TPC: Thomas Lane Butts on Christianity and Citizenship

TPC NeXus - Christianity and Citizenship: "Christianity was a religion without a state for three hundred years. Christians were at the mercy of the laws of whatever state in which they happened to be. Since Christianity was promulgated primarily within the bounds of the Roman Empire, the attitude and policy of the reigning Roman Emperor was a matter of crucial importance. Treatment of Christian ranged all the way from being casually ignored to being systematically persecuted. It varied from the cruel and capricious treatment of Nero in the first century to the final acceptance of Christianity as an official religion under Constantine in the fourth century."