The Christian Church was born within the Roman Empire at the time when that Empire was almost at the zenith of its power. From their small beginnings about the middle of the Eighth Century B.C. the Roman people had attained to a practically world-wide supremacy in the time of Augustus Caesar, who died in A.D. 14. Augustus had fixed the limits of the Empire on the lines of the Rivers Rhine, Danube, and Euphrates, limits that included all the most prosperous territories of Europe, Asia Minor, and Western Asia, together with most of the northern coastlands of Africa. Within those limits, Rome ruled supreme.
As a Roman governor had been legally responsible for the death of Jesus of Nazareth, it might have been expected that Rome would oppose the movement associated with his Name. Actually, it did nothing of the kind in the period following the establishment of the Church. Its general policy in relation to religious matters was one of toleration. Having a number of gods of its own, it usually absorbed the gods of conquered nations into its pantheon. An exception had been made in respect of the Jews whose steadfast devotion to the cause of monotheism made that course out of the question. Besides, Rome, in the persons of its rulers, had been generally favourable to the people of Judea, and recognised their religion as a legal one in the Empire. In its first days, Christianity was regarded as a Jewish sect, and profited by the toleration shown to the Jews, For that reason the attitude of Rome to Christianity was at first one of toleration.
So long as the Church was confined to Palestine and Syria, its enemies were Jews, and the Roman authorities took little, or no, notice of it. When it reached Asia Minor, hostility to it was the outcome of Jewish envy and animosity working on native prejudices. Even when the faith reached Europe, the troubles were stirred up by Jews, or by officious magistrates seeking to magnify their importance. In those early days of Christianity, the Empire was a protection rather than a threat to it. The fact that there was one supreme power controlling the whole Empire withheld petty officials from taking steps adverse to the new religion, or, put fear into them when they did exceed their powers. To proclaim himself a Roman citizen, saved Paul from punishment, and caused local officials to seek pardon for unauthorised punishment.1
To continue reading this Bible article, click here.
Author: W. H. Boulton
Keywords: Roman empire, Rome, Roman Emperor, Caesar, Render unto Caesar, we have no king but caesar, we have no king save caesar, roman citizen, roman citizenship, Caesar Augustus, Tiberius Caesar, Roman governor
Bible reference(s): Matthew 22:17, Matthew 22:21, Mark 12:14, Mark 12:17, Luke 2:1, Luke 3:1, Luke 20:22, Luke 20:25, Luke 23:2, John 19:12, John 19:15, Acts 11:28, Acts 17:7, Acts 22:25, Acts 22:26, Acts 22:27, Acts 22:29, Acts 23:27, Acts 25:8, Acts 25:11, Acts 25:12, Acts 25:21, Acts 25:25, Acts 26:32, Acts 27:1, Acts 27:24, Acts 28:16, Acts 28:19
Source: “The Church and the Roman Empire,” The Testimony, Vol. 20 No. 232, April 1950, pp. 157-9.
Page indexed by: inWORD Bible Software.