Wikipedia

5171 readers

119 users here now

A place to share interesting articles from Wikipedia.

Rules:

Only links to Wikipedia permitted
Please stick to the format "Article Title (other descriptive text/editorialization)"
Tick the NSFW box for submissions with inappropriate thumbnails
On Casual Tuesdays, we allow submissions from wikis other than Wikipedia.

Recommended:

Use the search box to see if someone has previously submitted an article. Some apps will also notify you if you are resubmitting an article previously shared on Lemmy.

founded 3 years ago

MODERATORS

dantheclamman@lemmy.world

Plum@lemmy.world

The Myth of Persecution - Wikipedia (en.wikipedia.org)

submitted 4 days ago by stenAanden@feddit.dk to c/wikipedia@lemmy.world

7 comments fedilink hide all child comments

The Myth of Persecution: How Early Christians Invented a Story of Martyrdom is a 2013 book by Candida Moss, an award-winning historian and professor of New Testament and Early Christianity at the University of Notre Dame.

The traditional idea of the "Age of Martyrdom", when Christians suffered persecution from the Roman authorities and lived in fear of being thrown to the lions, is largely fictional.

There was never sustained, targeted persecution of Christians by Imperial Roman authorities. Official persecution of Christians by order of the Roman Emperor lasted for at most twelve years of the first three hundred of the Church's history.

Most of the stories of individual martyrs amassed by the early modern period are pure inventions.

you are viewing a single comment's thread
view the rest of the comments

[–] EmilieEasie@fedinsfw.app 13 points 4 days ago (1 children)

And they're still doing it 😳

[–] queerlilhayseed@piefed.blahaj.zone 7 points 3 days ago

The threat of death (or "persecution") by outside assailants is a superb motivator. If you don't have any real threats, an aspiring demagogue can simply make one up. Same reason immigrants are a favored target of modern fascist movements.