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Why Persecute Christians

Christians are mentioned in Suetonius' biography of the Emperor Nero (Nero 16) as among those persecuted by him around AD 64 which was the year of the Great Fire of Rome. In this passage Suetonius describes Christianity and its excessive religiosity using the term superstitio as do others like Tacitus and Pliny.

At first there was little distinction between Christians and Jews prior to Nerva's modification of the Fiscus Judaicus in AD 96.

What is the source and cause of their contempt, bias, and bigotry toward Christians?

If we understand that writers like Suetonius and Tacitus had a bias for the Senate who were the Consctipi Patri, Conscripted Fathers, and Christians would call no man father upon the earth because of the directive of their King who they called the Son of God instead of Caesar, the foundation for a Christian conflict was there from the beginning.

Religio et superstitio

It has been reported that Lucius Annaeus Seneca, the Younger, once said "Religion is regarded by the common people as true, by the wise as false, and by rulers as useful." Atheists and anti-religion factions love to quote him but I find no evidence that he ever did actually say or write this statement as we read it.

In fact, he makes a distinction between the two Latin words that are each sometimes translated as “religion”. One is “riligio” which he regarded as virtue and “superstitio” which he believed became a vice.

"... religio denotes the pious and sound worship of the gods, whereas superstitio stands for instrumental worship as a result of unreasoning fear."

"religio becomes “obligation”, an objective bond between the believer and his God."

"But it was the enlightened view, the philosophic view of the rationalizing Romans which dissociated religio ‘religious scruple’, authentic worship, from superstitio, a degraded and perverted form of religion." Chapter 7: Religion and Superstition

The Ionic Greek term thrēskeíē is unknown in Attic Greek appearing in the first century B.C. a complex system of beliefs and practices can be considered religion as in the performance of a duty.

Seneca did write, “...just as religion does honour to the gods, while superstition wrongs them, so good men will all display mercy and gentleness,...”

He went on to connect religion with duty like the weightier matters of Christ and the whole list of Social virtues that appear in true fellowship described by Paul and the apostles who considered faith with out the works was dead. Seneca points out that it is avarice that degenerates society:

“ ...[Philosophy’s] sole function is to discover the truth about things divine and things human. From her side religion never departs, nor duty, nor justice, nor any of the whole company of virtues which cling together in close-united fellowship. Philosophy has taught us to worship that which is divine, to love that which is human; she has told us that with the gods lies dominion, and among men, fellowship. This fellowship remained unspoiled for a long time, until avarice tore the community asunder and became the cause of poverty, even in the case of those whom she herself had most enriched. For men cease to possess all things the moment they desire all things for their own.”

Superstition is a belief in the mind, an ideology, while religion is the performance of a duty and pure Religion is the performance of that duty unspotted by the men and means of the world who exercise authority.

A New cult

A cult included the doing and performing of tasks, duties and obligations.

Cicero explained ‘Those who rehandled (retractarent) diligently and so to speak relegerent all the things which relate to the worship of the gods, were called religiosi from relegere, like elegantes from eligere and diligentes from diligere. All these words have in fact the same sense of legere as religiosus.’

Suetonius can speak of 'Christians' as members of a new cult that was doing contrary to the Imperial Cult of Rome. Those who had become accustomed to funding their temples with the immoral practices forcing the contributions of others, counted as strangers, so that some could continue to live at the expense of others had their conscience seared.

Public Cults

Romans, like the first Americans, in their early history, in their youth as a nation had considered taxing others for their personal benefit or gain as an immoral practice.

In the days of the Libera res publica of early Rome there was no Imperial Cult of Rome but there was social virtues and the “Summum Bonum”.

Polybius had, centuries earlier, warned Rome and us of the consequences to the masses who engage in such covetous practices. Plutarch had also warned that those benefits and dainties destroy liberty. David, Paul, all the Prophets to say nothing of Proverbs explained that such systems of social welfare would be a snare.

Jesus said such covetous systems like the Corban of Herod and the pharisees made the word of God to none effect.

Suetonius, Tacitus, FDR, and modern Christians did not or do not see that those benefits were and are not only the wages of unrighteousness but they erode the social bonds required to maintain freedom and even their liberties.