PERSECUTION AND REFORMATION UNIT 4 AOS 1

Question 1

Why were early Christians persecuted?

Answer 1

• The Roman emperor was considered a God however Christian refused to worship any other God than God the Father/ Creator and therefore were seen as traitors
• Superstitious pagans were convinced the gods were punishing society because Christians refused to worship the roman emperor
• political situations and natural disasters caused Christians to be called out as the reason behind these hardships (scape goats)
• Pagans saw it as sus that they refused to give sacrifices to the Roman gods
• Claims of incest and cannibalism due to a misunderstanding of the religion

Question 2

why are challenges to religious traditions significant (in general)?

Answer 2

• can have positive and negative effects
• can offer opportunity for self reflection, change and growth
• challenge can come from internal or external force
• can threaten continued existence or theology
• all challenges affect some aspects of the tradition, the aspects are interconnected

Question 3

what are the three stances religious traditions can take when faced with a challenge?

Answer 3

• for
• against
• indifferent

Question 4

How does religion interact with society?

Answer 4

• positively and negatively contributes to society by stimulating and supporting society as well as acting as levers for change themselves and embracing or resisting forces for change within society

Question 5

What is the purpose of taking a stance on a challenge?

Answer 5

A stance is a way of responding to a challenge in an attempt to retain integrity, authenticity and identity for the religious traditions’ leadership and adherents

Question 6

In the roman catholic tradition, what was a challenge to the tradition’s continued existence?

Answer 6

Persecution in the early church beginning in 64AD and officially ending in 313 CE

Question 7

Who were apologists and church fathers?

Answer 7

People who (during Christian persecution) tried to explain to pagan leaders and philosophers the Christian faith so that they would stop fearing them and stop persecuting them
- this was a type of response to the challenge

Question 8

When were the greatest/harshest periods of persecution and what methods were implemented during this time?

Answer 8

• Emperor Decius in 250AD
• Emperor Diocletian in 303 AD
• Both aimed to destroy Christianity as a whole
• holy books confiscated and destroyed, churches were destroyed, Christians were arrested and forced to offer pagan sacrifices of pain, torture and death.

Question 9

How did Emperor Nero contribute to the persecution of the early church?

Answer 9

• Used Christians as scapegoats for the colossal fire which broke out at Rome and destroyed much of the city
• ordered that Christians should be rounded up and killed
• first persecution which was sanctioned by government in 64 AD

Question 10

Why did Romans oppose Christianity in particular?

Answer 10

• Romans promoted unity and loyalty to the state (also known as piety)
  Christianity was seen as foreign and different in a negative sense
• pagans believed that bad things will happen if the gods are not respected and worshipped properly

Question 11

Briefly explain persecution under the rule of Decius.

Answer 11

• in January 250 Decius issued an edict which required all citizens to sacrifice to the emperor in the presence of a roman official and obtain a certificate proving they had done so
• Christians had to either go against their faith or be martyred

Question 12

Briefly explain persecution under the rule of Diocletian.

Answer 12

• the emperor ordered the burning of Christian books and churches
• extremely violent persecution

Question 13

What were the two Christian responses to persecution?

Answer 13

• Martyrdom

- Apologetics

Question 14

What is a martyr? (response to persecution)

Answer 14

Someone who would rather die than deny their Lord

• Many people chose to become martyrs when faced with persecution
• Tertullian famously declared that “the blood of martyrs is the seed of the church”

Question 15

What is an apologist? (response to persecution)

Answer 15

• a person who responds to persecution by writing pieces which defended the religious tradition
• primary goal was to defend Christianity against accusations and misconception in an effort to stop persecution
• often addressed their works to Roman emperors

sought to show that;

• Christianity was equal to pagan religion and philosophy and good for the Roman state
• although they weren’t willing to give sacrifices, Christians prayed for the emperors welfare regularly

Question 16

When was the start and the end of the reformation?

Answer 16

Start: 1517 (the publication of Martin Luther’s “95 theses”
Ending: 1555 Peace of Augsburg which allowed for the coexistence of Catholicism and Lutheranism in Germany

Question 17

What were the key ideas of the reformation?

Answer 17

• a call to purify the church

- a belief that the bible not the tradition should be the sole source of spiritual authority

Question 18

Who was martin luther?

Answer 18

• a German monk and a Professor of Theology

- sparked the reformation in 1517 by posting his 95 theses on the door of the Castle Church in Wittenberg, Germany

Question 19

What were martin luther’s main concerns/challenges?

Answer 19

• indulgences; Luther was concerned with the way that getting into heaven was connected with a financial transaction. Indulgences were a practice where the church acknowledged a donation or other charitable work with a piece of paper that certified that your soul would enter heaven more quickly (reduce time in purgatory)
• faith alone; Luther believed that sinfulness is an unavoidable element of the human condition and therefore having faith in God will get you into heaven- not by doing good works.
• Scripture alone; Luther believed that the bible was the only reliable source of instruction
• The invention of the printing press meant that people could directly learn from the bible and reformers believed that many teachings didn’t line up with the church’s practices. They challenged many of the sacraments including holy communion–> Luther denied that the bread and wine are changed into the blood and body of Christ during the eucharist (this is one of the core beliefs of the catholic church)

Question 20

What was the church’s response to Luther’s challenges?

Answer 20

• the Diet of Worms
• the Counter Reformation;
• the Council of Trent

Question 21

What was the diet of worms and what was the outcome?

Answer 21

• A council held by the holy Roman Emperor where Luther was asked to disavow his writing
• Luther refused and he was expelled from the church (excommunicated)
• this triggered the counter reformation

Question 22

When was the council of Trent and what occurred?

Answer 22

1545-1547 (first session)
1551-1552 (second session)
1562-1563 (third session)

focused on defining doctrine, tightening up discipline and encouraging proper devotion
aim was to deal with issues raised by Luther

• the council denied the Lutheran idea of faith only (justification by faith)
• they affirmed the existence of purgatory and the usefulness of indulgences in shorting time in purgatory
• they reaffirmed the belief in transubstantiation and the importance of all 7 sacraments
• reaffirmed the authority of scripture and the teachings and traditions of the church
• they reaffirmed the necessity and correctness of religious art