Theos-Talk Archives (May 2002 Message tt00116)

Steve Stubbs wrote:
> Well, I am not a Christian, but that statement (that
> his only fault was persecuting terrorists) is
> antihistorical. Incidentally, no distinction was made
> by the Romans or anyone else at that date between
> Christianity and Judaism, so you are applauding an
> antiSemite. The Romans did not like Jews period. A
> few years later the emperor Hadrian made the practice
> of that religion a criminal offense. Jerusalem was
> sacked not long after Nero's murder if memory serves
> me well.

>From a Roman point of view, the Jews and the Jewish cult of the Failed
Messiah (later to become Christianity) were terrorists (of course, one
must remember that, until the last half century or so, terrorists tended
to stick towards military, industrial, and governmental targets, as
attacking civilian targets is ultimately self-defeating). I probably
should not have said "only fault." The real point is that Nero was not
the monster that he has been painted as by history. His targeting of the
Jews/Christians was not due to irrational hatred or calculating
scapegoating, but due to his attempts to protect his empire.

Bart Lidofsky