There were other aspects of army life that Christians opposed. The emerging Christian faith, in general, remained opposed to violence church leaders taught that Christians should avoid a career that entailed killing, even in war. First, serving in the army involved the possibility of warfare, though the likelihood of a soldier experiencing violence varied-some border provinces along the Rhine and Danube were always ripe for violence, while troops stationed in Egypt or Africa might have enjoyed relatively peaceful careers for much of the imperial era. Rather, Origen argued that Christians benefited the empire through their prayers and their holy lives.Ĭhristian aversion to the army sprang from several factors. Origen, an early Christian theologian and scholar, attempted to counter Celsus tellingly, Origen did not dispute the accusation. Celsus, a 2 nd-century Greek philosopher, wrote an anti-Christian treatise which included the charge that Christians shirked their civic duty by refusing to participate in public life and serve in the army. What drove this complicated relationship between the early church and the Roman army? Christians and ViolenceĬhristian hostility toward the army was probably always the majority view. Many (though not all) Christian leaders spoke negatively of the army and discouraged Christians from serving in the ranks, yet there is abundant evidence that Christians did serve in the army. In fact, the first Christians displayed a complicated relationship with the army. With this beginning, we might expect the churches that sprang up after Jesus to shun violence-and particularly to shun the Roman army which was responsible for his death. Jesus is said to have discouraged his followers from violence when he was arrested and executed by Roman soldiers ( Luke 22:47-53). According to the canonical gospels, Jesus taught his followers to love their enemies and to acquiesce to a violent person instead of resisting ( Matthew 5:38-45). Reconstructing the worldview of Jesus has proven challenging for historians, though many agree that nonviolence was a core component of Jesus’ teaching. I tell you, many will come from east and west and sit at table with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven, while the sons of the kingdom will be thrown into the outer darkness there men will weep and gnash their teeth." And to the centurion Jesus said, "Go be it done for you as you have believed." And the servant was healed at that very moment.The Christian faith evolved from the teachings of Jesus of Nazareth, a Jewish teacher who was executed by the Romans around 33 CE. For I am a man under authority, with soldiers under me and I say to one, 'Go,' and he goes, and to another, 'Come,' and he comes, and to my slave, 'Do this,' and he does it." When Jesus heard him, he marveled, and said to those who followed him, "Truly, I say to you, not even in Israel have I found such faith. All three could be the case, but the most important thing is that he urgently appealed to Jesus and had faith in Jesus.Ĭategory: Jesus with the Military Leader - Roman centurionĪs he entered Caper'na-um, a centurion came forward to him, beseeching him and saying, "Lord, my servant is lying paralyzed at home, in terrible distress." And he said to him, "I will come and heal him." But the centurion answered him, "Lord, I am not worthy to have you come under my roof but only say the word, and my servant will be healed. there was no one else to go to Jesus, OR 3. the Centurion had a close friendship with the servant and wanted to find a doctor or healer, OR 2. Probably not, because Jesus saw the faith in him. Maybe he wanted to find something of his that Jesus could heal. He could have got another servant to go to Jesus. I`ve not noticed how compassionate the Centurion was for his servant.
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