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Government Persecution of Christians Throughout History and Today

Persecution against those who worship God is recorded as early as the days of Ahab, when Queen Jezebel sought to eradicate the worship of Yahweh and replace it with the worship of Baal and Ashtoreth [1]. Throughout history, Christians have faced persecution from various governmental and societal powers. Jesus himself warned his disciples that they would be persecuted, delivered to synagogues and prisons, and brought before kings and governors for his name's sake [2].

Early Christian history is replete with accounts of persecution under the Roman Empire. Tertullian, a second-century Christian apologist, noted that Roman law decreed no god should be consecrated by the emperor without prior senatorial approval, implying that the deification of gods was subject to human judgment. This context highlights the precarious position of early Christians who worshipped a God not sanctioned by the state [4]. The name "Christian" itself was often considered execrable, leading to widespread persecution in regions under Roman sway, as seen during the reigns of emperors like Diocletian and Maximian [8].

Augustine of Hippo, writing in the early fifth century, discussed the nature of persecution, noting that the Church experienced "most cruel persecutions" from its early growth into the time of Nero [5]. He also pointed out that King Herod initiated a severe persecution after the ascension of Jesus [5]. Augustine further distinguished between those who inflict persecution and those who suffer it, suggesting that suffering persecution is a sign of a true Christian [9]. This perspective emphasizes the endurance of faith in the face of adversity.

Persecution was not limited to specific regions but was a widespread phenomenon wherever the Christian message was preached. The Apostle Peter, in his first epistle, encouraged believers to endure suffering, reminding them that persecution was not confined to the churches of Asia Minor but was experienced by Christians "all over the world" [6]. This global reality of persecution served to console and strengthen believers by showing them they were not alone in their trials [6].

The forms of persecution have varied. Athanasius of Alexandria, for instance, documented instances where the governor, under the influence of Arian heretics, used violence against ship captains and others, torturing, scourging, and imprisoning them to force compliance or prevent resistance to their "iniquities" [3]. This demonstrates how state power could be leveraged to enforce specific religious doctrines and suppress dissenting Christian communities [3].

In later theological discourse, the relationship between civil government and religious conviction continued to be a significant topic. Charles Hodge, a nineteenth-century Reformed theologian, argued that while citizens are generally bound to submit to the laws of their country, there are limits to governmental authority [7]. He contended that if a government were to pass an act violating the religious convictions of its citizens, such as mandating the transaction of public business on the Lord's Day, it would constitute an act of tyranny that could justify rebellion [10]. Hodge asserted that such actions would effectively exclude Christians from holding public office or participating in the governance of the country [10]. He further stated that it is more tyrannical for a government to violate religious convictions than to violate laws of health, as people tolerate folly more patiently than injustice [11].

Hodge also highlighted the historical influence of Protestant Christianity on the legal framework of nations like the United States, noting that it has been, and continues to be, "the law of the land" [12]. In his view, whatever Protestant Christianity forbids, the civil law (within its appropriate sphere) also forbids, citing examples like polygamy and arbitrary divorce [12]. This perspective suggests that a government's departure from Christian principles can be seen as a form of persecution or tyranny against its Christian citizens [12].

The concept of enduring persecution for one's faith is deeply embedded in Christian thought. Augustine, in his exposition on the Psalms, connected suffering with charity, stating that even giving one's body to be burned profits nothing without charity [13]. He also spoke of seeking reward from God's mercy for the victory gained through suffering [13]. This theological framework provides a spiritual lens through which Christians have historically understood and responded to persecution, viewing it as a path to spiritual growth and a testament to their faith.

The historical record shows that persecution has taken many forms, from direct violence and imprisonment to legal and social marginalization. The motivation behind such persecution often stems from a clash between state authority or dominant cultural norms and the exclusive claims or practices of Christian faith [4, 10]. The experience of persecution has been a constant thread in the Christian narrative, shaping its identity and resilience across diverse historical and geographical contexts [6].

Sources

  1. Easton's Bible Dictionary “Easton's Bible Dictionary: Persecution — The first great persecution for religious opinion of which we have any record was that which broke out against the worshippers of God among the Jews in the days of Ahab, when that king, at the instigation of his wife Jezebel, "a woman in whom, with the reckless and licentious habits of an Oriental queen, were united the fiercest and sternest qualities inherent in the old Semitic race", sought in the most relentless manner to extirpate the worship of Jehovah and substitute in its place the worship of Ashtoreth and Baal. Ahab's example in this respect was”
  2. Luke “But before all these things, they will lay their hands on you and will persecute you, delivering you up to synagogues and prisons, bringing you before kings and governors for my name’s sake. -- Luke 21:12”
  3. CCEL (Patristic) “Athanasius of Alexandria, Select Works and Letters, section 181: churches; while the people of God, and the Clergy of the Catholic Church are compelled either to have communion with the impiety of the Arian heretics, or else to forbear entering into them. Moreover, by means of the Governor, Gregory has exercised no small violence towards the captains of ships and others who pass over sea, torturing and scourging some, putting others in bonds, and casting them into prison, in order to oblige them not to resist his iniquities, and to take letters 466 466 i.e. letters of communion. from him. And ”
  4. Schaff ANF/NPNF (Patristic) “ANF Vol 3: Tertullian — CHAP. V. (part 1): To say a word about the origin of laws of the kind to which we now refer, there was an old decree that no god should be consecrated by the emperor till first approved by the senate. Marcus AEmilius had experience of this in reference to his god Alburnus. And this, too, makes for our case, that among you divinity is allotted at the judgment of human beings. Unless gods give satisfaction to men, there will be no deification for them: the god will have to propitiate the man. Ti- 22 berius(1) accordingly, in whose days the Christian name made its entry in”
  5. Schaff ANF/NPNF (Patristic) “NPNF1 Vol 2: Augustine — City of God, Christian Doctrine — CHAP. 52.--WHETHER WE SHOULD BELIEVE WHAT SOME THINK, THAT, AS THE TEN PERSECUTIONS WHICH ARE PAST HAVE BEEN FULFILLED, THERE REMAINS NO OTHER BEYOND THE ELEVENTH, WHICH MUST HAPPEN IN THE VERY TIME O (part 2): Church in her growth had reached the times of Nero amid the most cruel persecutions; about which it would be too long to say anything? But if they think that only the persecutions made by kings ought to be reckoned, it was king Herod who also made a most grievous one after the ascension of the Lord. And what account do they give”
  6. 1 Peter (Protestant academic) “Tyndale House on 1 Peter 5:9: 5:9 family of believers: Greek adelphoi, a term that refers to people, both male and female, who are members of the same family. • all over the world: Persecution was not confined to the churches of Asia Minor. In various forms and with varying intensity, Christians were persecuted almost everywhere the Good News about Jesus Christ was preached. Peter reminds his readers of this to console them and encourage them to emulate those who had successfully endured the test of suffering.”
  7. CCEL (Reformed (Old Princeton)) “Charles Hodge, Systematic Theology, Vol. 3, section 46: nothing unjust or cruel or in any way immoral, then those who come to live where it prevails are bound to submit quietly to its controlling the laws and institutions of the country. The principle contended for is recognized in all other departments of life. If a number of Christian men associate themselves as a manufacturing or banking company, it would be competent for them to admit unbelievers in Christianity into their association, and to allow them their full share in its management and control. But it would be utterly unreasonable fo”
  8. Schaff ANF/NPNF (Patristic) “ANF Vol 8: Twelve Patriarchs, Excerpts, Epistles, Apocrypha, Decretals — MARTYRDOM[1] OF THE HOLY CONFESSORS SHAMUNA, GURIA, AND HABIB, (part 1): FROM SIMEON METAPHRASTES.[2] IN the six hundredth year from the empire of Alexander the Macedonian, when Diocletian had been nine years sovereign of the Romans, and Maximian was consul for the sixth time, and Augur son of Zoaras was praetor, and Cognatus was bishop of the Edessenes, a great persecution was raised against the churches in all the countries which were under the sway of the Romans. The name of Christian was looked upon as execrable, and ”
  9. Schaff ANF/NPNF (Patristic) “NPNF1 Vol 4: Augustine — Anti-Manichaean, Anti-Donatist — CHAP. 2.--6. I would add, moreover, that they themselves, by making it the subject of an accusation, referred the case of Caecilianus to the decision of the Emperor Constantine; and that, even after t (part 4): persecution, or for which he suffers it, but think that it is a sufficient sign of a true Christian that he does not 637 inflict persecution, but suffers it, then beyond all question they include Caecilianus in that definition, who did not inflict, but suffered persecution; and they equally exclude their own fathers from the defi”
  10. CCEL (Reformed (Old Princeton)) “Charles Hodge, Systematic Theology, Vol. 3, section 46: that it had nothing to do with religion, disregard that day, and direct that the custom-houses, the courts of law, and the legislative halls should be open on the Lord’s Day, and public business be transacted as on other days, it would be an act of tyranny, which would justify rebellion. It would be tantamount to enacting that no Christian should hold any office under the government, or have any share in making or administering the laws of the country. The nation would be in complete subjection to a handful of imported atheists and infide”
  11. CCEL (Reformed (Old Princeton)) “Charles Hodge, Systematic Theology, Vol. 3, section 46: safer for a government to pass an act violating the laws of health, than one violating the religious convictions of its citizens. The one would be unwise, the other would be tyrannical. Men put up with folly, with more patience than they do with injustice. It is vain for the potsherds of the earth to contend with their Maker. They must submit to the laws of their nature not only as sentient, but also as moral and religious beings. And it is time that blatant atheists, whether communists, scientists, or philosophers, should know that they ”
  12. CCEL (Reformed (Old Princeton)) “Charles Hodge, Systematic Theology, Vol. 3, section 46: basis of the common law of England, and is therefore of the law of this country; and so our courts have repeatedly decided. It is so not merely because of such decisions. Courts cannot reverse facts. Protestant Christianity has been, is, and must be the law of the land, Whatever Protestant Christianity forbids, the law of the land (within its sphere, i.e ., within the sphere in which civil authority may appropriately act) forbids. Christianity forbids polygamy and arbitrary divorce, Se does the civil law. Romanism forbids divorce even on ”
  13. Schaff ANF/NPNF (Patristic) “NPNF1 Vol 8: Augustine — Exposition on Psalms — PSALM CXIX.(2) (part 61): fruit of all sufferings; for, "if I give up my body to be burned, and have not charity, it profiteth me nothing."(4) The Psalmist, praising this virtue, saith, "Behold, how I have loved Thy commandments." Then he asketh his reward, "O Lord, quicken me, according to Thy mercy." These put me to death, do Thou quicken me. But if a reward be asked of mercy, which justice is bound to give; how much greater is that mercy, which enabled him to gain the victory, on account of which the reward was sought for? 158. "The beginning,”
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