The Persecution of the Early Church

1. The Persecution of the Early Church

 The early church had to fight against the law of Roman Empire to protect their faith. The persecution had been continued over two hundred years, and the result was pitiable. The Christians did not compromise the truth of the Gospel with the Roman Empire rules. The Roman governors thought that the Christianity is so superstition not like any other religion. According to the web site "religionfacts.com", they quoted Marcus Tullius Cicero who was the philosopher of Roman Empire comment during the persecution age that "religion was first and foremost a social activity that promoted unity and loyalty to the state. If the piety which is a religious attitude for the Roman Empire disappears; the social unity and justice would perish along with it" (No page). The Roman Empire was open to believe any gods so that the society unify through the beliefs of religion. However, the Christianity was so superstition about believing one true God and did not unify with other religions. In the governor's eyes, believing Christianity is not good to make a strong community unless they compromise with other religions. Persecution was one of the methods to lead the Roman Empire, and it had to take place in order to keep the truth of Christianity.

2. How did the Pax Romana help the spread of the Gospel?

 Pax Romana is the period that Caesar Augustus started to settle down and solve the internal trouble since 27BC and the movement continued through four more emperors until 180AD. Therefore, Roman Empire was in peace and also minimizes expansion by military force. In this period, there are several reasons that can make the people to freely involve their own activities. The travel was able to walk across the east Europe to west Asia. Not only that, but also it was able to use the water to travel, diplomacy, or any other reasons. The language was Latin, and it was used by entire Roman people. The rise of Christianity is belonging in this age. According to the book "The Story of Christianity" written by Justo L Gonzalez, "The Christians are the Jews who believe Jesus from Nazareth is the Messiah, and also they spread the Gospel to all gentiles. The gentiles are not the descendants of Abraham, but their spiritual status can be changed by accept Christianity" (p.55). It is possible to spread all over the Roman Empire because of their belief that Jesus is true king for all of us. The Christians walked and sailed all over the Europe to share the Gospel, and it was easy because the language was Latin.

3. Heresies of the early church and the councils that dealt with the specific matter.

 The core of Christianity believes that Jesus is one true God. The heavenly father, the son, and the Holy Spirit are one God, and it is called trinity. However, there were heresies who