Eusebius’ Church History 21
Study Guide Questions for Book 8.1-8.12
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Virtues/Vices/Great Ideas: (Find them in the Text)
Freedom vs. Bondage, Courage vs. Cowardice, Appearance vs. Reality, Evil, Ignorance, Irony, Perseverance, Euchatastrophe
Grammar Questions: (The Information of the Text)
What did Eusebius state as the purpose for Book 8 of his Church History?
What had been brought about by the “greater freedom” which Christians had enjoyed in the years preceding Diocletian’s reign?
What did Diocletian’s edict command should be done concerning the Christians in the empire?
According to Eusebius, what was the “overriding goal” of the Roman persecutors?
What class of people in the Roman Empire felt the effect of Diocletian’s persecution first?
What happened at the palace in Nicomedia which was blamed upon the Christians?
What did Eusebius see with his own eyes in regard to the wild animals turned loose against the Christians?
What cruel new forms of torture and execution took place under Diocletian’s edict which we did not seen in Eusebius’ reports of earlier persecutions?
What did some Christians do rather than be caught by their persecutors?
What kind of “philanthropy” did the Romans show to some Christians as the persecution wound down?
Logic Questions: (Interpreting, Comparing/Contrasting, Reasoning)
Why might “greater freedom” enjoyed by the believers have caused the “arrogance and sloth” described by Eusebius?
Beyond the physical torturing and executions of Christians, what tactics were used under Diocletian which might have been even more effective (even if ultimately inadequate) in attempting to thwart Christianity’s growth in the Empire?
What is similar about the situation at the Nicomedian palace with what happened during Nero’s reign?
Why did crucifying a person upside down take longer to kill them?
Why would the Romans have invented such awful ways to hurt and put Christians to death? Why not simply execute them quickly (if they deemed them deserving of death)?
What did Eusebius mean when he said that in some cases Christians were “no longer attacked under common law but as enemies in war?”
Rhetoric Questions: (The Analysis of Ideas in the Text)
In discussing the complacency and sin that some Christians fell into during the time of “greater freedom” Eusebius wrote “we made no effort to propitiate the Deity but, like atheists, assumed that our affairs went unnoticed.” To what extent should individuals identify with, and take responsibility for, the actions of others because they belong to the same group or class? Does your answer change as you consider different groupings or classifications such as religion, nationality, race, or sex? If you make a distinction between these categories (in regards to identifying with the whole category and taking responsibility for others within it) explain why some cases would be different from others.
In our present reading we see that Eusebius, several times, says “I myself saw” or some such similar phrase. How does the fact that Eusebius is now presenting “eye-witness” accounts affect the value of the information he is writing compared with the earlier books of his history? Is it more reliable, less reliable, or equally reliable? Think carefully about this and explain your answer.
Do you think the Christians who “threw themselves down from the roofs of tall houses” or other such life ending maneuvers are guilty of any wrongdoing? Would you categorize this as suicide or something else? Defend your answer with Scripture and reason.
Theological Analysis: (Sola Scriptura)
Read Daniel 6. Compare and contrast Daniel’s situation with what Eusebius describes the Christians enduring during his own day. What should we learn from this?