Trajan Quotes
It is not possible to lay down any general rule to serve as a kind of fixed standard. They [Christians] are not to be sought out; if they are denounced and proved guilty, they are to be punished, with this reservation, that whoever denies that he is a Christian and really proves it--that is, by worshiping our gods--even though he was under suspicion in the past, shall obtain pardon through repentance. But anonymously posted accusations ought to have no place in any prosecution. For this is both a dangerous kind of precedent and out of keeping with the spirit of our age.
See related quote for the initiating letter.
Marcus Ulpius Trajanus, 53?-117, Trajan, Roman Emperor, Letter responding to one of his Governors, Pliny the Younger
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It was a crime to be a Christian. However, it is interesting that the Governor and the emperor would be concerned with this “crime” in much the same way as we today might discuss the issue of juvenile crime, repentance and recidivism. What is most dramatic to the modern reader is that religious profession was a crime, and is was so just like any other crime of the day. This is a view that most societies have held in the past and some still do today. See {618038} for the Emperor’s response. This exchange is the earliest writing that refers to Christians as problems.
Abdul Rahman had converted from Islam to Christianity 16 years before. Conversion from Islam is a capital crime under Sharia Law. Rahman was charged but the judge demonstrating the tolerance of Islamic law said that Rahman would be given an opportunity to change his mind and re-embrace Islam and if he did so, he would be converted and not killed.
At first this clause appears to be very enlightened and establishing freedom of conscience. This clause allowed Catholics to practice freely whereas in other colonies they could not. However, as one reads on, it becomes clear that the “tolerance” is limited to Christians only. Then if one examines the exception within the parentheses and refer to the rest of the act—see {611994}—, one finds that even Christians who have certain theological beliefs are to be put to death—those for example who deny the holiness of the Trinity such as Unitarians who were a major group in the New England Colonies. It was a significant step at the time however to protect Roman Catholics.
Abdul Rahman, Afghan citizen, had converted from Islam to Christianity 16 years before. Conversion from Islam is a capital crime under Sharia Law which was the law of Afghanistan even after the Taliban had been overthrown. He was jailed and threatened with death. Statements like this and others made directly to the government persuaded the Afghan politicians to go against their mullahs who demanded the death penalty as is proscribed by Islamic Law—Sharia. The judges tried to get Rahman to recant and he would not (see {589518}). So they finally decided that he must be mentally insane and therefore could not be tried, and the problem was solved that way.
Constantine the Great. Roman Emperors saw Christians as their most dangerous foes. However, Constantine, with this edict, enabled Christianity to thrive and grow legally in the Western world. Later Constantine himself converted to Christianity. This edict ceased the vicious Roman persecution that Christians had endured.
Toleration is a relative term. The Muslim Moors made Christians (and Jews) pay a special tax. At times they were forced to wear special clothing so that they could be readily identified. And they could not build churches larger or taller than the smallest mosque in the community. At times, their occupations were restricted but at other times Christians and Jews were appointed to the highest positions like Vizier. The Inquisition, in contrast, forced all Muslims (and Jews) to leave the country without any of their property or money or be tortured and killed—usually by burning at the stake unless of course that they converted to Christianity.
This quotation which appears absurd on the surface given Iran’s terrible record with religious minorities provides insight to Islamic orthodox thought. For the orthodox Muslim, Sharia—Koranic Law—is the basis of the society. God defines the rights of people and their obligations. Whatever rights are provided by Sharia, Khomeini and some others wished to provide them equally to religious minorities also. However, those rights do not include the right to criticize the Islamic law or the leaders who implement it. That would be heresy if done by a Muslim, a Christian, or a Jew. A Christian church may not erect a public cross or ring bells on Sunday. That is prohibited by the Koran and is imposed on all. Bahai religious adherents are tracked down in the Islamic Republic and are often executed. ‘What about their rights?’ they ask. The answer is that the Bahai were Muslims who have become “backsliders” and heretics, and under Sharia, they must be executed for heresy; they are deemed to be heretical Muslims and not members of a minority religion.
By the beginning of the 21st Century, some Republicans had perfected the art of naming legislation completely contrary to its intent and effect in order to make opposition to it more difficult for opponents in the legislature. But nothing they ever did came close to the audacity of naming this legislation, The Toleration Act, as it was about the most intolerant legislation ever passed in America. Exactly what the motivation of the legislative drafters was is not known. One theory is that as a Catholic Colony, perhaps they really thought that they were being tolerant as they would not execute Protestants except Unitarians. In any event is was a low point in American history and was one of the examples that was before the Founding Fathers when they added the First Amendment to the Constitution. See {624142} for the text.
A police officer in Chicago had refused an assignment to guard an abortion clinic that had been threatened. He was offered a transfer to a district that had no abortion clinics, but refused to be transferred. He was fired then and the courts upheld the city’s right to fire him.
While Aquinas brought much wisdom and good to the Church, this statement and others laid a foundation for murdering non-believers and organizing the Inquisition.
Quintus Septimius Florens Tertullianus
Quintus Septimius Florens Tertullianus. This quote is historically very important as it is one of the first expressions of religious tolerance. Tragically, this principle was ignored by most Christians for over a millennium. Some Christians still ignore it. See {626754} for a modern example.
This is a particularly interesting historical quotation because it succinctly gives a history of the various horrors of religious strife in British history—a history that was very well known to the American Founding Fathers and the general American Colonial population. This history was the major driver behind the public insistence for the Bill of Rights and the 1st Amendment which erected a wall of separation between church and state with government never favoring or abetting any particular religion.
In addition to the immense secular powers that can be used to obtain obedience, in a theocracy, there is the additional weapon of damnation. See {628182} for his use of some of the others.
Hamilton had studied with Martin Luther at Wittenberg and returned to Scotland where he converted many from the Catholic Church. He was offered a chance to recant and spare his life but he refused. He became the first Protestant Martyr in Scotland and his death brought many new converts.
Williams was the first theologian who not only advocated religious toleration but argued that Christianity demanded it and the separation of church and state.
In one of the historical ironies of the 12th century, a Christian sect preferred the rule of the Muslims than their Christian brethren—on the grounds of religious tolerance. It illustrates the changes that take place over time. By the 21st century, it was the Christians who were thought of as tolerant and the Muslims as the opposite.
Trajan (born Marcus Ulpius Traianus, adopted name Caesar Nerva Traianus; 18 September 53 – c. 9 August 117) was a Roman emperor from AD 98 to 117, remembered as the second of the Five Good Emperors of the Nerva–Antonine dynasty. He was a philanthropic ruler and a successful soldier-emperor who presided over one of the greatest military expansions in Roman history, during which, by the time of his death, the Roman Empire reached its maximum territorial extent. He was given the title of Optimus ('the best') by the Roman Senate.
