Dan Roth

What kind of name is that for a webpage?  Especially the webpage of a pastor?

It’s simple.  These were three early charges that were brought against Christians because they were being faithful to Jesus.  These Christians were living lives that ran counter to the prevailing culture.  Because they were unwilling to go against God, and because they were often misunderstood or intentionally misrepresented, they lived under these charges.

Why would Christian believers be charged with atheism?  Because they wouldn’t worship the king (Caesar) or any of the other gods of the Roman pantheon.  Why were they charged with incest?  Because of the close relationships they had with each other, including referring to fellow believers as ‘sister’ or ‘brother’.  Why cannibalism?  Because of their participation in the Eucharist (taking communion), which refers to partaking of the body and blood of Jesus.

I’m challenged by these early believers.  First, because they were unwilling to deny Jesus in order to ‘just get along’ in their culture.  Second, because they were often misunderstood or misrepresented by a public unwilling to understand or eager to dismiss – both of which are increasingly true in our culture today.  Third, because they continued to do right by those around them regardless of how they were treated.  Early Christians were often the only ‘social welfare system’ their neighbors knew.  They took in abandoned babies and cared for them as their own.  They fed the hungry, clothed the naked, and housed the homeless.

In all of this, no small thing to note is that the mistreatment they received at the hands of the greater society was despite their acts of love, not because they unlovingly tried to force non-believers to follow their way of living!  So, I pray that I will be faithful in living out God’s will in accordance with the example they set.

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