Pliny: What Shall We Do About The Christians?

    
      In Pliny the Younger's letter to Emperor Trajan of the Roman Empire, later entitled "What Shall We Do About The Christians," Pliny discusses the topic regarding how he should take action on the newly discovered Christians within his region of control. Christianity arose in the Roman Empire during the first century A.D. Since Christianity is a monotheistic religion, its followers worshiped God and only God. Yet the problem arose once Christians refused to honor the gods of Rome, a religious and lawful crime. The persecution of Christians began with that of Jesus Christ himself, who was killed by way of crucifixion. Christians were sought out and hunted as criminals. But under the rule of Emperor Trajan, Christians were given the chance to clean their slate of past Christian worship in a formal trial. If refused, all Christians would be executed. Over a period of about 300 years, Christianity was illegal until the signing of the Edict of Milan by emperors Constantine I and Licinius, which gave religious freedom to all parts of the Roman Empire.

    Pliny introduces this issue by informing Trajan of a mysterious and anonymous book that was published which lists the names of Christians within Bithynia. (Propositus est libellus sine auctore multorum nomina continens.)
 
Pliny further discusses his confusion on the matter by stating that some of those named within the book refute the accusation and deny being Christian presently or have been Christian in the past. (Qui negabant esse se Christianos aut fuisse)
 
Next, Pliny tells Trajan of a ceremony, which he himself had ordered, in which the Christian were giving offerings of wine and incense to the roman gods and Trajan's own statue. Pliny observes this act as blasphemous to those who truly are Christians, for honoring a god other than your own is sinful and morally wrong. (deos appellarent et imagini tuae, quam propter hoc iusseram cum simulacris numinum afferri, ture ac vino supplicarent, praeterea maledicerent Christo)
 
Yet Pliny understands that those who are truly Christian are forbidden to take part in these ceremonies honoring other gods, meaning that these people who did take part are, in fact, not Christians. (quorum nihil posse cogi dicuntur qui sunt re vera Christiani) dimittendos esse putavi.)

Further uncertainty takes hold of Pliny once he learns of Christians, who had been ratted out by spies, who deny that they are Christian and that they had in fact stopped the practice any where from two to three to even twenty years ago. (Alii ab indice nominati esse se Christianos dixerunt et mox negaverunt: fuisse quidem, sed desisse, quidam ante triennium, quidam ante plures annos, non nemo etiam ante viginti)

   
 
Pliny lastly discusses the rebuttals of former Christians; that their only mere fault. if any fault at all was that they were accustomed to their way of life, which included singing hymns to Christ on an appointed day, as you would to any god, and binding themselves to Christ by taking part in no criminal activity. (Affirmabant autem hanc fuisse summam vel culpae suae vel erroris, quod essent soliti stato die ante lucem convenire carmenque Christo quasi deo dicere secum in vicem, seque sacramento non in scelus aliquod obstringere, sed ne furta, ne latrocinia, ne adulteria committerent, ne fidem fallerent)
 
In the end, Pliny has yet to find out more about this controversial issue except for "depraved and excessive superstition." (Nihil aliud inveni quam superstitionem pravam, immodicam.)