Exercise 1

Early Christians endured centuries of sporadic persecution before the emperor Constantine granted them official toleration.  How did pagan Romans view Christians, and why did this view lead to persecution? Read the following letter of  Pliny the Younger to Emperor Trajan and Trajan's reply.  What for Pliny is the problem with Christians and their religion? What steps is he willing to take against them? What steps is he unwilling to take? What advice does Trajan give to Pliny? Pliny's view of Christians is far more subtle than this rather hysterical charge of cannibalism.  Note that the charge derives from a misunderstanding of the Eucharist and its meaning.  Can you detect in this document any other misunderstandings of particular Christian beliefs or rituals?

Christians did not let such accusations pass without comment.  Visit the following Web page devoted to early Christian defenses against Roman denunciations.  Scroll down to and read the excerpt from the Letter to Diognetus.  On what basis does this document defend Christians against accusations such as subversion?

Finally, take a virtual tour of the Catacombs of Saint Callixtus in Rome.  Why did early Christians descend into the catacombs? What evidence did they leave behind of their presence, and what does that evidence suggest about what the Christians did there? What forms did early Christian art take in the catacombs, and how did it change when they could live and worship in the light of day?

Exercise 2

You know something of the heresies that the early Christian church confronted and suppressed.  However, even before the church was fully established, Christian thinkers debated the authenticity and value of a variety of texts pertaining to Jesus and his teachings.  Ultimately the writings gathered as  the New Testament became the official version of Christian teaching, and all alternative versions were suppressed.  One alternative was a collection of writings now known as the Gnostic Gospels.  Read the following Introduction to the Gnostic Gospels.  When you finish, take a look at some examples of Gnostic texts: the sayings of Jesus in the Gospel According to Thomas, the poem Thunder Perfect Mind, and The Gospel of Pistis Sophia, Book 1.  How do these texts differ from the official four Gospels of the New Testament? How would you characterize the language of these texts? How do they present Jesus and his teachings?  How do they present the experience of understanding or knowing God?  Why do you think the proponents of the official Gospels would have wanted to suppress such texts?