Christian Persecution Quotes

“The blood of the martyrs is the seed of the church.”
― Tertullian

“It is unjust, but only Christlike, to suffer persecution for doing what is right.”
― Joyce Rachelle

“The central ideas of Christianity — an angry God and vicarious atonement — are contrary to every fact in nature, as also to the better aspirations of the human heart; they are, in our present stage of enlightenment, absurd, preposterous, and blasphemous propositions. Christians well know that the much-decorated statue of the Church, as it now stands, is not of pure chiseled marble, but of clay, cemented together by blood and tears and hardened in the fires of hatred and persecution. And still we hear the cry, 'The whole world for Christ'.”
― Virchand Gandhi, The Monist

“On the latter point, it was sometimes noted that Christians gathered together under the cloak of darkness, calling one another "brother" and "sister" and greeting one another with kisses; they were said to worship their god by eating the flesh and drinking the blood of the Son of God. What was one to make of such practices? If you can imagine the worst, you won't be far off. Pagan opponents claimed that Christians engaged in ritual incest (sexual acts with brothers and sisters), infanticide (killing the Son), and cannibalism (eating his flesh and drinking his blood). These charges may seem incredible today, but in a society that respected decency and openness, they were widely ac­cepted. Christians were perceived as a nefarious lot.”
― Bart D. Ehrman, Misquoting Jesus: The Story Behind Who Changed the Bible and Why

“Nero did not, technically speaking, prosecute Christians for being Christian. He executed them for committing arson.

True, they probably were not guilty, but that was the charge. Being a Christian was not punishable, but setting fire to Rome was.

Nero’s persecution was localized. It involved only the city of Rome. Nothing indicates that Christians elsewhere in the empire suffered any consequences.

Even more significant, it appears that none of Nero’s successors down to Trajan (ruled 98–117 CE) persecuted Christians.

Between Nero in 64 CE and Marcus Aurelius in 177 CE, the only mention of an emperor’s intervention in Christian affairs, apart from the episode involving Trajan found in Pliny’s letters, is a letter from the emperor Hadrian that gives instructions to a local governor to conduct his trials against the Christians fairly.”
― Bart D. Ehrman, The Triumph of Christianity: How a Forbidden Religion Swept the World

“We simply do not know how many Christians suffered imprisonment or died at the hands of the authorities: possibly hundreds of people, although almost certainly not many thousands.

We do know that, in the end, the Christians came out on top.

Constantine converted, and with one brief exception all the emperors to follow were Christian. There would never again be an official Roman persecution of the Christians.

Throughout these early centuries of on-again, off-again opposition, Christians were not always bullied, beaten, tortured, and executed.

Most of the time, in most places, they were simply left in peace. Many Christians went from cradle to grave without facing any public ridicule, opposition, or persecution.

We do not hear much about these Christians for an obvious reason: peace and quiet rarely make it into the history books.”
― Bart D. Ehrman, The Triumph of Christianity: How a Forbidden Religion Swept the World

“In 303 CE, the Roman emperor Diocletian declared war on the Christian church and instigated the most massive persecution it ever endured.

In 312 CE, the emperor Constantine himself converted to become a Christian.

In 391 to 392 CE, the vehemently orthodox Christian Theodosius declared all pagan practices illegal and in effect made Christianity the state religion of Rome.

With the growth of Christianity came moments of heightened intolerance. Sometimes this intolerance erupted in ugly acts of violence, suppression, and coercion.

Christians were not, of course, the only intolerant people on the planet. They themselves had been the victims of violent coercion early in the century.”
― Bart D. Ehrman, The Triumph of Christianity: How a Forbidden Religion Swept the World

“No innocence can shield a man from the calumnies of the wicked. [...] As a shadow follows its substance, so envy pursues goodness. It is only at the tree laden with fruit that men throw stones. If we would live without being slandered we must wait until we get to heaven. Let us be very heedful not to believe the flying rumors which are always harassing gracious men. If there are no believers in lies, there will be but a dull market in falsehood, and good men's characters will be safe. Ill will never spoke well. Sinners have an ill will to saints; therefore, be sure that they will not speak well of them.”
― Charles H. Spurgeon

“He made a pit and digged it. He was cunning in his plans and industrious in his labors. He stooped to the dirty work of digging. He did not fear to soil his own hands. He was willing to work in a ditch if others might fall therein. What mean things men will do to wreak revenge on the godly. They hunt for good men as if they were brute beasts - they that will not give them the fair chase afforded to the hare or the fox, but must secretly entrap them because they can neither run them down nor shoot them down. Our enemies will not meet us to the face for they fear us as much as they pretend to despise us. But let us look on to the end of the scene. The verse says he has fallen into the ditch that he has made. Ah, there he is. Let us laugh at his disappointment. Lo, he is himself the beast. He has hunted his own soul. The chase has brought him a goodly victim. So should it ever be.”
― Charles H. Spurgeon

“Whether it seems like it or not, even one man against the world, when backed by Christ, possesses the strength of the majority, and for that, he should expect persecution from the darkness that which his light oppresses.”
― Criss Jami