Misconceptions Clarified XV; "Was Christianity Birthed Out Of The Roman Empire?"
Welcome to Misconceptions Clarified Episode XV, “Was Christianity Birthed Out Of The Roman Empire?”
Now, it’s been quite some time since the last episode was written back on May 17th 2019, but it’s great to be back! The purpose of this Misconception Clarified Series is twofold. First, it provides our ministry an opportunity to discuss the relevant issues surrounding the Christian faith and provide accurate information. And second, it allows us to fulfill the biblical command to always be prepared to give a reason for our hope and to cast down any argument that sets itself up against the knowledge of God according to 1 Peter 3:15 and 2 Corinthians 10:5. Hence, this episode is going to deal with the century-old theory that Christianity was originated and birthed out of the Roman Empire. In an age of social media and mass disinformation available at the touch of a button, there are many criticisms about Christianity, the Bible, and Jesus Christ that constantly appear on your timelines; one of them being, Christianity was a religion formulated by the Roman Empire to control the minds of the people by enslaving them with a bunch of lies in order to keep them subjugated. Although, this theory may sound new to some of your ears, it is nevertheless in the rotation of social media’s never-ending cycle of heresy. To take it a step further, there are many who actually believe that not only was Christianity developed by the Romans, but that the Romans were white people who invented the religion. Seldomly, does our ministry raise issues concerning race since we believe it’s one of many devices the devil employs to divide the people of God, but since this topic happens to incorporate race into the equation, this episode will briefly provide some clarification into this sensitive controversy.
First, let’s say for instance that Christianity originated by people with a lighter skin complexion…. Would this automatically invalidate the entire Christian Faith? Not necessarily because race doesn’t get to the core of the issue relating to their specific beliefs. In order to falsify a particular religion, worldview, or position, one must examine the principals outlined under that institution, seek if certain claims came to fruition, and measure it with the available historical data. Unless, the religion in view is based off race itself, skin complexion is insufficient to falsify it, especially the teachings of Jesus Christ that contain a wide range of biblical principles. Simply condemning a religion because of the founder’s skin complexion cannot disprove a person's actual teachings. This is absurd! Should a student prior to registering for a course first ask the color of the teacher’s skin in order to determine their intellectual ability? Nonsense! Matter of fact, anyone who attempts to make such an assertion based on skin complexion alone is practically trying to take the escape route from doing any kind of extensive research! Saying that Christianity is a false religion because it was created by white people is just a lazy argument and a lazy excuse to reject the actual tenets of the Christian faith. Many times, critics will often resort to these kind of simplistic ideas because they have nothing else to stand on or to reject, and in order to make their position relevant, they have to attack the greatest threat to their own worldview. If Christianity was so false, why is there such a pressing desire to oppose it? Think about it…. Christianity is still the number one religion persecuted around the globe!! How could such a false religion pose such a monumental threat to the world? Could it be that Christianity is verifiably true that opponents can’t help but to smear the faith with a bunch of nonsensical lies and persecute those who follow Christ to their own death?
Anybody with a little sense of history can easily debunk this argument that Christianity is false due to the founder’s race or skin complexion. Anyone with a little sense of history would know that Jesus was a Jew and all 12 of His original disciples were Jewish who lived in present day Israel, which is a well-known fact across the isle of both believers and skeptics. And anyone with a little sense of history would know that early Christianity was a Jewish reproduction, not a Roman one. Jesus is from the tribe of Judah, born in Bethlehem, raised in Nazareth, and trained under Jewish laws and customs, not the Romans. So, if the founder of Christianity is Jewish and all of his original followers were Jewish, how does that equal Christianity being a white religion, or being birthed out of the Roman Empire? If anything, Christianity is a Jewish religion, not a white religion, not a black religion, not a purple religion, nor any other color from the crayon box. Christianity is a following of the one man Jesus Christ, a Jew, not a white man, and centered on a reverent relationship with Him according to the Scriptures! In Christ, “there is neither Jew nor Greek, male nor female, slave nor free, for all are one in Him” (Galatians 3:28 & Colossians 3:11). Science also asserts that all of humanity are shades of the one color, brown.
Now, if the argument is to say that Christianity was birthed out of the Roman Empire since it was the Romans who were in control of the land during the first century, then some credence can be granted towards that position. However, just because Christianity emerged during the reign of the Romans over the nation of Israel doesn’t mean they were responsible for its development, especially when considering the fact that the Romans were the ones who did not tolerate Christianity for almost three hundred years, who persecuted anyone who called themselves Christians, and who crucified its chief founder on the cross. Yet, the misconception resurfacing on your social media timelines does not pertain to Christianity being birthed while the Romans were in power over Israel during the first century. No! The proposition is that Christianity was created by Emperor Constantine in 325 AD at the first council of Nicaea approximately three hundred years after the time of Christ. Unless, Jesus who is the cornerstone of the Christian faith was somehow Roman by ethnicity (which no credible historian ascertained), then anyone with a little sense of historical understanding would know Christianity was not birthed out of the Roman Empire. Little do people know that nations do not begin with an ideology or a concept, they begin with an individual person who brings forth a certain perspective or rule. In this case, the Christian movement did not begin with the Romans or their ideology, but it began with the messianic prophesies inspired by God himself through the Old Testament prophets and fulfilled by Jesus Christ himself. Additionally, it is important to note that Christianity is not its own religion, but an offshoot of Judaism with Christ as the ultimate fulfillment, not the fulfillment of Roman mythology. Everything about early Christianity in the first couple of centuries post-Christ is all Jewish in nature and corroborated by external hostile non-biblical accounts to include Tacitus, Pliny the Younger, Thallus, Mara Bar-Serapion, Phelgon, Seutonius, Lucian of Samosata, and Celsus, which are all written before the time of Constantine. This idea that the Roman Empire is progenitors of the Christian faith is contrary to all of the actual historical evidence.
Furthermore, how could the Roman Empire be accountable for the origins of a belief system they intentionally persecuted and outlawed? The objective of the Roman Empire was to exert and demonstrate their force by stomping out any possible uprising, and being that early Christianity posed a significant threat to the empire due to its teaching of Jesus being the King of kings instead of the emperor, not only did they crucify Him, but they also murdered, humiliated, and imprisoned any of His followers. History proves that all but one of the original disciples were martyred for their faith. So, this idea that Christianity, a branch of the old Hebraic religion was created by the Roman Empire is nothing short of a misconception and a conspiracy theory. Just because Constantine issued the Edict of Milan to cease Christian persecution, just because Constantine made Christianity the empire’s state religion, and just because Constantine allegedly ordered the publication of fifty Bible’s does not mean Christianity began with the Roman Empire or make Constantine the original publisher of Scripture.
Essentially, all Constantine did was make a few declarations as the emperor to make peace and to organize what was already preexisting. By the time Constantine became the emperor, there was already a list of New Testament letters circulating the early church with the Gospels and the Pauline epistles themselves, Justin Martyr’s memoirs of the apostles, the Tetramorph asserted by Irenaeus, the Muratorian fragment, and Origen’s list of New Testament writings confirmed by Eusebius, all of which debunk the misconception that the Bible was also a Roman invention. Moreover, the Council of Nicaea had nothing to do with the formulation of the canon of Scripture, but it had everything to do with the Arian controversy. This notion that the Roman Empire concocted a hidden strategy to deceive billions of people into believing a false religion is found nowhere in early history. It is nothing short of a modern conspiracy theory, not even an ancient one! Interestingly, many of the criticisms made against the Christian faith weren’t made by the ancients, but are relatively recent advancements. Critics two thousand years removed from the historical scene of Christ are quick to speculate the original intent of the ancients who not once claimed plagiarism. Go figure!
Yet, in light of all the historical evidence supporting the origins of Christianity, it is no wonder why opponents choose to circumvent the evidence and make baseless claims against Christianity’s authenticity by suggesting that it is a white religion invented by the Romans in order to espouse their audience. Unfortunately, gullibility on behalf of those who accept this misconception minus any solid examination into the historical evidence is responsible for the resurrection of this delusion. This is the primary reason why Misconceptions Clarified exists here at Christian Way Ministries, to defend with gentleness and respect any pretension that seeks to deceive God’s people. So, please be careful where you obtain your information. Remember, that the eye is the lamp to the body according to Matthew 6:22, and feeding your mind with the lies of Satan is only going to instill doubt into your spirit. And lastly, when it comes to performing objective research, if the article or youtube video or book does not reference where they received their information from, that’s a red flag and a sign that you should proceed with caution.
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https://coldcasechristianity.com/writings/is-there-any-evidence-for-jesus-outside-the-bible/
http://www.ntcanon.org/Origen.shtml
https://www.britannica.com/event/First-Council-of-Nicaea-325