Persecution

Persecution is the suppression of, or harm done to, individuals or communities by a state or social group on account of their religious convictions. In Christian history, the term refers to the imprisonment, confiscation of property, exile, and execution that believers have suffered for their faith. Death suffered in the course of persecution is called martyrdom.

Background

The New Testament presents persecution as something that accompanies the life of faith. Jesus said, "Blessed are they which are persecuted for righteousness' sake" (Matthew 5:10). Paul wrote, "Yea, and all that will live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution" (2 Timothy 3:12). In the early church, a great persecution arose against the church in Jerusalem after the martyrdom of Stephen, and the believers were scattered (Acts 8:1). In the Roman Empire, Christians were suspected of undermining the social order because they refused to take part in emperor worship and the state cult.

Development

The Roman Empire

• 64: The historian Tacitus records that after the Great Fire of Rome, Emperor Nero blamed the Christians and had them executed. According to tradition, Peter and Paul were also martyred in Rome around this time.
• 250: Emperor Decius ordered the inhabitants of the empire to sacrifice to the gods and obtain certificates attesting that they had done so. Christians who refused were punished.
• 303: The "Great Persecution" began under Emperor Diocletian. Church buildings and copies of Scripture were destroyed, and clergy were imprisoned.
• 313: The Edict of Milan granted legal recognition to Christianity, bringing empire-wide persecution to an end.

After the Reformation

During the Reformation, persecution also occurred among Christians themselves. The Anabaptists were executed by both Catholics and Protestants. French Protestants (Huguenots) suffered the St. Bartholomew's Day Massacre in 1572.

Korea

• In the late Joseon period, the Catholic Church endured several major persecutions, from the Sinyu Persecution of 1801 to the Byeongin Persecution of 1866. In that same year, the Protestant missionary Robert Jermain Thomas died on the Taedong River during the General Sherman incident.
• During the Japanese colonial period, there were the 105-Man Incident (1911) and the Jeamni Massacre (1919) during the March First Movement. From the late 1930s onward, Christians were compelled to perform Shinto shrine worship. Pastor Ju Gi-cheol, who refused to take part in shrine worship, died in prison in 1944.
• After liberation, the communist regime in the northern half of the peninsula suppressed the church. During the Korean War, many believers, including Pastor Son Yang-won, lost their lives.

Consequences and Influence

Persecution scattered the church, yet it also became an occasion for the gospel to spread to other regions through the scattered believers (Acts 8:4). Tertullian, a Church Father of the second and third centuries, is known for a saying to the effect that "the blood of the martyrs is the seed of the church."

Persecution also left the church with new challenges. In the ancient church, controversy arose over whether to readmit those who had renounced their faith during persecution. In Korea, the question of the responsibility of leaders who had taken part in Shinto shrine worship led to conflict during the rebuilding of the church after liberation and became one of the causes of the division of Korean Presbyterianism.

Christians are still reported to be suffering persecution in many countries today. The Korean church has continued to pray for and support churches under persecution, such as the church in North Korea and the Chinese house churches.

Assessment

Across denominational lines, the Korean church regards the memory of persecution and martyrdom as an important part of its religious identity. Many denominations also sponsor projects commemorating martyrs and offer teaching on the faith of the martyrs.

At the same time, some argue that this history should be viewed in a balanced way: Christians have not only suffered persecution but have also persecuted others for their beliefs, as in the executions of the Reformation era.

In Korea in recent years, criticism of the church or legal regulation of it has sometimes been described as "persecution." Opinions within the church are divided on this usage. Some see it as a warning about real threats to religious freedom, while others hold that it must be distinguished from actual persecution involving the loss of life and liberty. This issue is also connected to discussions of the relationship between the church and politics.