도미티아누스의 기독교 박해 연구

Abstract

This paper examines the persecution of Christians exercised by the Roman emperor called Domitian in the first century A.D. Domitian's persecution of Christians in A.D. 64 was the first persecution occurred since the Emperor Nero's. This is why studying Domitian's Christian persecution is important in understanding the history of 'Ten Roman Christian Persecutions.' The paper alludes a lot of significance in the field because it illuminates the factors of Domitian's persecution that had not been explored much, Domitian became an emperor of Rome in A.D. 81 due to the unexpected death of his brother, Titus, who had succeeded Vespasian. Under Domitian, who declared himself the living god (Deus), Roman Empire had become an autocracy. He raised the Roman soldier's pay to 300 denarius and pushed forward the building of an extravagant temple. His frequent public events as well as the generous pay and excessive spending on construction brought about scarcity of resources. The factors of Christian persecution under Domitian's reign can be identified as the following: Christian's refusal of the practice of the imperial cult, refusal to pay the Jewish tax, dissent to worship 'gods of the state,' and retention of egalitarian ideology. Looking at Domitian's religious policy, we can see that the refusal of the imperial cult practice was one of the factors of Christian persecution. Christianity was a faith-based community, which follows the teachings of Jesus. Therefore, Christians strictly worshiped their God, maintaining their monotheistic practices and rejecting the imperial cult. In other words, their belief and practice defied Domitian's policy of the imperial cult. Domitian considered such resistance as the ultimate denial and insult to the deification of himself. This became a significant reason for Christian persecution during the Domitian's reign. Domitian's Jewish tax policy also is considered as one of the factors of Christian persecution. In A.D. 70, Vespasian, the father of Domitian, had levied Jewish tax in order to use it as an offering to Jupiter. In the early A.D. 90, Domitian levied the tax to a larger crowd of people to secure the economy. For Christians, to pay the Jewish tax was more than a simple legal responsibility; it was a reflection of their faith. Christians, who could not go against their faith, did not pay the tax that would turn into a sacrifice for other god. Domitian, who desperately needed the money to secure his authority, regarded Christian's such act as treason and started to persecute Christians. Another factor of Christian persecution appears to be the strong protest from other religions against the Christians who refused to worship the gods of state. The Roman society at the time was of a religious syncretism, thus Christian's refusal to worship the gods sparked the other religions' resistance. Most importantly, Christian's act insulted Domitian who considered himself as the guardian of the gods of Rome. In addition, the revenues generated from the offerings and supplies used for the sacrifices had decreased. Consequently, Christian's refusal to worship the gods of state became one of the main causes of the persecution. The paper also examines Christian ideology of egalitarianism as another reason for Christian persecution. In ancient Rome, such egalitarian ideology could not be socially accepted. Domitian was especially interested in using slavery as a way to secure labor force and economic power. In this social and political context, Christian's egalitarian acts were considered not only as treason against the emperor's policy, but also as an attempt to overthrow the social order. Christian's ideological emphasis on egalitarianism, without a doubt, caused people of Rome to speculate Christians' scheme to establish the kingdom of Christ after overthrowing the Roman government. This was more than enough of a reason for Domitian to persecute Christians cruelly. Domitian's Christian persecution was caused by many political and societal factors. Imperial cult and Jewish tax were two of Domitian's main policies and the practice of god-of-state worship and slavery were like the pillars of social institution in ancient Rome. From a ruler's perspective, Domitian could not tolerate the Christians who denied his policies and the societal customs. These are the factors that led up to Domitian's persecution of Christians.