The story of our Christianity; an account of the struggles, persecutions, wars, and victories of Christians of all times . r or a fugitive slave. The disciplewas not above his Master. If theyhave persecuted Me, they will also per-secute you, was, as has been well said,the warning of common sense. If any of them needed tolearn this lesson, their eyes must ^ghave been opened by the fate ofdeacon Stephen, and not long .-,>after, by that of St. James theelder. The source whence theirearliest troubles were to come wasplain in view. The temper ofthe Jews, as has been said, wasfierce and narrow, r
The story of our Christianity; an account of the struggles, persecutions, wars, and victories of Christians of all times . r or a fugitive slave. The disciplewas not above his Master. If theyhave persecuted Me, they will also per-secute you, was, as has been well said,the warning of common sense. If any of them needed tolearn this lesson, their eyes must ^ghave been opened by the fate ofdeacon Stephen, and not long .-,>after, by that of St. James theelder. The source whence theirearliest troubles were to come wasplain in view. The temper ofthe Jews, as has been said, wasfierce and narrow, ready on slightoccasion to contract into bitterbigotry. Most of their rulingmen, while rigidly adhering tothe letter of their law, knew littleof its spirit, and were eager tobrand any innovation, any liberalinterpretation even, as heresy andblasphemy. From first to lastthey were opponents and hatersof the Gospel. The gentle elements which were not lacking in their sacredbooks had found no lodgment in their hearts. Slaves of tradition and of afrozen orthodox v, the warm and wide teachings of the Son of Man appealed to-. st. PETER. 66 THE STORY OF OUR CHRISTIANITY. them only to rouse angry repulsion and denial. So well was the national char-acter known in the outside world, that the origin of Christianity long injured thereputation of its adherents, who were regarded as a Jewish sect, and credited withthe Jewish vices of scarcely concealed disloyalty to government and hatred ofmankind THE WORLD AGAINST THE CHURCH. This fact may in part explain the hostility of Roman officials everywhere,and of the mass of their subjects. But other causes were not far to seek. Theancient world knew nothing of the rights of conscieuce: that an individualshould presume to think for himself on matters within the range of custom andlegislation was an offense almost unheard of. The genius of the Greeks, andstill more of the Romans, was political; religion was an engine of the state; thehuman being was f
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