The Influence Of Martyrdom On Early Christianity

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 source “The Martyrdom of Perpetua and Felicitas,” the narrative of a few early Christians who died for their beliefs is told. The two martyred women, named Perpetua and Felicitas, along with a few other followers of the religion were imprisoned because they identified themselves as Christians and refused to offer sacrifice to the Roman Emperor. The Christians were sentenced to death by beast for this. The source illustrate the problems Christians had in navigating the cultural realities of life in the Roman empire. This can be observed along with the struggles involved in class, family, and gender.

Justin Martyr was a very important Greek philosopher-Apologist in early Christianity and one of the three pro-philosophical Fathers. In Justin’s early years he moved to Rome where he became a teacher and a writer. He taught philosophy and taught it as the true philosophy due to the influence of an old man that made him see philosophy in a new perspective. During the days that he was a teacher, public preaching was very dangerous so he had held private lectures for people that wanted to learn about Christianity. He was passionate when it came to defending the Christian faith against Jews, Pagans, Heretics, etc. Justin along with other Christian believers were arrested for their faith and they had refused to sacrifice to the Roman Gods so ultimately

The document, The Passions of Saints Perpetua and Felicity, shows how brave the Christian faith was in Rome. During Diocletian’s ruling, Christianity was not a common religion. In fact, most Romans practiced polytheism. Under these circumstances, many Christian followers were publicly persecuted for their faith. The Roman government assumed that if the executions were public, it would discourage others from becoming Christians and shift away from the Roman life traditions, in which would guarantee wealth and prominence to the Roman elites. Shockingly, this did not bother the Christians that they were publicly sentenced to death because their faith in god was so strong they believed that by dying for their faith would bring them closer to god. Despite the cruelty and crudness of these executions however, it did not stop christianity from spreading. As a result, all persecutions were ended and it was declared leniency for the Christians. After such changes, Christianity became the official state religion of the Roman Empire. Such adjustments in policy spread Christian religion throughout every edge of the Empire. Although these legal orders ended a lifetime of Christian persecutions, they also could have shattered the traditional Roman values system. By this time, the Christians had only believed in one god, who was not the emperor. Due to the disregarding of the emperor, it weakened his authority and credibility. Lastly, another change was enacted which caused the fall

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

According to Gaddis (2005) some of the Christians were tortured as well as being burnt alive, while others were publicly executed. Furthermore, it would seem that the more the Romans persecuted them, the more their hatred grew for them, as they believed them to be disobedient and a danger to the Empire. As such they did everything in their power to rid themselves of the Christians. The only consequence for the Christians at this time was, they either obeyed the law by sacrificing to the Pagan Gods or face persecution. However, Gaddis (2005) suggests that some of the Christians looked at the Roman persecution as not so much a Roman persecution, but one from their own God, who was testing their faith so that they could repent for their

Patrick Geary’s “Readings in Medieval History” contains four accounts of the invasion of the Middle East by the Europeans in 1095 A.D. These accounts all cite different motives for the first crusade, and all the accounts are from the perspective of different sides of the war. The accounts all serve to widen our perspective, we hear from the Christian and Middle Eastern side of the conflict. Fulcher of Chartres claims, Pope Urban the Second urged all Christians to intervene in the “East” at the council of Claremont, saying it was a sign of “Strength of good will”. (Readings in Medieval History, Geary, page 396).

I am reviewing the scholarly article written by Graham Keith that is called Justin Martyr and Religious Exclusivism. The article conveys the message of Christians and the journey to exclusivism. Justin Martyr is considered one of the most influential Greek apologists of his time and studying his thinking helps the reader understand exclusivism better especially in the Christian religion. In this reading we learn of the basis for exclusivism based on the idea that no one can reach God or deserved salvation through their own efforts. The story of Justin Martyr opinion has no exception to the exclusivism of Christianity of this period as we learn of different forms of exclusivism regarding the pagan culture

I believe that all Christians did not see the Jews as equals however many did not believe that they should be murdered. For example, the bishop in the town of Mainz protected the Jewish people in his house, granted he was paid handsomely to do so. Albert’s account, while it was most likely written many years after the First Crusade shows that there were some sympathizers for the Jewish people. In terms of the crusaders, I believe that there was a md mentality and that they had promised themselves on the quest to help their fellow Christians from the churches enemies which may have been the Muslims in Jerusalem but were also the Jews in many of the towns that were along the way. The Christians were not successful during the first wave of the

During the first decades preceding Christ's death, Christians were tolerated but not really liked by the general population of the Roman empire due to their refusal to acknowledge the emperor as a living god. This act of defiance was considered heresy by the state .The real mass persecution of the Christian people came during the reign of the emperor Nero who needed a scapegoat on whom to blame the great fire during his reign.

The greatest Christian Apologist and martyr, in the turn of the second century, who stood firm in defending the belief of Christianity, was the great philosopher and early Christian apologist and martyr - Justin Martyr. Justin Martyr (100-165CE), was born in Samaria, near Jacob’s well, around turn of the century in modern day Palestine. Justin was a Gentile and well educated, who has traveled extensively in search for the life’s meaning in the philosophies of his day.

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

Martyrs tells us that the earliest persecution came under the rule of Nero in the year 67

Among various political, social, and religious strife, the Medieval Literature is characterized by Christian influence and beliefs. In medieval texts, authors highlight the importance and grandeur of the Christian faith by contrasting it with descriptions of foreign lands. As a result, people received a false view of these faraway lands that included Syria and India. In texts such as Sir John Mandeville’s The Book of Marvels and Travels and Geoffrey Chaucer’s “The Man of Law’s Tale” offer examples of othering by their misunderstanding of foreign people and criticism of their religion which in turn facilitates the authors in defining the Christian European identity.