Christians are actively sought out by requiring public sacrifice. Martyrdoms bishop of Rome, Jerusalem, and Antioch, persecution under Valerian (257-59) Martyrdoms of Cyprian of Carthage and Sixtus II of Rome; persecution under Maximinus the Thracian (235-38) Persecution under Aurelian (270–275). The worst persecution was under Diocletian and Galerius (303-324). Diocletian decrees in 303 churches are to be destroyed, all sacred texts and precious liturgical vessels confiscated, and meetings for worship forbidden. This is the beginning of the Great Persecution. Beginning with the persecution which scattered the church in Jerusalem and resulted in the death of Stephen; James, was killed when Herod Agrippa became governor of Judea, Philip who was crucified, Matthew who was kill by the sword, James, the brother of Jesus was beat with a club and stone to death, Matthias who was beheaded, Andrew the brother of Peter was crucified, Mark dragged to pieces by the people of Alexandria, Peter was crucified upside down, at his own request, because he said he was unworthy to be crucified in the same manner as his Lord, Paul was

Irenaeus was born in Smyrna, Asia Minor around 120 AD (Olson, 68). He was tutored by the famous Polycarp, who learned from the Apostle John. During his life, Irenaeus spent much of his time writing to different leaders as well as writing to Christians, as a whole, dealing with the issue of Gnosticism. Adversus Haereses and Proof of the Apostolic Preaching are two works, by Irenaeus, that we have been able to receive complete transcript of (Poncelet, 2016). Irenaeus also has many works that we only have partial transcripts of. For example, On the Subject of Knowledge, On the Ogdoad, “a treatise on schism,” and letters to the Pope Victor, are a few of the partial transcripts of Irenaeus works (Poncelet, 2016). Irenaeus death was one that has a twist of mystery. One thing, known for sure, is he was killed during a Christian massacre in Lyons, during the year 202. What remains a mystery is the manner in which he died. According to Olson, “he was counted a martyr and saint by both Greek-speaking Christians of the East and Latin-speaking Christians of the Western half of the Roman Empire” (70). Irenaeus life was one of significance, especially when it came to his writings on Gnosticism and the theory of Redemption.

Elad Gunya Professor Kevin Nguyen CST 301 July 4th, 2015 Chandler Response The book “Explicit Gospel” by Matthew Chandler join to the other great books that I know about the gospel, and about Christianity. In addition with other several gospel books, the book “Explicit Gospel” is a very useful book that has many admirable qualities that make this book to be a good one. The author uses a quote by Paul from the book of 1 Corinthians chapter 15: 1-4.

The early church was hated by the society and government of the Roman Empire for various reasons, such as the refusal of Christians to sacrifice to the gods. The Empire went through many phases of demanding that the Christians sacrifice which meant denying their faith or be killed. The earliest attacks claimed the lives of many of the apostles.This text is the story, from around 160 AD, of the martyrdom of Polycarp, the Bishop of the church in Smyrna, a city in Asia Minor (modern Izmir in Turkey) devoted to Roman worship. The account is in the form of a letter from eye-witnesses to other churches in the area. It is the earliest chronicle of a martyrdom outside the New Testament.Polycarp was an old man, at least 86, and probably the last surviving person to have known an apostle, having been a disciple of St. John. This was one reason he was greatly revered as a teacher and church leader. One interesting feature of the letter is that the writer is very conscious of how Polycarp’s death followed the pattern of Christ’s. As you read it, look for parallels between this story and the Easter story in the gospels. We are writing to you, brothers, with an account of the martyrs, especially the blessed Polycarp, whose death brought to the persecution to a close. Almost all the events that led up to it reveal it to be another martyrdom in the divine pattern that we see in the Gospel. For he waited for his betrayal, just like the Lord did, so that we might follow him, in looking out

It is evident that the construction of the Christian church was done through oppression and rejection, but for some it sparked a passion to serve God. The document The Passion of the Holy Martyrs Perpetua and Felicitas, illustrates the courage and fearlessness of the Martyrs in Rome around 203. A.D. Much of Rome consisted of those who practiced polytheism. Which resulted in the persecution of numerous Christians for their faith in God, and their practices were not supported or approved by the Roman Empire. Surprisingly enough this was an opportunity for the Christian Martyrs to strengthen their faith, even if death would be the result. The group was establish and through Perpetua and Felicity who were part of a group of five catechumens.

As far as we know, Christianity has been existed for long time. Since Jesus came to world Christian has been made. In the world, there is a large Christian population. It is a tough work to expand Christianity around the world. These are credit to missionary. In the past, they spread the gospel, touch the bible. But, in some era the emperor did not like Christian. Constantine is the first Christian emperor in the world. Therefore , there is no Christian emperor before him. Some of them contrary Christianity. They killed Christian and burned the church. The great Christians and missionaries who died for Christianity, we called them- martyrs. In our book, martyrs does not have to die, they did a lot of credit. They are persecuted by the king.