He was a teacher from Asia who taught multitudes not to sacrifice to the gods nor worship them. Through a vision he had, he said that he must be burned alive. After he was bound to the stake, he prayed and awaited the fire. The flames gave the appearance of an oven around him. He was in the midst, not like burning flesh, but like gold and silver purified in the flames. A fragrant odour, like the fumes of incense, or other precious aromatic drugs, was perceived. When the persecutors saw that his body could not be consumed by fire, they commanded the executor to plunge his sword into him. When this was done, such a quantity of blood gushed forth that the fire was extinguished. His body was later burned according to the custom of the Gentiles, and his bones were buried. (http://www.innvista.com/culture/religion/earlmart.htm) The story of Polycarp is but one of the many tales of persecution and martyrdom throughout the history of Christianity.
Inevitably when faith arises persecution is soon to follow. Persecution is not limited to a single faith, but is universal. New faith rubs raw the traditions of established faith, thus introducing a conflict of ideas. Conflicts of ideology are rarely resolved in a solely a war of words. Words often become threats, and threats lead to action. The strong then predictably persecute the weak. This is no more apparent than in the rise of the Christian Church. From the death of Christ to the martyrs of today, Christianity has endured 2000 years of bloodshed.
From Christ to Constantine:
The Apostles themselves were among the first to experience the kind of persecution and death that become the staple for those who professed a faith in Christ in the early years of their faith. Indeed, all of the Apostles save John died a martyr’s death. Although according the popular history of the faith John was saved from attempts on his life more than once. Peter, the Rock, was crucified upside-down. James was beheaded during the persecutions of Herod Agrippa I. They each suffered a horrendous death all under the same indictment of a relentless stance for their faith in Christ.
The first major persecution of the faith occurred during the reign of Nero. Nero is rumored to have started a fire that burned a large portion of the city of Rome. In his cleverness and due to his disdain for the lack of worship to him that the Christians offered, he blamed Christians for starting the fire. Christians were lead to gladiatorial “games” and force to recant or die. Those who refused were brutally killed. Nero is also reported to have tied Christians onto poles and lit them on fire to provide light for his parties.
Christians fared no better under the rules of such emperors as Domitian, Trajan, Hadrian and Marcus Aurelius. The most stunning thing about these persecutions was that the Christians were not being persecuted because they believed differently from the rest of the Romans, but mainly because they refused to worship the emperor. Their persecution was made legal time and time again, and time and time again Christians were harassed and slaughtered.
It was under the rule of Decius that the first empire wide persecution of Christians took place. This continued under the rule of Diocletian and Galerius. This was known as the great persecution. Christians were forced to open sacrifices in worship of the emperor and told if they did not make the sacrifice they would be killed. This kind of persecution continued off and on under the rise of Constantine and the Edict of Milan. Throughout history though, Christians have willingly endured suffering and death in the name of Christ.
A Different Kind of Persecution:
With such a rich history of persecution one can hardly assume that this no longer happens in the world. In fact, there are documented cases of Christians being put to death everyday around the world. As has been the case of the persecuted church in history, those who find the most persecution find the most growth. However, in the luxury of American culture this is rarely seen. Why then in a pampered society in which Christians are free to worship as they wish does the American Church not flourish even more? It must be said that though Christians do not face the threat of death we face an even deadlier form of persecution.
This persecution is not a threat of death or physical punishment, but is one that attacks the very nature of what it means to live in American culture. Christians in America face the encroachment of a corrupt society on the tenants of their faith. Slowly those rights held by the church are being snuffed away. There is a subversive attack against the faith that is intended to undermine Christian principles. Starting in the late 1960’s with the removal of the Ten Commandments in schools to the abolishment of prayer in schools in the 1970’s. Gradually the things that have held the moral compass of our great nation are being stripped away.
The deliberate attack against Christian morals and values has left the American church stagnant. Christians who stand for their beliefs now face ridicule and loss of face, the consequences that Americans fear more than anything. The very natures of these attacks render most American Christians as ineffective as bandage placed on the wrong finger.
Americans must now make a choice. To be effective one must not fear the ridicule of the ignorant masses, nor should they fear the loss of face that will inevitably come in the eyes of a liberal society. Conservative Bible believing Christians must learn from the example of their spiritual forefathers. Persecution is inevitable, but it is how the Church responds to that persecution that shapes the course of history. Will the American church falter and die in the face of adversity or will it rise from the ashes and bring about a revival in the land?