Essay Questions

What misconceptions do the Romans have about Christianity?

The Romans claim that Christianity is a religion of cannibalism, infanticide and extreme ritual. They maintain that in order to convert to Christianity one must first go through a ritualistic process much like hazing. They are assembled in a darkened room, made to plunge a knife into a heap of flour, and in doing so, unwittingly murder a baby that is hidden within the flour. Threatened with being tried for the murder of a baby, they then agree to participate in the ceremonial eating of the child they have killed - hence the insinuation that Christians are cannibals. The Romans are under a misconception that Christians are debauched and engage in deeply disturbing activity.

This might be a misconception, but it might also be an effort by the Romans to cast Christians in a bad light and in doing so give themselves a reason to persecute them; they might also be wanting to show them in a negative light so that people are dissuaded from converting.

What is Athenagoras' opinion of the Romans?

Athenagoras seems to consider the Romans manipulative and hypocritical at best, and debauched and without morals at worst. He acknowledges that their bad press of the Christians may be due not so much to their genuine lack of understanding of the nature of Christianity, and more to do with the fact that they want to put others off converting to the religion.

However, he also states that Romans are actually far more dubious when it comes to their religious or spiritual lives. They worship a variety of gods, all of whom seem to exist in a world of excess and over indulgence. They are also extremely promiscuous and abort their own children. They may also unwittingly engage in incestuous relationships, because there are so many people who do not know who fathered them that they might be involved with a sibling or another relative without knowing it. Athenagoras contends that it is the Romans, not the Christians, whose spiritual and religious life is mired in ritual and immoral practice.