Introduction

Until quite recent times, it could be held with confidence that the one thing people knew, or at least thought they knew, about the early Christians was that they were persecuted. Children would gather round pictures of Christians in the arena about to be eaten by lions, and Sunday-school teachers would encourage them to admire the bravery of the martyrs. Films such as Quo Vadis? (1951) and The Robe (1953) reinforced the popular view that from the outset, Christians were both hated and hunted by the Romans, and lived in constant fear of being sentenced to death in the arena. From the early persecutions of Paul (1 Cor 15:9–10; Gal 1:13–14; Phil 3:6; cf. Acts 9:1) to the pogrom in Nero's Rome (Tacitus, Ann. 15.44), Christians experienced what they perceived to be persecution. Indeed, in their writings, they presented themselves as a suffering community, facing intolerance and misunderstanding from Jew and Gentile alike, to the extent that in Acts the Jewish community in Rome is made to declare of early Christianity, “we know that people everywhere are talking against this sect” (Acts 28:22).

However, while this sketch may still represent popular views of early Christianity, historians generally recognise that while members of the early church undoubtedly did face some harassment, there was no empire-wide policy against Christianity until well into the third century, and even then, these were short lived. Where Christians experienced persecution, it tended to be localised, sporadic, and random, and resulted from pockets of prejudice rather than any official imperial interest in the church.

If we see those who take at face value the deuteropauline claim that “all who desire to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted” (2 Tim 3:12) as representing a “maximalist” view of persecution, then, in direct contrast, what might be termed a “minimalist” account is gaining popularity among scholars.