About Apologists
Christ said to his disciples: „If they persecuted me, they will persecute you also” (John 15:20). This prophecy was fulfilled in a special way in the first centuries of the Church’s existence. From the very beginning, Christianity was met with misunderstanding, reluctance and hostility, which led to persecution. A number of accusations, slander and false accusations were made against Christians. This fact contributed to the creation of writings defending Christianity, called apologies (Greek: apologia – defense, defensive speech). We refer to the authors of these writings as apologists. A special role in this work was played by Greek writers of the 2nd century.
Accusations directed against Christians
Public worship played an important role in pagan religions. Religiosity, in the belief of the time, was verified primarily by participating in public celebrations and by making offerings to the gods. Christians, professing faith in one true God, did not participate in pagan public worship. This fact became the basis for accusations of atheism. Its consequences were very serious. It was believed that offended gods would send punishments to the entire community in the form of crop failures, floods, epidemics, war disasters and other misfortunes. Each time these disasters occurred, they provoked anti-Christian demonstrations. Tertullian testifies to this in the words: „If the Tiber floods the city walls, if the Nile does not overflow into the fields, if the sky stops and gives no rain, if the earth trembles, if there is famine, if there is a plague, cries will immediately be heard: 'Christians to the lion!’ ”
The lifestyle of Christians who isolate themselves from the rest of society has become the basis for numerous accusations and slander of immorality. The pagans received limited information about brotherly love feasts organized by Christians. By analogy to Roman feasts, it was believed that these meetings ended with a collective sexual orgy.
The principle of initiation, applicable to Christians participating in the Eucharist, did not allow information about its course to be leaked to the outside world. Based on fragmentary information and speculations, the consumption of the Body and Blood of the Son of God was interpreted in terms of Tiesthean feasts. We find evidence of these accusations in Minucius Felix: „Taking advantage of their (Christians’) ignorance, a baby covered with dough is placed before them. The neophyte, deceived by this coating, is persuaded to inflict several harmless pricks, which kills the infant with invisible wounds. All those gathered, oh horror, greedily lick his blood and, fighting each other, divide his limbs among themselves. Participation in such a sacrifice brings them into the community, and awareness of the crime obliges them to keep it secret” (Octavius 9.5).
The legal and social structures of the Roman state sanctioned slavery, hatred, violence and cruelty. The Roman amphitheater was the scene of mass slaughter. Gladiator fights turned into massacres and murders of thousands of victims who died to entertain the bloodthirsty audience. Theatrical performances were filled with the atmosphere of crime, cruelty, adultery and vulgar eroticism (mime performances). The Roman state sanctioned these institutions. The organizers of gladiator fights were most often the emperors themselves. The opposition of Christians to the above structures was understandable and justified.
Representatives of the Jewish synagogue treated Christianity as a dangerous sect, introducing a split into the Mosaic religion. Christians were treated as apostates and counterfeiters of the Holy Scriptures. and Judaism.
The above enumeration does not include all the allegations and accusations made against Christians. Their list could be expanded to include a number of calumnies and rumors circulating among the common people, such as, for example, that Christians are enemies of mankind, arsonists, poison wells and venerate the head of a donkey as sacred.
Attacks by pagan writers
In the 2nd century, writings by pagan philosophers and rhetoricians appeared attacking and ridiculing Christianity. The most famous opponents included: Fronton of Cyrta, Lucian of Samosata and Celsus.