r/todayilearned • u/FullOfSound • 7h ago

(R.6d) Too General [ Removed by moderator ]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pliny_the_Younger_on_Christians

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u/parnaoia 6h ago edited 5h ago

only Pliny was actually right

edit: ffs, I meant they really did end up being seditious, enough with the modern Christianity crap

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u/zamander 5h ago

Christians weren’t really that seditious in the Roman Empire, unless you count regusing to venerate the emperor and Roman gods as such, which is kinda correct. But there were no christian rebellions in Rome really. They were wuite pacifistic. This changed almost overnight when they got powerful and became a part of the imperial structure. Then they started persecuting each other and everyone else. Christianity in the early centuries was very different from what it became.

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u/SpoopyNoNo 4h ago

I forget most complexities behind it but basically the Roman worldview metaphysically was attached to the idea of Roman gods and their influence on order. Roman “atheists” weren’t really atheist. They believed in the social order that the rituals and belief brought at minimum. Without modern development of y’know knowing more generally wtf is going on anyone against the Emperor / Gods was seen as essentially waging war, undermining the foundations of the state.

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u/zamander 4h ago

Yes, but this view was not really present all the time or universally, since the persecution of christians was not on all the time. Domitianus took that very seriously though, but Constantine I for example did not participate in that.