Description
Book SynopsisExamines the motivations and legal mechanisms behind the various outbursts of violence against Christians, and chronologically tracks the course of Roman oppression of this new religion to the time of Constantine. Brief consideration is also given to persecutions of Christians outside the borders of the Roman Empire.
Table of Contents
- Introduction: The Cruelty and Fascination of Ancient Persecutions of Christians
- 1. The Marginalization of Christianity within Judaism
- 2. Christianity's Offensiveness: Ideological Parameters of the Ancient Conflicts
- 3. Legal Procedures and Punishments
- 4. Persecutions in Rome under Nero and Domitian
- 5. Christians as Victims of Local Police Actions (111–249)
- 6. A Decade of Persecution: From Decius to Valerian (249–260)
- 7. The Fiercest Attack on Ancient Christianity: The 'Great Persecution' under Diocletian and Its Aftermath
- 8. Later Repressions of Christians in the Roman Empire
- 9. Late Antique Persecutions outside the Roman Empire
- 10. The Dispute about Repentance after Apostasy
- Concluding Observations
