Like any historian, Eusebius is only as good as his sources. When it comes to 2nd century persecutions, his sources are sometimes excellent (e.g., Justin Martyr) and sometimes not quite as reliable. Nevertheless, while one might question some of the details he includes, Eusebius is an excellent source for understanding the reasons Christians were persecuted and the reasons Christianity was able to grow despite the persecutions.
Read through some of the martyrdom sections in Books IV and V of Eusebius' History of the Church. Sections you might find particularly useful are 4:14-17 (which includes an account of the martyrdom of Polycarp) and 5:1-3 (which includes the martyrdom of Blandina).
What do you find in these sections that helps explain Roman persecution of the Christians or helps explain the perseverance of the Christians despite the persecutions?
I found the persecution of Polycarp in Book IV to be very interesting. He showed great perseverance during his persecution and did not run from them. When the authorities showed up, he simply let them in and had a meal for them while he prayed. He then went with them without protest and was eventually burned alive. Polycarp was a very old man and to see his patience and acceptance showed others that Christianity is a religion that allows people to get the most out of life and have the afterlife in heaven to look forward to when their time comes.
ReplyDeleteI found both the martyrdom of Polycarp and Blandina very helpful in explaining why the Romans were killing Christians. First off the Christians were not the same religion as most Romans so they did not like that. Second the aggression they sowed against the Christians shows that they are taught by people higher up to hate Christians. An example Nazis told the Germans to hate Jews. I like how Polycarp and Blandina did not fear their death. It shows their strength in their religion.
ReplyDeleteBook 5:5 is what I found to be most interesting for this section. The Melitene Legion was fighting Germans and Sarmatians but were very thirsty. Luckily the soldiers of the Legion were Christian and knelt and prayed to God. They received rain to drink and lightning to scare their foes.
ReplyDeleteThis section is how Christians persevered at this time; pagans also wrote about this event. Apolinarius, a Christian writer, writes that the legion got a nickname from the prayer; The Thundering Legion. Tertullian also defends the faith by saying if it wasn't for the prayer which led to rain, there might not have been a victory. It definately seems nothing can stand against the fervent prayer of righteous men...
Petra- Underground
from their 1990 album "Beyond Belief"
(based on John 15:18, Romans 8:37, and Philippians 1:28)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wema3CNqzvg
I definitely think that by looking at Polycarp's and Blandina's persecution we can learn a lot about how christians were persecuted. And how they were treated by the Romans, which usually resulted in their deaths. However, the way that Eusebius describes their persecutions greatly helps the audience to visualize and get an idea of what happened back then. Especially when he is describing Polycarp before he is killed and then becomes a martyr. Overall I liked these chapters and found them really eye opening to how the Christians were treated.
ReplyDeleteWhen Polycarp was being burned alive, what did he do? He prayed. How much faith and hope does that take? That had to be an amazing spectacle for everyone who was there. For other Christians to see what Polycarp went through would have been a wonderful encouragement, that they can suffer persecution as well.
ReplyDeleteEusebius says that "the faithful emerged with a joyful smile, glory, and grace, wearing their chains as ornaments and perfumed with the sweet aroma of Christ". How good of a witness is that? If you can uphold that kind of an attitude, while being beaten and murdered and imprisoned.... that is a huge testament to the religion you believe in.
The martyrdom of Polycarp is an incredible tale. He did not run when authorities came for him. He had a vision of his pillow going up in flames, and when his friends wanted him to keep running, he refused because "God's will be done." He had a faith in God that I only wish I could have. I would probably be scared for my life going through what Polycarp went through, but he was a prime example of the perseverance that Christians would show despite being persecuted.
ReplyDeleteI hope that if I were ever persecuted the way Polycarp was, that I would respond the same way. He was given all sorts of outs, could have fled or could have denounced God and Christianity. If he had done this his life may have been spared.
ReplyDeleteHe chose to greet his persecutors with hospitality. He had a meal served and spoke the word of God while they ate. When he was brought in front of the people he was filled with God's peace and spoke words of encouragement. Just like India said, this is a huge testament to his religion, Christianity.
I hope that if I were ever persecuted the way Polycarp was, that I would respond the same way. He was given all sorts of outs, could have fled or could have denounced God and Christianity. If he had done this his life may have been spared.
ReplyDeleteHe chose to greet his persecutors with hospitality. He had a meal served and spoke the word of God while they ate. When he was brought in front of the people he was filled with God's peace and spoke words of encouragement. Just like India said, this is a huge testament to his religion, Christianity.
Polycarp's persecution was particularly interesting to me. Here's an old man arrested and put on trial, yet he takes advantage of every chance he has to proclaim the Gospel, and goes out with dignity. This is the best and humblest form of martyrdom.
ReplyDelete^ Above comment by Kent Johnsen
ReplyDeleteI found the book on the martyrdom of Polycarp to be very interesting in helpful in understanding the persecution of Christianity during this time. Eusebius talks about the awful torture that Christians were put through, and it is quite shocking and amazing that so many refused to denounce their faith. The story of the persecution of Polycarp is so special because of his calm and accepting demeanor in the time of his impending death. He did not want to run from Roman authorities, and was ready to accept his fate. He wanted to show the Roman people how great Christianity was, and he was able to do this during his execution. He showed the crowd that Christianity must be something truly good and right if you are willing to suffer a terrible death defending it. This caused many people to question the Roman practice and instead turn to Christianity.
ReplyDeleteI found the story about Polycarp to be very interesting and helpful in understanding the persecution of Christians. Polycarp showed great faith in the face of persecution, he was hiding in a barn praying with some of his friends when one night he had a dream that his pillow caught fire he interred this as how he would be martyred, burned alive, to protect his friend he went to a different barn before being found by the Roman authorities, he did not fight the authorities and showed the roman people the awesomeness of Christianity at his exaction by showing people that he was willing to die for it. That display of faith makes it a little more obvious why Christianity persevered.
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ReplyDeleteThe Story about Polycarp was interesting and helpful in understanding the persecution of Christians. Eusebius talks about how awful the torturing of the Christians and what they were put through and it is quite shocking and interesting that so many refused to denounce their faith. He chose to greet his persecutors with hospitality. He had a meal served and spoke the word of God. When he was brought in front of the people he was filled with God's peace and spoke words of encouragement to anyone who listened. I do believe that he was a true martyr for the faith.
ReplyDeleteThese sections help to explain the perseverance of the Christians in spite of the persecutions. They show examples of people that weren't afraid of what could happen to them. These people had every opportunity to turn away from their faith, to say that they were no longer Christians but they didn't do this. Seeing these examples of people being persecuted to this extent and then being killed for their faith could have helped other Christians to believe that they could do that as well.
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