Finally, Christians were accused of being subversive, for they refused to worship the emperor and thus destroyed the very fiber of society. The apologists answered that it was true that they refused to worship the emperor or any other creature, but that in spite of this they were loyal subjects of the empire. What the emperor needsthey saidis not to be worshiped, but to be served; and those who serve him best are those who pray for him and for the empire to the only true God.

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Themes

  • Politics — Governance, civic duty, and the structures of power

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