Persecution

The writing of Passion of Sts. Perpetua and Felicity is an extremely detailed work of writing that exemplifies the Christian community during the third century AD. Perpetua and Felicity show an extraordinary amount of faith throughout this entire reading, and, even in the face of overwhelming danger, they prevail in the battle against the devil. From this reading, it is perfectly clear that the Christians in third century Carthage were horribly persecuted and forced to do terrible things because of their faith. In this reading alone, three Christians are fed to the beasts for the entertainment of the crowds.

Reading this, it is clear why the Romans would be afraid of Christianity. The amount of conviction that the three martyrs had was incredible, and if the Christians decided they wanted to take control of the Roman government, the Romans would be hard-pressed to quell the uprising. Looking back at history, we can see that the Romans’ fear of Christianity was quite possibly well-founded as well, because after the fall of Rome, the Christian church, mainly the Pope and high ranking staff members, obtained a monopoly of the European politics of the time period. The main reason was that almost every single citizen of Europe was Christian, and while the kings and queens had the loyalty of the people who lived in their country, the Pope had even more control over the people. So the kings and queens had to bow to the wishes of the Pope, and the people were caught in the middle. Now this outcome in the history of the world could prove the argument that Rome’s fear of the Christians was well-founded.

Another argument that could be made about Rome’s relationship with Christians, after looking back through all of history, is that by attempting to keep the Christians under control, they actually allowed them to grow, flourish, and eventually take control of Europe. This argument is founded on the statement, “Christianity grew on the blood of the martyrs,” which I believe is a true statement. I believe that the conviction of those early Christians inspired other individuals to become Christians. All in all, it is clear that the Roman government had an enormous impact on the history of Christianity, and Christianity has had an enormous impact on the history of the world.