An Impossible Choice: The Consequences (part 2 of 3)
The Clash of Beliefs
Being a “good” Roman stopped at the altar of the emperor’s temple. The Bible is clear that the worship of idols and false gods is forbidden. In Deuteronomy 5:9, God warns:
“You shall not make for yourself a carved image—any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth; you shall not bow down to them nor serve them. For I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God.”
Pergamon Temple of Zeus
Christian’s refusal to participate in the state religion—which had an essential role in both government and society—was seen as a rejection of Roman identity itself. It was a clash of beliefs—that Rome intended to crush—and that led to the Christian martyrdoms of the time.
In my Secrets of Ephesus mystery novels “Fortunes of Death” and “Powers of Death,” my female sleuth, Sabina, contests with the expectation of Christian attendance at civic festivals, athletic games, and theatrical performances where an offering of incense is required to worship the emperor or pagan deities—an act abhorrent to a Christian.
The Choice: Lie or Die?
For early Christians living under the Roman Empire, the decision was stark: lie or die. The persecution of Christians was not always systematic or official at first, and many local governors were left to decide how to handle Christians. Without clear legal guidelines, they had to rely on their own judgment when Christians were brought before them for trial. This created a moral dilemma for Christians caught in the persecution.
According to scholar Joseph Bryant, “Nero’s mass executions … set [such] a precedent, and thereafter the mere fact of ‘being a Christian’ was sufficient for state officials to impose capital punishment.”
Pliny the Younger’s Letter to Emperor Trajan
One of the most fascinating documents from this period is a letter written by Pliny the Younger, a Roman governor in Bithynia-Pontus (modern-day Turkey), to Emperor Trajan around 112 AD. In his letter, Pliny describes his dilemma over how to deal with Christians: (Fragment of an inscription bearing the name Pliny, Basilica of Sant’Ambrogio, Milan)
“I have never before participated in trials of Christians, so I do not know what offenses are to be punished or investigated, or to what extent… Is pardon to be granted for repentance, or if a man has once been a Christian is it irrelevant whether he has ceased to be one? Is the name itself to be punished, even without offenses, or only the offenses perpetrated in connection with the name?
I interrogated them as to whether they were Christians; those who confessed I interrogated a second and a third time, threatening them with punishment; those who persisted I ordered executed.
Those who denied that they were or had been Christians, when they invoked the gods in words dictated by me, offered prayer with incense and wine to your image, and also cursed Christ – none of which those who are really Christians can, it is said, be forced to do – these I thought should be discharged.”
Pliny was unsure whether merely being Christian was enough to warrant punishment or if only specific offenses related to the faith should be punished. If someone recanted and offered incense to the emperor’s image, they were set free. But those who refused were put to death, or if they were Roman citizens, transferred to Rome for a trial. (Trajan statue, Glyptothek, Munich)
This letter highlights the precarious position of Christians. Would they deny their faith to save their lives, or would they refuse to conform, knowing it could lead to death?
This blog also seen on HHHistory.com – https://www.hhhistory.com/2025/07/an-impossible-choice-consequences-part.html
Bibliography:
-Cairns, Earle E. (1996). “Chapter 7:Christ or Caesar”. Christianity Through the Centuries: A History of the Christian Church (Third ed.). Grand Rapids, Michigan: Zondervan. ISBN 978-0-310-20812-9.
-Clark, Mark Edward (1983). “Spes in the Early Imperial Cult: “The Hope of Augustus””. Numen. 30 (1): 80–105. doi:10.1163/156852783X00168. JSTOR 3270103
– Whitby, Michael; Streeter, Joseph, eds. (2006). Christian Persecution, Martyrdom, and Orthodoxy GEM de Ste.Croix. New York: Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0-19-927812-1.
–Jump up to:a b Catherwood, Christopher (2011). “Chapter Three, From Christ to Christendom: The Early Church”. A Brief History of the Middle East (Second ed.). London: Constable and Robin Ltd. ISBN 978-1-84901-508-0.
-A Short History of the Early Church, By Harry R. Boer page 45
–Bart D. Ehrman, A Brief Introduction to the New Testament (Oxford University Press 2004 ISBN 978-0-19-536934-2), pp. 313–314
-Bryant, Joseph M. (1993). “The Sect-Church Dynamic and Christian Expansion in the Roman Empire: Persecution, Penitential Discipline, and Schism in Sociological Perspective”. The British Journal of Sociology. 44 (2): 303–339. doi:10.2307/591221. JSTOR 591221.