Nero And Christian Persecution Flashcards
When was Jesus crucified
33 AD
There were rumours that who started the fire
Emperor Nero
When did Nero become Roman emperor
64AD
What happened when Nero was emperor
He was an unpopular ruler, and during his reign a large fire broke out which destroyed large parts of the city of Rome.
Who did Nero blame for the fire?
What is this called
Nero blamed Christians
Scapegoating
What did Nero want to happen to Christian’s
He wanted them to be rounded up and killed.
What were some of Neros methods of persecution
Dipping them in candle wax and setting them alight on the streets.
Put in the colosseum with lions or vicious dogs and were ripped apart whilst alive. With no weapons or defence.
Made them dig their own grave, put a stake in it and then push them in.
Why didn’t people care that Christian’s were being killed?
in the early days, non-Christians believed that the Early Church was uncivilised and they did not understand their practices.
What did non Christian’s think Christian’s did?
Christians would meet at night. And it was rumoured that they ate and drank the body and blood of Jesus, so they thought that they were involved in cannibalistic feasts.
Why would Christian’s meet at night?
to avoid being ‘caught’ practicing their faith.
To avoid being labelled as a Christian.
To avoid persecution – they needed to stay alive to spread the Christian message
What were they actually doing when non-Christians thought they were engaging in cannibalistic activities?
Eating bread and drinking wine. To reenact the last supper like Eucharist
(Holy communion )
What were Roman governors?
Who was one of the Roman governors ?
Governors who ruled on behalf of the emperor
Pliny
What was Pliny given and what did he do with it?
Pliny was given a notebook filled with the names of Christians.
Pliny chose two Christian girls from the list and tortured them so they would give him information about what Christians believed and how they worshipped.
This helped him develop a ‘test’.
What was the test?
Made the person worship Roman gods
Offer incense and wine to a statue of the Roman Emperor (Trajan)
Deny following Jesus
What happened if they did /didn’t do the test
If they did these things then they were freed, and if they refused they were executed as Christians.
