The Gnostic Sects and the Roman Empire

Two generations of lawyers and historians of the early Church have worked over the scanty evidence bearing on the legal and political relations between the first Christian communities and the Roman Empire. It is not the intention of the present writer to add to the enormous volume of work on the subject. The results of their battles have been ably summarised by A. N. Sherwin-White, and with his conclusions the legal problem may be allowed to rest until new evidence is forthcoming. The object of this paper is to look at the question from another point of view, and to ask who were the sufferers, and in particular, who were martyred in the period before the first general persecution under Decius. Were Polycarp, Justin, Blandina and the rest chance victims of private denunciation and the fury of the mob, or did they represent a tradition of belief in which martyrdom became the climax of earthly life? And what of those who obeyed the precept to flee during persecution? Was their action due to cowardice, or was it the belief that martyrdom was not the will of God? Can we see in the controversy over martyrdom which engaged so much of Tertullian's energies, one more phase in the strife between the orthodox and gnostic concepts of Christianity, on the outcome of which so much in the future of the Church depended? What, in fact, was the relationship between the Gnostics and the Roman authorities

Ancient history · Christianity · Cowardice · Denunciation · Empire · Gnosticism · Persecution · Political science · Politics · Roman Empire · Theology · Byzantine Studies and History · Classics · Historical and Religious Studies of Rome · Historical, Religious, and Philosophical Studies · History · Law · Philosophy · Religious studies

• Weapons of the (Christian) weak

  Open Access•Emiliano Rubens Urciuoli•Lived Religion in the Ancient…•2020

  Añadir item

• The First Apocalypse of James

  Mikael Haxby•The First Apocalypse of James•2023

  Añadir item

• Why Were the Early Christians Persecuted?1

  G E M De Ste Croix•Past & Present•1963

  Añadir item

• Survey of Recent Literature

  Open Access•J H Nichols•Church History•1954

  Añadir item

• A Woman of Rome

  Open Access•Robert M Grant•Church History•1985

  Añadir item

• The Interpretation of the Fourth Gospel

  Open Access•C H Dodd•Interpretation of the Fourth Gospel•1953

  Añadir item

• The Genius of Mithraism

  Open Access•Arthur Darby Nock•The Journal of Roman Studies•1937

  Añadir item

• Tacitus Über Die Christen

  Estelle Fuchs, Harald Fuchs•Vigiliae Christianae•1950

  Añadir item

• The Roman Empire

  Robert J Getty, M P Charlesworth•Phoenix•1953

  Añadir item