Cyprian and the Empire
Wednesday marked the feast day for Cyprian, another fascinating example of what becomes the best and worst theology for the Western Church. In reading his story, though, I became even more intrigued by the antagonist, Emperor Decius. Here is a quote from Gonzalez's The Story of Christianity:
In 249, Decius took the purple robe. Although Christian historians have depicted him as a cruel person, the truth is that Decius was simply a Roman of the old style, whose main goal was to restore Rome to her ancient glory. There were several factors contributing to the eclipse of that glory. The barbarians beyond the borders were increasingly restless, and their incursions into the Empire were growing more and more daring. There was a serious economic crisis. And the ancient traditions associated with the classical times of Roman civilization were generally forgotten.
...Therefore, if Rome's ancient glory was to be restored, it was necessary to restore also its ancient religion.
So, Decius decides to torture Christians who refused to give complete allegiance to the Empire, rather than killling them outright. I find a lot of potential and ironical (hint) history lessons to be alerted to here. Sincerity and traditional conservatism aren't necessarily a beneficial combination in and of themselves. I pray that we who profess Christ would remember what it is like to be on the short end of the Empire-stick, and that we would take our cue from the ancients who refused to let patriotism be an idol.
