Christians and Roman Empire: Conflicts and Christian Identity
What were some of the areas of conflict between early Christians and the Roman Empire? What were the issues and/or misunderstandings behind these conflicts? How did these help to shape Christian identity and practice?
Christians and Roman Empire: conflicts and Christian identity
"Render unto Caesar the things which are Caesar's, and unto God the things that are God's" is one of the most famous sayings that Jesus Christ would have said in response to the question whether Christians should pay Roman taxes; it became since a founding precept concerning the question of the division of the temporal power and the spiritual power. This relationship between politics and Christian religion arose very early and in particular through the confrontation of Christianity against the Roman Empire.
Christianity was born in Palestine and spread very quickly with the Apostles and the writings that constitute the New Testament. Until the year 14 AD, the Christians knew no source of conflict in the context of the “Pax Romana” set up by Augustus. Nevertheless, they became suspects for Romans, and some conflicts emerged in the following centuries until the conversion of Constantine in 313.
These conflicts were both physical and ideological and they seemed inevitable because of a different conception of the relationship between political power and the religion. These first three centuries are a turning point for Christianity because these confrontations - both religious and politics - also contribute to the formation of a certain Christian identity.
The Christian Church has no political force: the writings of the Apostles teach obedience to any authority and there is a strict separation between politics and the religion for Christians. On the contrary, these two spheres in Roman religion are combined: the Emperor is both the political leader and a religious cult. Therefore, the refusal of Christians to recognize the sanctity of the city and of the Emperor was an important
Christians and Roman Empire: conflicts and Christian identity
"Render unto Caesar the things which are Caesar's, and unto God the things that are God's" is one of the most famous sayings that Jesus Christ would have said in response to the question whether Christians should pay Roman taxes; it became since a founding precept concerning the question of the division of the temporal power and the spiritual power. This relationship between politics and Christian religion arose very early and in particular through the confrontation of Christianity against the Roman Empire.
Christianity was born in Palestine and spread very quickly with the Apostles and the writings that constitute the New Testament. Until the year 14 AD, the Christians knew no source of conflict in the context of the “Pax Romana” set up by Augustus. Nevertheless, they became suspects for Romans, and some conflicts emerged in the following centuries until the conversion of Constantine in 313.
These conflicts were both physical and ideological and they seemed inevitable because of a different conception of the relationship between political power and the religion. These first three centuries are a turning point for Christianity because these confrontations - both religious and politics - also contribute to the formation of a certain Christian identity.
The Christian Church has no political force: the writings of the Apostles teach obedience to any authority and there is a strict separation between politics and the religion for Christians. On the contrary, these two spheres in Roman religion are combined: the Emperor is both the political leader and a religious cult. Therefore, the refusal of Christians to recognize the sanctity of the city and of the Emperor was an important