Daily Devotion

 

Apart from the slanders attached to the Jews, there were slanders directed particularly against the Christians. They were accused of cannibalism. This accusation took its rise from a perversion of the words of the Last Supper, “This is my body,” this cup is the new covenant in my blood.” The Christians were accused of killing and eating a child at their feasts.

 

They were also accused of immorality and even incest. This accusation took its rise from the fact that they called their meeting the Agape, the Love Feast. The heathen perverted that name to mean that the Christian feasts were sensual orgies at which shameless deeds were done.

The Christians were accused of damaging trade. Such was the charge of the silversmiths of Ephesus (Acts 19:21-41).

 

They were accused of “tampering with family relationships” because often homes were broken up when some members of the family became Christians and others did not.

 

Above all, they were accused of disloyalty to Caesar. For no Christian would worship the Emperor’s godhead and burn his pinch of incense and declare that Caesar was Lord, for to him Jesus Christ and no other was Lord.

 

Such were the charges that were directed against the Christians. To Peter, there was only one way to refute them and that was to so live that their Christian life demonstrated that the accusations were unfounded.  When Plato was told that a certain man had been making slanderous charges against him, his answer was: “I will live in such a way that no one will believe what he says.” That was Peter’s solution.