Note 246 — Chapter XXI · THE FOREIGN CULTS: CYBELE, ISIS, MITHRAS. THE CHRISTIANS IN PAGAN EYES

The following are some only of the reasons why the Roman government insisted on persecuting the Christians, despite its usual policy of religious tolerance:

1. The Christians persistently refused to sacrifice to the deified Emperors and to the Genius of the reigning Emperor, an act practically amounting in common opinion to a denial of loyalty to the government, or at least capable of that construction.

2. The Christians demanded the repudiation of the old gods, including, of course, the official gods of Rome; they were not content with simply worshiping “Christus” along with Jupiter, Apollo, etc. as were for example the devotees of Isis.

3. The Christians maintained a tight interior organization, separate socially from the pagans, under the control of its bishops, presbyters, and deacons, and so far as possible judging the disputes of its members. This seemed meddling with political matters, a ticklish business with any Emperor.

4. The private meetings of the Christians, and the misconstructions laid upon their ceremonies, gave rise to the vilest possible stories.

5. The great proportion of slaves and of the lowest grade of plebeians in the early Church seemed to justify the belief that here was a subversive, degraded, and illicit movement.