As promised, Candida Moss' observations on the position of the Imperial Cult.
Xtians, far from being the pious shits they love to portray themselves as being were subversive fucks. Still, actual official persecution was exceeding rare. Moss deals with Decius ( despite admitting that his decree was not aimed at xhristards alone ), Valierian and Diocletian.
Quote:For the Romans, participation in the imperial cult was something that bound the empire together. Much like the pledge of allegiance, it was a communal ritual that solidified social ties between individuals on a local level and disparate regions and groups on an imperial level. In times of political or social instability, the imperial cult became particularly important as a form of steadying the ebb and flow of potential unrest.
The Christians, as is by now clear, would not participate in the imperial cult, and to the Romans, this state of affairs was dangerous. From an ancient perspective, the presence of a religiously noncompliant group in any community was a threat to that community. Human flourishing was a delicate affair, and religion was one way in which health, political success, independence, good harvest, fine weather, and all aspects of everyday life were managed. The Christians threatened all of this. They threatened to disrupt the pax deorum (“peace of the gods”) and, in doing so, invited destruction on everyone. For the Romans, Christians’ nonparticipation in the imperial cult was threatening. Their stubbornness was not just disrespectful and iconoclastic; it could potentially bring down the empire.
Xtians, far from being the pious shits they love to portray themselves as being were subversive fucks. Still, actual official persecution was exceeding rare. Moss deals with Decius ( despite admitting that his decree was not aimed at xhristards alone ), Valierian and Diocletian.
