Vo Ta Hoang 55-2-0629

History Of The Persecutions.

We know that the persecutions  were not only  began from time of early church but also they have begin in Old Testament. In Old Testament, especially in Exodus book, we clear about the Persecution. When the chilldren of Israel were fruitful, and increased abundantly, and multipied, and waxed exceetding mighty; and the land was filled with them. So Egipt very feared Israel who maybe govern them, thereup Egipt made a lots policies to presucute Children of Israel. They did set over them taskmasters to affict them with their burdens, they killed the infant son ... (Ex 1:1-22). We easy understand that the simplest reason led to arrests is envy. This envy made Egipt fear the children of Israel.   And this is the reason leading to the persecution of Christians in the early Church and nowadays.       

1.       Jesus the first person was presecuted.

After years of the teaching to the good news of Jesus,  he has attracted many people who believe and follow him. Through the words and actions of Jesus to the Pharisees did hate and fear him. So they tried to catch and gave him to Pilate.

Pilate then had jesus taken away and scourged. And after this, the soldiers twisted some thorns into a crown and put it on his head and dressed him in a purple robe. They lept coming up to him and saying “hail, king of the Jews!” and slapping him in the face. Pilate came outside agian and said to them,”look , I am going to bring him out to you to let you see that I find no case against him”. Jesus then came out wearing he crown of thorns and purple robe.Pliate said: “Behold the Man”   John (19:1-5).

After scourged, Jesus must to carried a cross to Golgotha, and finally he was crucified on cross. The dying of Jesus is a mirror to his disciples who followed  him.

2.       Persecution in the early Church.

2.1.           General situation of the early church.

After Jesus rasing and went up the hevean, he poured the holy spirit opon his disciples Mark(6:9-19). The disciple filled holy spirit and happiness, they went out to poclaim the good news. Good news is jesus risen from the dead. Many people believed and received baptism. The christians more day more, they were led by 12 apostles. And from that the church was built by apostles and christians throught the leading of holy spirit.

2.2.           Reason for persecution.

There are several important and interrelated reasons for the persecution of the early church.

First was the problem of idenity. Christianity was identified at first with Judaism, but people quickly came to see it as a different religion. Jews were left alone for the most part; it seemed best to Rome to just confine them and leave them alone. Christianity, however, was a strange, new cult, and it began to spread across people groups and geographcial boundaries. People felt threatened vy this oddball new religion.

The next problem was with the religions activities of the christians, with what they did do and didn’t do.

In the days of the Roman empire, the worship of pagan gods and the emperor was a part of everyone’s life. Two problems arose because of this. First, beacuse they didn’t particpate in pagan rituals but tended to keep to themselves, christians were considered anti-social. When the imperial police took an interest in them, they became more secretive which added fuel to the fire. They became associated with the collegia-clubs or secret societies and leaders were suspiciouss of these groups because of the threat of sedition. Second, since Christians wouldn’t joinin with the religious activities which were believed to placate the gods, they came a threat to the very well-being of the community. With respect to what they did do in their own religious practices, talk of eating the body, and blood of Jesus, and the customary greeting with a kiss, brought charges of cannibalism and incset.

The third problem  was the nature or content of christian’s beliefs. The historian Tacitus spoke of christians as a class hated for their abominations who help to a deadly superstition. A drawing found in Rome of a man with a donkey’s head hanging on cross gives an idea of what pagans thought of christian beliefs.

Finally, christian’s reluctance to offer worship to the emperor and the gods wasconsidered madness, consedering what would happen to them if they didn’t. Why not just offer a pinch of incence to the image of emperor? In a society, the narrowness of christian beliefs seemed absurd, especially considering what would happen to christians who wouldn’t go along.

2.3.           History of the Pesecutions.

o   Pesecution under Nero (64-68). Traditional martyrdoms of Peter and Paul.

Nero took the opportunity provided by the destruction to rebuilt the city in the Greek style and begin building a large palace for himself. People began speculating that Nero had set the fire himseld in order to indulge his aesthetictastes in the reconstruction  so, according to Tacitus ‘Annals and Suetonius’ Nero, the eccentric emperor blamed the christians for the fire in an effort to divert attention for himself. Nero was quite insane, and is reported to have tortured christians with great cruelties for his own enjoyment.

o   Persecution under Domitian (81-89).

Domitian is recorded as having executed members of his own familly on charges of atheism and Jewish manners, who are thus generally assumed to have christians.

o   Persecution under Trajan (112-117). Christianity is outlawes but christians are not sought out.

In 112 AD, Roman governor Pliny the younger was sent by the emperor Trajan to the province of Bithynia on official business. During his visit, Pliny encountered christians, and he wrote to the emperor about them. The governor indicated that he had ordered the execution of several chtristians, for I help no question that whatever it was they admitted, in any case obstinancy and unbending perversity deserve to be punished. However, he was unsure what to do about those who said they were no longer christians, and asked Trajan his advice. The emperor responded that christians shuold not be sought out, anonymous tips shuold be rejected as unworthy of our times and if they recanted and worshipped our gods they were to be freed. Those who persisted, however, should be punished.

o   Persecution under Marceus Aurelius (161-180).

Maecus Aurelius was emperor from A.D. 161 to 180. The policy adopted by Marcus Auruliys towards the christian church can not be separated from the education which led him to embrace Stoicism, and the long training which he had, after he had attracted the notice of Hadrian and been adopted by Antoninus Pius, in the art of ruling. In the former he had learned, as he records with thankfulness, from his master Diognetus, the temper of incredulity as to alleged marvels, like those of seers and diviners. Under Hadrian and Antoninus Pius he had acquiesced, at least, in a policy of toleration , checking false accustions, requiring from the accusers proof of some other crime than the mere profession of Christianity.

o   Persecution under Septimus Severus (202-210).

The emperor Severus may not have been personally ill-disposed towards Christians, but the church was gaining power and making many converts and this led to popular anti-Christian feeling and persecution in Catharge, Alexandria, Rome and Corinth between about 202 and 210. The famed St. Perpetua was martyred during this time, as were many students of Origen of Alexandria.

o   Pesecution under Maximinus the thracian (235-238).

Maximinus the Thrancian initiated a pesecution in 235 in the reign of that was directed chiefly against the heads of the church. One of its first victims was Pope Pontian, who with Hippolytus waa banished to the island of Sardinia.

o   Persecution under Decius (250-251).

Christians are actively sought out by requiring public sacrifice. Could buy certificates instead of sacrificing. Martyrdoms of bishops of Rome, jerusalem and Antioch.

o   Persecution under Valerian (257-259). Martysdom of Cyprian of Carthage and Sixtus II of Rome.

Under Valerian, who took the throne in 253, all christian clergy were required to sacrifice to the gods. In a 257 edict, the punishment was exile; in 258, the punishment was death. Christian senator, knights, and ladies were also required to sacrifice under pain of heavy fines, reduction of rank and, later, death. Finally, al christians were forbidden to visit their cemeteries.

o   Pesecution under Aurelian (270-275).

The eighth pesecution occurred under Valerian in A.D. 257. Once again every maner of torture was used to mock those claiming to be Christians and for the enterainment of the rulers and their guest. The ninth pesecution occurred under Aurelian in A.D..274 when Felix, bishop of Rome was martyred.

o   Severe pesecution under Diocletian and Galerius (303-324).

On February 23, 303 A.D. the cathedral  in Nicomedia was torn down. The next day an emperial edict was issued ordering all christian church buildings to be destriyed, all christian meeting were to be surrendered to authorities to be burned, all sacred items used in months later another edict was issued ordering the arrest of all clergy so many were arrested they had to halt arersts due to the overflowing of the prisons. In early 304 all christians were required to make sacrifice to the impire on the pain of the death. Later that year Diocletian retired and was succeeded by Galerius. Under Galerius the persecution intensified until his death in 311.

3.       Persecution in Vietnam.

Roman catholic first entered Vietnam through Catholic missonaries in 16^th century and strengthened its influence when Vietnam was a French colony. France encouraged Catholicism.

The most active introducers of Vietnam  enlightenment were the Jesuits, who were, at that time, in the prime of their exploratory efforts. The Franciscans, Dominicans, and other, although prominent , never reached the influence of the Jesuits who were determined to plant the spiritual and cultural power of Roman Catholic Church in Southeast Asia. Having arrived there about 1627, they develovped their activites in many fieds. Their activites were helped by the printing of the first Bible in 1651, and the growing influence of several individuals, who were welcomed in certian powerful circles.

The most remarkable  figure among the early missionaries were the catholic  French Jesuit Alexandre De Rhodes, who arrived in Hanoi in 1627. An energetic man, he learned vietnamese quickly and was well receive by the royal court. By 1630, when he was expelled – probaly because of his growing influence- he had baptized 6000 people. In addition, father De Rhodes wrote a vietnamese catechism and organized a Vietnamese-Latin-Portugese dictionary. Though he never personally returned to Vietnam, De Rhodes left a large influence on the country’s subsequent history. Rhodes created an alphabet for Vietnamese language in 17^th century from Latin cript. Today it is the official writing system as is called Quoc Ngu.

For Christianity persisted in Vietnam despirt persecutions. As in other parts of the world, changing policital alignments might favor or harm religious interests. Vietnamese rulers martyred both Buddhists and Christians at different times. In the 19^th century, growing French colonialism in Vietnam promoted Catholicism and evoked a backlash. Vietnam because a French a Protectorate in 1883, partly owing to sheer force of arms but also because the ruling dynasty had come badly out touch with the people. Some Vietnamese, non-Christians among them, welcomed the French as perhaps a force that might modernze a still largely feudal system. But in the fifty years prior to the French takeover, some where between 100000 and 300000 Catholics were slaughtered or persecuted. The Vatican later beatified 117 of these 19^th century martyrs.

4.       What do you think about the persecution nowadays? What should we do?

We know that today have not forms of persecutions as past: tortured, chained, burned, behead... but we still see many persecutions under different forms, it is in the policy, ideology, abortion, same sex marriage, hate the Catholic Church from the other religious as Muslim. And more specifically in Vietnam with the restrictive policy towards the Catholic Church (Christians). Christians are blocked  by government.

Before the situations today, what should we do? This is question, we who are called christians have to answer. We can not stand up to take a sword to fight with them, we can not establish a group to oppsose them. But the importance is we must to show we are childrens of Gods by our life, and we have to pray for them. In my opinion, I think, the persecution in Vietnam nowadays partly due to christian and priest. In Vietnam, they see Catholic is robber’s religious. Priests were opposed Communism, they libeled them...these are not reasonable. Anyway, from myself i always strive to live worthy with my calling, and give everything to God handle.

Sources

Jesus a Gospel, Henri Nouwen.

http://www.gty.org/resources/Study-Guides/40-5116

http://www.probe.org/site/c.fdKEIMNsEoG/b.4226225/k.3AE5/Persecutionin_the_     Early_Church.htm

http://www.religionfacts.com/christianity/history/persecution.htm

http://www.angelfire.com/ok3/apologia/vietnam.html

http://frontpagemag.com/2013/andrew-harrod/persecuted-on-all-sides-christians-in-the-modern-world/

http://ducmelamabentre.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=138:phim-tai-liu-v-cac-thanh-t-o-vit-nam&catid=37:phim-o