Rome Archives

March 31, 2026March 30, 2026

A Class Hated for Their Abominations

Is it possible that Christians could be a class hated for their abominations and their hatred against mankind? Unfortunately, the answer is “yes.” Building on yesterday’s account of Suetonius, we have the report of another Roman historian. Cornelius Tacitus lived around AD 55-120. He is known as “the greatest historian of ancient Rome.” Tacitus wrote Annals around AD 115, in which he recounts the great fire that burned much of Rome during Nero’s reign. Here is a shocking excerpt from that account: (Emphasis added)

“Consequently, to get rid of the report, Nero fastened the guilt and inflicted the most exquisite tortures on a class hated for their abominations, called Christians by the populace. Christus, from whom the name had its origin, suffered the extreme penalty during the reign of Tiberius at the hands of one of our procurators, Pontius Pilatus, and a most mischievous superstition, thus checked for the moment, again broke out not only in Judea, the first source of the evil, but even in Rome, where all things hideous and shameful from every part of the world find their center and become popular.

“Accordingly, an arrest was first made of all who pleaded guilty; then, upon their information, an immense multitude was convicted, not so much of the crime of firing the city, as of hatred against mankind. Mockery of every sort was added to their deaths. Covered with the skins of beasts, they were torn by dogs and perished, or were nailed to crosses, or were doomed to the flames and burnt, to serve as a nightly illumination when daylight had expired.

“Nero offered his gardens for the spectacle and was exhibiting a show in the circus, while he mingled with the people in the dress of a charioteer or stood aloft on a car. Hence, even for criminals who deserved extreme and exemplary punishment, there arose a feeling of compassion; for it was not, as it seemed, for the public good, but to glut one man’s cruelty, that they were being destroyed.”

Nero probably set the fire himself, but he had to blame someone, and Christians were not popular in pagan Rome, even among the Jews living there. Christians became the scapegoats. Notice Tacitus’ historical confirmation of the biblical account of Christ’s crucifixion.

Could Christians today become “a class hated for their abominations” and “hatred for mankind”? In some countries and among some groups, they already are. As Christians, we must follow Christ’s teaching and example and love even those who hate us. (See Matthew 5:43-48.)

March 30, 2026March 29, 2026

Christians Accused of Being Troublemakers

Recently, we noted that Paul caused trouble for the silversmiths who made idols of Artemis in Ephesus. So many people were converting to Christianity that it was hurting the sale of Artemis idols. A riot broke out when Demetrius the silversmith accused the apostle Paul of being a troublemaker. History records other instances of Christians accused of being troublemakers.

During Emperor Claudius’s reign in AD 49, a series of riots erupted among the Jews in Rome. At that time, many Jews were becoming Christians, and the Jews who rejected the gospel didn’t like it. Claudius decided to expel all the Jews from the city. Roman historian Suetonius, who served as chief secretary to Emperor Hadrian (117-138), recorded this event. Though he wrote later, his position gave him access to the imperial records. He wrote:

“Because the Jews at Rome caused continuous disturbances at the instigation of Chrestus, he expelled them from the city.”

“Chrestus” is a variant spelling of “Christ,” and Suetonius could not distinguish between Christ and the Christians. They were Christians accused of being troublemakers. We read in Acts 18:1-2 about two of the Jewish Christians who were expelled from Rome:

“After this, Paul left Athens and went to Corinth. There he met a Jew named Aquila, a native of Pontus, who had recently come from Italy with his wife Priscilla, because Claudius had ordered all the Jews to leave Rome.”

Suetonius’s account provides evidence from a reputable Roman historian supporting the biblical record. After meeting Aquila and Priscilla in Corinth, Paul preached to the Jews there, telling them Jesus was the Christ (Acts 18:5). However, the Jews “opposed Paul and became abusive” (verse 6), just as they had in Rome. This led Paul to declare that he was free from his responsibility to the Jews. He said, “From now on, I will go to the Gentiles.”

Suetonius also wrote about the great fire in Rome, likely started by Nero, who blamed it on Christians. More on that tomorrow. The key point is that Roman history confirms the biblical account. Earlier in Thessalonica, Christians accused of being troublemakers were called “these who have turned the world upside down” (Acts 17:6). Actually, they were turning it right side up, and we still have much work to do in that regard today.

November 10, 2020November 9, 2020

Lessons from the Elections

The 2020 voting is finally over, and we can learn many lessons from the elections, the candidates, the party platforms, and the conduct of politicians in general. It would be nice to have someone running for president that a Christian could vote for instead of having to choose between the lesser of evils.

We have seen false statements to such an extent that there are “fact finders” who do nothing but point out lies, misrepresentations, and exaggerations of the candidates. “Survival of the fittest” seems to be the moral code of our time, or more accurately, the non-moral platform. Someone asked one political speaker who supported abortion, “When does a baby become a human, at conception, at birth, or at what stage of the pregnancy?” The response was, “I don’t know. I haven’t considered that issue.” The question that should be clear is, “How do you take a position on that issue if you’ haven’t considered that issue’?”

Lessons from the elections show us the difference between Christ’s spiritual teachings and the political speeches and party platforms based on the physical beliefs of today’s culture. When Jesus said, “Render to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s and to God the things that are God’s,” He was speaking of a political system very similar to America today. The Roman government provided some physical stability, which Paul refers to in Romans 13. Paul took advantage of his Roman citizenship on numerous occasions, but he certainly did not endorse the morality of the Roman rulers. They allowed prostitution and allowed unwanted babies to be thrown into the streets to die.

The message for Christians in the 21st century is that we can enjoy the blessings of American citizenship but not endorse our culture’s morality, which is sanctioned by the politicians. The use of recreational drugs, the endorsement of prostitution and abortion, and the destruction of the environment are all at odds with what the Bible teaches. When Jesus and the apostles talked about rejecting the world, they were referring to similar destructive practices.

The one bright spot in the lessons from the elections is that we can be shining lights in a world that is getting darker and darker. We remember Jesus’ statement in Matthew 5:14-16: “It is you who are the light of the world. A town cannot be hidden if it is built on a hilltop. Neither do men light a lamp and put it under a bowl but rather on a lampstand so it gives light to everyone who is in the house. In a like manner, let your light shine before the eyes of your fellow-men that they may see the good that you do and praise your Father who is in heaven.”

— John N. Clayton 2020

Here is an interesting look back at the election four years ago.

June 30, 2019June 28, 2019

Discrediting Jesus and the Bible

Discrediting Jesus - Romulus and Remus Skeptics have tried for 2,000 years to find methods of discrediting Jesus and the Bible. When Jesus was on Earth, people debated who and what He was. All kinds of mistaken concepts circulated, frequently controlled by the desires and beliefs of His enemies. Things have not changed. Sometimes skeptics have tried to explain away Jesus in terms of ancient pagan cultures or Jewish religious sects.

At one time, people claimed that the source of the stories about Jesus came from the Essenes, a sect of Jews who lived near the Dead Sea and left what are known as the Dead Sea Scrolls. The Essenes wrote about a man known as the “Great Teacher.” Skeptics suggested that this individual was elevated by his followers to be “the son of God,” and that led to the myth of Jesus Christ. Further research on the Dead Sea Scrolls and new archaeological discoveries laid that claim to rest.

People have tried to tie Christ to the ancient Egyptian cult of Isis. There is a story of a “resurrection” in that legend, and skeptics bent on discrediting Jesus claimed that was the origin of the story of Christ’s resurrection. Osiris was the Egyptian god of the underworld, and supposedly was the husband of Isis. In the Egyptian legend, Osiris was murdered by his brother and buried in the Nile. Isis recovered the body, but Osiris’ brother retrieved it, cut it up into 14 pieces, and scattered the pieces around the world. Isis found all 14 pieces and resurrected Osiris.

The story of Christ could not have been borrowed from the cult of Isis because it has none of the characteristics of the story. Nowhere in the resurrection account is there any supernatural battle between equal gods, no sex interest, and no war based on physical skill and intelligence. When Peter used his sword to cut off the ear of one of Christ’s attackers, Jesus healed the ear and told him to put away the sword. There is no struggle for political power in the story of Christ. The contrast between the story of Isis and the story of Christ is so enormous that even the rankest skeptic should be able to see the foolishness of trying to compare them.

Other attempts to explain the virgin birth by stories from pagan myths are even more ludicrous. In one case, the sun-god Apollo became a snake and impregnated the mother of Augustus Caesar, so the baby born was without a mortal father. Not only is this account used by some skeptics of Christ ridiculous in its content, but it was written after the biblical account had been recorded in the gospels. The gospel writers could not possibly have drawn from it.

Another claim was that the founder of Rome, Romulus, inspired the story of Christ. Romulus was supposed to have been fathered by the Roman god Mars. When he and his twin brother Remus were left to die in the Tiber River, a she-wolf adopted and raised them. Later Romulus killed Remus and became the founder and first king of Rome. Once again, one just has to read the account and ask if there is any similarity between this mythical story and the account of the birth, life, and death of Jesus.

Skeptics continue to look for ways of discrediting Jesus and the Bible. Relativism, materialism, selfishness, the total abandonment of morality, and the disintegration of the home make the Christian message unpopular. As people try to justify their lifestyles and selfish exploitation of others, they will resort to almost any way of discrediting Jesus and His beautiful and functional teachings. We need to answer the challenge as we demonstrate the love and service that Jesus commanded His followers to show.
— John N. Clayton © 2019