Life and Death
The conflict between Christians and the people who persecuted them in the early days of the Church was mostly over their system of social welfare which was managed through their temples like Ephesus, Temple of Saturn and the Parthenon.
Romans had superstitions but they were practical people. They did not build without a purpose an a plan. Saturn was the god of agriculture. Agriculture needs calendars and records. Eventually when the people became assets of the government and beneficiaries of its systems of welfare parents where required to register newborns (birth certificate) within 30 days at the Temple of Saturn so that everyone would know when the children reached the age to receive benefits.
The first building for maintaining public records in Rome, including the law, was erected under the protection of the temple of Saturn, as early as 509 B.C. but was possibly burned by the Gauls in 309 B.C. Other buildings were used until 78 B.C. when they built the great Tabularium, on Capitoline Hill, below the Temple of Jupiter, which was the symbol of the sovereignty and power of Rome.
The Christians depended on a Holy temple made of living stones which was a network of people living by the perfect law of liberty and faith, hope and charity. Those that had shared with those who had true needs.
Our modern ideas of religion differ from the meaning of the word in the days the Bible was written. Pure religion was a religion rooted in charity alone.
 National Archives and Records Administration (NARA)at the Capitol in Washington, D.C. entry is by way of Constitution Ave.
Celsus, a Platonist, writing during the term of Marcus Aurelius, “opposed the ‘sectarian’ tendencies at work in the Christian movement because he saw in Christianity a ‘privatizing’ of religion, the transferal of religious values from the public sphere to a private association.” [Christians as the Romans Saw Them, by Robert Wilken page 125.]
The difference between public and private welfare is the difference between socialism and charity. The nation of Rome and those of the Pax Romana were all going socialist and made the power of the state their Benefactor while Christians were living by love for one another according to the commandments of Christ.
This persecution which began under the Emperor Septimius Severus:
- "Severus returned victorious from having vanquished the kings who had taken part with Nigar against him, he published his cruel edicts against the Christians in the year of Christ 202, the tenth of his reign. But the general laws of the empire against foreign religions, and the former edicts of several emperors against the Christians, were a sufficient warrant to many governors to draw the sword against them before that time; and we find that the persecution was very hot in Africa two years before, under the proconsul Saturninus..." [The Lives of the Saints. Volume VII: July. 1866. Rev. Alban Butler (1711–73).]
The emperors maintained the loyalty by the sword and by the temples which supplied free bread and welfare for the people in a welfare state. A welfare state is a "concept of government in which the state plays a key role in the protection and promotion of the economic and social well-being of its citizens. It is based on the principles of equality of opportunity, equitable distribution of wealth, and public responsibility for those unable to avail themselves of the minimal provisions for a good life. The general term may cover a variety of forms of economic and social organization." Welfare state, Britannica Online Encyclopedia
The Church is one form of government appointed by Jesus who was the Christ/Messiah, king of Judea, the remnant of Israel.
Unlike other governments of the world it depends upon charity rather than force. Christians were often dragged before the courts because they failed to worship at the temples of Rome.
Once you realize that these temples had become civil altars that provided the benefits of social welfare you may begin to understand that to worship at those civic altars was done by contributions paid into a central treasury. To worship was to serve through your contributions. And to be a god was simply to be a ruling judge over the collection of your offering and its distribution along with the punishment of those who failed to serve.
In one such trial of Christians who practiced private religion rather than worship at the civil altars of Rome we see that the conflict was simply that the Christians would not sign up for a social welfare system based on the governments right to force members of those systems to contribute.
As Christians, the six principal among those being tried were Speratus, Narzalis, and Cittinus; and three women, Donata, Secunda, and Vestina, declined the proconsul's offer to them of the emperor’s pardon if they would worship the gods of the Romans, and sign up for their system of Qorban, social welfare. They knew that system of sacrifice made the word of God to none effect. Christians relied upon the Genius of God the Father working through the freewill offerings given in congregations of the Church by faith, hope, and charity.
Vigellius Saturninus, proconsul of Africa in 180 CE, addressed the seeming antisocial behavior of the twelve Scillitan Christian martyrs with the statement:
- “We too are religious, and our religion is simple, and we swear by the Genius of our lord the emperor, and we apply for his benefits, as you also ought to do.”
The true Christians like Speratus, one of the twelve who were being tried, would not apply to that Emperor for their daily bread and social security or common welfare, but claimed Christ as “Lord, the King of kings” and ruler of all nations saying:
- "I know not the genius of the emperor of this world; but I serve the God of heaven, whom no mortal man hath ever seen or can see. I never committed any crime punishable by the laws of the state. I pay the public duties for whatever I buy, acknowledging the emperor for my temporal lord; but I adore none but my God, who is the King of kings, and sovereign Lord over all the nations of the world. I have been guilty of no crime, and therefore cannot have incurred punishment."
If you live in almost any country there will be some taxes based on the services such as duties and imposts. But other taxes are based on membership and voluntary application. The Corban of the Pharisees what such a system but it made the word of God to non effect.
You entered that system by signing up and being baptized but Christians had another baptism. If you got the baptism of Christ you were cast out of the system of civic welfare set up by Herod and run through his government temple.
You could no longer get his free bread because you were not a member of his system. Baptism at Pentecost was choosing Jesus as the Christ and your king. You now could share in His free bread that was provided by free will offerings.
- Acts 2:46 "And they, continuing daily with one accord in the temple, and breaking bread from house to house, did eat their meat with gladness and singleness of heart,"
Their entire system of social welfare was now run through the church and their free assemblies as Christ , John the Baptist, Moses and Abraham and all the prophets of God preached for centuries.
- Acts 6:1 "And in those days, when the number of the disciples was multiplied, there arose a murmuring of the Grecians against the Hebrews, because their widows were neglected in the daily ministration."
Most modern Christians are not following in the way of Christ and his system of social welfare by charity alone but have been seeking the system that early Christians died to avoid. The result is that modern society has become fit subjects for tyrants and despots. They have not only weakened the poor but themselves. Christians should turn around and begin to seek the ways of Christ and the prophets by forming charitable systems based not on force but on the love of Christ.
Closer Look
Most people will find it hard to believe that the major conflict between Christians and the world was over social welfare. One of the reasons for this hesitation or refusal is because most Modern Christians have more in common with those who persecuted Christ than they have in common with the followers of Christ.
But the evidence is overwhelming that Christians would not and could not apply to the fathers of the state or the civic altars run through the temples of Rome and other countries for benefits provided by forced contributions.
From the Baptism of John and Herod which divided the Corban of Judea into two types of social welfare to the activities of the early Church we find the evidence clear.
We believe that all the problems in the world are a result of people turning their backs on the ways of God which is the way of Christ.
We believe that one of the reasons the established religion of the day wanted to crucify Christ was because of the conflict between those who promoted a socialist welfare system run by the government that called themselves a Benefactor but exercised authority one over the other.
That system of social welfare by societies was called Corban in Israel and Judea. It was called Qorban in Rome and Korban by others. These systems all required sacrifice from the people where what they contributed to the needs of society was managed by chosen public servants. Those servants were called priests at one time but are called bureaucrats today.
Even the Greek word korban is related to the term korbanas, signifying the “temple treasury.” The Jewish historian Josephus makes it clear that funds from the temple treasury were called “corban,” hence could not be used for secular purposes, e.g., city improvements, as in the building of an aqueduct for water supply (Wars 2.9.4).
The same term is translated treasury in Matthew 27:6 "And the chief priests took the silver pieces, and said, It is not lawful for to put them into the treasury, because it is the price of blood."
Pilate had put down riots because the corban, the peoples social security money was used to build an aqueduct. Despite what people like to think there is no separation of funds in these government treasuries so while Pilates actions were brutal his position was legally correct.
Religion was defined at the time of Christ and the constitution as "practice, consisting in the performance of all known duties to God and our fellow men.”
There were two types of systems. The System of Cain, Nimrod, Pharaoh and Caesar operated by forcing the contributions of the people by statutory commands while the system of Abraham, Moses, John the Baptist, Jesus Christ, the Apostles, and the early Church operated by free will offerings or what the Bible calls faith, hope and charity or Paul calls the perfect law of liberty.
The first system weakens society and increases the power of central governments through civil Benefactor. The latter strengthens community by awakening virtue in the people and therefore provides the foundation for a free society.
Christ instituted the Church to be those Benefactors who do not exercise authority one over the other but feed his sheep, provided daily bread and took care of the daily ministration of the needy in pure religion as Rome declined..
As history is now repeating itself we desire to do what those early Christians were doing. Like the early Church we must be foreign to the state religions which includes social security and welfare.
Other articles:
Chapter 7. of the book The Covenants of the gods
Republic vs Democracy
http://www.hisholychurch.org/study/gods/cog7rvd.php
Chapter 8. of the book The Covenants of the gods
Democracy vs Demagogue
http://www.hisholychurch.org/study/gods/cog8dvd.php
Doom, Gloom, and Democracy
The real destroyer is our own covetousness
http://www.hisholychurch.org/news/articles/doomdemocracy.php
Democracy SS Video Series 5-10 4:12
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5EUuimhSN8w
Republic SS Video Series 6-10 8:01
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OplmP0T8v0U
Footnotes:
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