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Example research essay topic: Brother And Sister Ethnic Cleansing - 2,384 words

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... be risen, was folly. The fact that Christians believed in the message of this crucified one, adopting a preference for the outcasts and poor (the dregs of humanity) and preaching brotherly love for everyone (in a society tightly built in a pyramid and considered the 'natural order') was another intolerable folly, which everyone rejected. Christians had to be eliminated as the adversaries of human civilisation. The criticism of antichristian intellectuals was marked by the same idea of "revelation from above", not based on "philosophical wisdom"; on Christian scriptures, which had contradicted history, and logic; on the "irrational" teachings; on the actions of the LOGOS of God that became man (Gospel of John) and submitted himself to death as a slave; on Christian morality (fidelity to marriage, honesty, respect for others, mutual help) which could be accepted by a small number of philosophers, but certainly not by the vast number of ignorant poor.

All of Christian teaching, for these intellectuals, was folly, since the claim of resurrection is folly (i. e. the claim of life after death), the preference God gave to the poor, and universal brotherly love. It. is all irrational. The greek philosopher Celsus, in his True Discourse, wrote: Accepting ignorant people, joining the vilest population, the Christians bring down the honourable and the noble, and finally go as far as calling everyone brother and sister The object of their veneration is a man on whom the most severe punishment was inflicted, and from the fatal wood of the cross is made an altar, as it is suited for depraved and criminals For decades the Christians remained silent.

They spread with the quiet force of the forbidden. With love and martyrdom they answered the most infamous accusations. It was in the second century that their first apologists (Justin, Athenagoras, Taiwan) refuted with proofs the more outrageous of the charges, and sought to explain their faith (born in the Semitic lands and couched in "stories") in terms culturally acceptable to a world imbued with graeco-roman philosophy. The "bricks" well suited to the message of Jesus Christ began to be organised into an architectural structure which could be regarded as Graeco-roman. It would be Tertullian in the West and Origen in the East (in the third century) who would impose systematic form on "Christian wisdom." With the "building bricks" of the message of Jesus Christ they would attempt to create the harmony of the roman basilica. With the passage of centuries, it would become the daring of the Gothic cathedral, the solid calmness of the romanesque, the pomp of the THE GRAVE CRISIS OF THE THIRD CENTURY (200 - 300) The Third Century saw Rome in very deep crisis.

The relationship between Christianity and the roman empire changed (even though not all noticed it). This great crisis is described by the greek historian Herodian: In the previous 200 years, there never was such a quick succession of rulers, of civil wars, of wars against tribes on the borders and of great migrations of peoples. There were innumerable attacks on cities within the Empire and in many barbarian countries, earthquakes and pestilence, rulers and usurpers. Some were in charge for a long time, others held power for the briefest of periods. Some were proclaimed emperor and crowned one day and overthrown the next. The Roman Empire had been gradually extended by the conquest of new provinces.

This continuing expansion allowed the exploitation of ever new and greater territory (Egypt was the granary of Rome, Spain and Gaul were its vineyards and olive groves). Rome had seized ever newer mines (Dacia was conquered for its gold mines). The wars of acquisition produced countless multitudes of slaves (prisoners of war), unpaid manpower. Towards the middle of the 3 rd century (ca 250) the party was over.

In the East was formed the mighty Sassanid empire which launched strong attacks on the Romans. In 260, the emperor Valerian and his whole army of 70, 000 men were captured and the provinces of the East laid waste. Plague devastated the surviving legions and overflowed the empire. In the North was formed another alliance of strong peoples: the Goths spread over Malaya and Dacia. The Emperor Decius and his army were massacred.

The Goths spread devastation from the North as far as Sparta, Athens and Ravenna. The piles of rubble they left were terrible. Most of the people of culture lost their lives or were taken into slavery, and could not be replaced. Life returned to a primitive and savage state. Agriculture and commerce In this time of great uncertainty, the security guaranteed by the State collapsed. Now were the gentiles ( = pagans) to become "irrational", no longer having confidence in the imperial order but in the protection of the strangest and most mysterious gods.

On the Quirinal rose a temple to the Egyptian goddess Isis. The emperor Elagabulus imposed the worship of the sun-god, the people had recourse to magical rites to drive away plague. Yet even in the Third Century there were terrible persecutions of the Christians. No longer was it because of their "irrationality" (in a sea of people confiding in magical rites, Christianity was the only rational system) but in the name of renewed ethnic cleansing.

Many emperors (although barbarians by birth) saw in a return to centralised unity the only hope of salvation. So they decreed the extermination of the ever more numerous Christians so as to expel from the roman ethnic group, this "extraneous body" which was more and more seen as a different ethnic group ready to take over the empire founded on force of arms, robbery and violence and now in decline. Septimius Severus, Maximin the Thracian, Decius and Gallus. With Septimius Severus (193 - 211), founder of the Syriac dynasty there seemed to be announced for Christianity a phase of undisturbed development.

Christians occupied influential positions at court. Only in the tenth year of his reign (202) did the emperor radically change his stance. In 202 appeared an edict of Septimius Severus which prescribed grave penalties for those who became converts to Judaism or to Christianity. The emperor's sudden change can only be understood by assuming that he realized that in striving strongly for religious unity for the whole of society throughout the world. They were therefore suspect. The damage was most obvious in the abolition of the celebrated Christian School of Alexandria and the Christian Maximin the Thracian (235 - 238) reacted violently and coarsely against the friends of his predecessor Alexander Severus, who had been tolerant towards Christians.

He threw the Church of Rome into confusion with the deportation to the mines in Sardinia of the two leaders of the Christian community, bishop Pontiac and the presbyter Hippolytus. The attitude of the mob towards Christians had not changed. There was launched in Cappadocia a true and proper hunt for Christians when they seemed to be to blame for an earthquake. This popular reaction tells us that the Christians were still considered in general as "strangers and malefactors" (cf. K Baus, Le origini, p 282 - 287). Under the emperor Decius (249 - 251) there was let loose the first systematic persecution of the Church, aimed at finally wiping them out.

Decius (successor of Philip the Arab who was very favourable to Christians and may even have been one himself), was originally a senator from Pannonia, and was very attached to roman traditions. Being deeply conscious of the political and economic break up of the empire, he believed that would restore unity by gathering all the energies of the protectors of the state. All the inhabitants were required to sacrifice to the gods, after which they would receive a certificate. Those who refused this act of submission were arrested, tortured and executed. At Rome at Roe were executed bishop Fabian and with him many priests and laity.

At Alexandria there was a persecution accompanied by plundering. In Asia the martyrs were numerous: the bishops of Pergamum, Antioch and Jerusalem. The great scholar Origen was subjected to inhuman torture and survived the sufferings for four years Not all Christians endured suffering. Many agreed to sacrifice.

Others, by bribes, secretly obtained the famous certificates. Among them, according to letter 67 of Cyprian, there were two Spanish bishops. The persecution which had seemed the death blow for the Church, ended with the demise of Decius in battle against the Goths on the plains of Dobrugia (Romania). (cfr. M Client, I Christians e il power, p. 179 s).

The next seven years (250 - 257) were ones of tranquillity for the Church, disturbed only at Rome by the outbreak of persecution when Trebonianus Gallus (251 - 253) had the head of the Christian community arrested and exiled to Centum Cell (Civitavecchia). The conduct of Gallus was probably a giving in to the mood of the people, who blamed the Christians for the outbreak of disease devastating the empire. The Christians were still seen as "superstitious", strange and malicious! (cf. K. Baus, Le Valerian and the financial state of the empire. In the fourth year of the reign of Valerian (257) something unforeseen occurred, a severe and bloody persecution of the Christians, However, it was not due to religion but rather to money.

Because of the precarious situation of the Empire, the imperial counsellor (and later usurper) Macrianus persuade Valerian to confiscate the goods of wealthy Christians. There were illustrious martyrs (from bishop Cyprian and pope Sixtus II, to the deacon Lawrence). However, it was simply robbery under the pretext of ideological motives, and ended with the tragic death of Valerian. In 259 he and all his army fell prisoners to the Persians. He was reduced to life as a slave and died. The forty years of peace which followed, favoured the internal and external development of the Church.

Several Christians reached high office in the State and proved themselves capable and honest. Financial disaster falls into the lap of Diocletian In 271, the emperor Aurelian ordered his soldiers and roman citizens to abandon to the Goths the vast province of Dacia with its gold mines. The defence of this territory would cost by then too much blood. Since there were no more provinces to conquer and despoil, all attention was focused on the ordinary citizen.

On them fell taxes, the ever-more onerous chores (maintenance of aqueducts, canals, sewers, roads, public buildings... ). They literally did not know how they would manage to survive and pay the taxes. In 284, after a brilliant military career, Diocletian, of Dalmatian origin, was proclaimed emperor. Now the taxes would have to be paid per testa (head) and per jugera i.

e. for each individual and for each unit of land under cultivation. The collection was entrusted to a shrewd and lumbering bureaucracy, which ensured it was impossible to avoid the payment. It punished inhumanly those who tried and was very costly to the state. The taxes were so heavy that they took away all incentive to work. Remedy: it was forbidden to abandon one's job, the piece of soil one cultivated, the workshop or military service.

This was just the beginning - wrote F. Oertel, professor of ancient history at the University of Bonn - of the oppressive measures of the State which squeezed the last drop from the population... Under Diocletian, a complete socialist state was brought into being: terrorism by officials, severe limitation of individual freedom, progressive state Persecution by Galerius in the name of Diocletian. In the first twenty years of the reign of Diocletian we see no molesting of Christians. In 303, with a change of scene, the last great persecution of Christians began. It was the work of Galerius, the "Caesar" of Diocletian - wrote F.

Ruggiero - in 303 he put an end to the prudent policies of Diocletian, which were restrained although he held to traditional feelings, and went over to intransigent and intolerant acts. Four consecutive edicts (February 303 - February 304) imposed on Christians the destruction of their churches, confiscation of their goods, the handing over of sacred books, torture and even death for those who would not sacrifice to the emperor. As always, it is difficult to determine what motives induced Diocletian to approve a policy of this kind. We suppose it was pressure from the fanatical pagans who supported Galerius. In a situation of "widespread anguish" (as Dodds calls it), only return to the ancient faith of Rome, according to Galerius and his friends, could save the people and persuade them to make such sacrifices. It required a return to the veteran institute, i.

e. to the ancient laws and The persecution reached its greatest intensity in the Orient, especially in Syria, Egypt and Asia Minor. To Diocletian who abdicated in 305, there succeeded as "Augustus" Galerius and as "Caesar" Maximin Data who showed himself Only in 311, six days before he died of cancer of the throat, did Galerius grudgingly issue a decree ending the persecution. With this document (which finally signalled the freedom to be Christian), Galerius deplored the obstinacy of Christians who mostly refused to turn to the religion of ancient Rome. He declared that to persecute Christians any more was futile, and he exhorted them to pray to their God for the health of the emperor. Commenting on this decree, F.

Ruggiero, wrote: The Christians had been an extremely anomalous enemy. For more than two centuries, Rome had sought to absorb them into its social fabric... Physically within the civitas Romana, but in many ways outside of it they had finally brought about a radical transformation of the civitas itself into something The final systematic persecutions of the Third and Fourth Centuries were as ineffective as the sporadic ones of the First and Second Centuries. The ethnic cleansing invoked and upheld by the Graeco-roman intellectuals was never Because the indignant accusations of Celsus (Gathering ignorant people, belonging to the vilest population, the Christians bring down the honourable and the noble, and finally go so far as to call people brother and sister without distinction. ) in the long run became the best eulogy for Christians.

It recalled the dignity of each individual, even the lowliest and their equality before God (the most revolutionary point in the Christian message). This had imperceptibly Bibliography:


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