The last few posts have looked at three Roman government officials who recorded mentioned some information about either Jesus or his followers. Those three officials are Pliny the Younger [P], Emperor Trajan [Tr], and Emperor Hadrian [H]. Below is a summary of the last few posts and what they wrote:
- Christ was worshipped as a deity by early believers. [P]
- The teachings of Jesus were called "excessive superstition" and "contagious superstition." [P]
- Jesus' ethical teachings are reflected as an oath taken by Christians never to be guilty of a number of sins. [P]
- There is a possible reference to communion and the Christian celebration of the "love feast" which is their regathering and partaking of ordinary food. [P]
- A possible reference to Sunday worship since Pliny says they met "on a certain day." [P]
- Christians were identifiable by their worship practice and what they refused to worship. [P]
- True believers could not be forced to worship the gods or the emperor. [P]
- Christian worship involved a pre-dawn service. [P]
- Christian worship included the singing of hymns. [P]
- Christians came from all classes, ages, localities, and sexes. [P]
- There was structure and positions in the church as inferred by the mention of two deaconesses. [P]
- Christians were frequently reported as lawbreakers in Asia and were punished in various ways. [P, H]
- The emperors encouraged a certain amount of tolerance and ordered that they not be harassed. [Tr, H]
- Christians could only be found guilty and punished after careful examination. [Tr, H]
- Undocumented charges were not to be heard or brought against Christians. Anyone doing so would be punished instead. [H]
Tomorrow will begin looking at two Jewish sources and what they had to say about Jesus and his followers.