“What in the world is this Christianity thing?”
A phrase like this would not have been unusual among Romans in the first couple of centuries. In the eyes of the average citizen, Christians were an odd bunch. And what made them odd was not just what they believed. It was how (and who) they worshiped.
To be sure, worship was a big deal in the ancient world. The ancient Greco-Roman culture was very religious. Even more to the point, they were publicly religious. Worship rituals and activities were visible for all to see.
And it was precisely here that this “Christianity thing” was found to be strange and unusual. Indeed, Christian worship seemed to hack off just about everybody. Here’s why:
The Exclusivity of Early Christian Worship
A fundamental aspect of early Christian worship was its exclusivity. Only Jesus was to be worshiped. Whatever other religious loyalties one possessed before coming to Christ, they had to be abandoned and full devotion given to Jesus the King.
One might think the Roman state wouldn’t care about such things. Wasn’t religion a private matter?
Not at all. To be a good citizen, your duty was to pay homage to the Roman gods who kept the empire prosperous and flourishing. To refuse to worship the gods wasn’t only socially rude (Christians were viewed as sanctimonious), but it risked invoking the gods’ displeasure.
Thus, Christians’ refusal to participate in the broader Roman worship caused them to be viewed as reckless and callous to the welfare of their fellow man. Indeed, they were called “haters of humanity” (Tacitus, Annals 15.44). As a result, they often suffered serious persecution.
The Object of Early Christian Worship
Of course, the idea of an exclusive religion was not offensive to everyone. Monotheism was not, in principle, a problem in the Jewish world. This is what the Jews had been doing for thousands of years.
But, they found Christian worship offensive for a very different reason. Christians were worshiping this human being, Jesus of Nazareth. How could any good Jew (the earliest Christians were Jewish) worship a human being? Worship was to be given to Yahweh alone.
Needless to say, the earliest Christians did not see this as a problem. For them, Jesus was the God of Israel in the flesh. Thus, they were quite comfortable praying to Jesus, singing to Jesus, and offering him all adoration and praise.
This was a stunning move by the earliest Christians. They remained committed to monotheism and yet, at the same time, offered worship to both the person of Jesus and to God. They didn’t view themselves as worshiping two Gods. Yes, there were two figures, but they shared a single divine identity.
So Christian worship offended both Romans and Jews–but for very different reasons.
The Manner of Early Christian Worship
In terms of the particular details of the early Christian worship service, there were plenty of things that would have offended (or at least confused) the Romans.
For one, Christian worship was very much centered on a book. The Scriptures, both OT and NT, were a central feature of early Christian worship services. They were read aloud. They were expounded. Christians studied them, memorized them, and were devoted to them.
In our modern western world, this doesn’t seem at all unusual. But in the ancient world, books were not a featured part of pagan religious practices. They were more about ritual than they were about doctrine or teaching.
For this reason, the Romans did not know quite what do with this “Christianity thing.” Was it a religion? It certainly didn’t seem like one. In fact, it was the “bookishness” of Christian worship that led some Romans to regard it more as a philosophy. For them, it didn’t even qualify as a religion at all.
The other offensive aspect of Christian worship was their private meetings. For obvious reasons, Christians weren’t eager to put their worship practices on full public display. So, they tended to meet early in the mornings, or in the evenings, often when it was dark, away from the masses.
Of course, this was seen as highly suspicious. As already noted, Romans regarded religion as public. So, what were these Christians up to in their “secret” meetings? As is well known, this occasioned all sorts of speculation (and accusation) about whether Christians were engaging in licentious or even cannibalistic activities in these gatherings.
Conclusion
So, Christian worship managed to irritate just about everyone. The Romans were agitated. The Jews were upset. Christianity was seen as a subversive threat.
But, here’s the key. Christians did not, for these reasons, decided to abandon, change, or modify their worship. Despite the opposition, they stayed true to their practices and true to their Lord.
That’s a great lesson for today’s church. Exclusive, Christ-centered, Scripture-based worship must continue to be the heartbeat of the modern church.
Even if it happens to offend just about everybody.
LiterateBarbarian says
Going through Hurtato’s works right now. This sounds very familiar.
Michael Kruger says
Yes, Larry and I cover a lot of the same ground in our respective books. Though there are also differences (he covers ethics, and I cover canon and heresy/orthodoxy).
Michael Garland says
I have appreciated your books on the NT cannon. I am leading a small group through Acts currently and I plan to share this post with them! Great summary of the oddity of early Christians!
Timothy Joseph says
Dr K.,
Thanks. Also, do you agree with Dr. Hurtado that one aspect that made Christianity more despised than Judaism by the culture was Christianity’s crossing ethnic boundaries on a wholesale basis?
Tim
Michael Kruger says
I’m not sure Hurtado argued that Christianity’s trans-ethnic quality made it more “despised.” Rather, its trans-ethnic nature made it more confusing and threatening. Romans generally tolerated the monotheism of the Jews precisely because they were seen as their own separate ethnic/national group; and therefore not really “Roman.” Early Christians did not enjoy such tolerance because the Roman world did not view them as a separate ethnic/national group. For this reason, Christianity’s monotheism was seen as a problem. And I think Hurtado is 100% correct about this.
Chuck Cobb says
I’ve heard it said, the problem with today’s preachers is that not enough people hate them. Obviously on its face this seems like a crass and rude statement, but when you think about the unique peculiar message of this foolish gospel it does become quite alienating even as it is the most inclusive Faith out there.
Jerry wamsley says
This article is excellent. Nothing can take the place of God, his word and his people. We should be separate from worldly thinking. As His people we we don’t need to compromise our convictions to “win” the lost.
Angelo says
Very good article, Dr. Kruger, still I would be very cautious in drawing any parallels between the society where the first Christians lived and our society today. I say that because when you state that the first Christians did not change their practices “despite opposition”, almost everybody in this country would instantly think about the supposed “persecution” in our society today. I know this for a fact because I have heard that countless times among fellow believers. And nobody seems to be unfazed when reminded of the real persecution going on elsewhere in the world.
I would say that people in the West today should count their blessings and not try to compare with first Christians, whose world had absolutely nothing to do with ours.
Michael Kruger says
Thanks, Angelo. But I think you have a misunderstanding of early Christianity. Yes, many early Christians were persecuted severely, even killed. But, that was not true for all early Christians. Indeed, most early Christians suffered in ways similar to the modern day: social ostracization, public ridicule, intellectual derision, loss of employment, etc. So, it is inaccurate to portray early Christianity as if everyone were being fed to the lions. So, I think the comparison between the modern day and the early church is fair. Even so, I don’t think Western Christians have to wait till they are being killed before they acknowledge (and even respond to) the persecution they receive. History has taught us that small persecutions often precede big ones. What starts as social ridicule can, eventually, lead to much worse.
Angelo says
Dr. Kruger, I never said, nor has it ever been my understanding, that everyone of the early Christians was fed to the lions. My point was we should rather err on the side of caution when making such comparisons between epochs that can hardly be comparable. The early believers suffered those small persecutions that you mention because of the “oddities” you well describe on the article, but also, and it’s a quite big also, because of their commitment to speak truth to power. “Jesus Christ is Lord”, meaning Cesar is not, was the most subversive proclamation ever heard. On the contrary, believers today come to those “small persecutions” after a looong history of being in bed with power, of being on the side of persecutors rather than the persecuted (mostly in Europe, also in the US). Or of openly courting power, like in the US since the 1970s.
Finally, the trajectory you describe, if true, would rather be a “desirable” one: the small persecutions in the Roman world ended up with the Church becoming one with the power, becoming “the” power. By the same token you say “small persecutions often precede big ones”, still I fail to recall any such instances in modern Western world.
Michael Kruger says
Simply because earlier generations of Christians were in power (and sometimes abused it), does not mean the sufferings of current Christians should be dismissed. Christians today are persecuted for many of the same reasons as our brothers in the earliest centuries. The fact that Christians from prior generations were in power doesn’t change that. And thus it is valid to note the similarities between the eras. As for small persecutions leading to bigger ones, yes there are examples in the modern world. Jews in Germany in the 1920’s and 30’s were persecuted initially in small ways: derision, mocking, social ostracization. Then it grew over time. I am not arguing that small persecutions ALWAYS lead to bigger ones, but there are examples where it does.
Ginny Bain Allen says
The Bible clearly states that those who have surrendered their allegiance to Jesus will be persecuted.
Richard Ritenbaugh says
Another problem in the early church was its refusal to worship the emperor by burning incense to him. Local Roman officials were fine with a person’s religious beliefs as long as he acknowledged the emperor. Refusal was a mark of treason, like what the Jews tried to accuse Jesus of before Pilate. Thus, many were martyred for political reasons rather than religious ones.
gjwolfswinkel says
Also worth noting – and described in more detail in the already mentioned works of Hurtado – is that Christianity also had specific stances on the sanctity of life, the relation between man and woman and sexual mores that were vastly different from what the typical Roman was used to.