In this post I will quote an ancient non-Christian witness, specifically from a pagan governor, which testifies to the fact of Christians gathering on a specific day of the week to worship Christ as God by singing hymns to him. The source that I am about cite also mentions some of the early Christian practices, which believers bound themselves to observe. All emphasis is mine.
THE TESTIMONY
Pliny and Trajan on the Christians
Pliny the Younger was governor of Pontus/Bithynia from 111-113 AD. We have a whole set of exchanges of his letters with the emperor Trajan on a variety of administrative political matters. These two letters are the most famous, in which P. encounters Christianity for the first time.
Pliny, Letters 10.96-97
Pliny to the Emperor Trajan
It is my practice, my lord, to refer to you all matters concerning which I am in doubt. For who can better give guidance to my hesitation or inform my ignorance? I have never participated in trials of Christians. I therefore do not know what offenses it is the practice to punish or investigate, and to what extent. And I have been not a little hesitant as to whether there should be any distinction on account of age or no difference between the very young and the more mature; whether pardon is to be granted for repentance, or, if a man has once been a Christian, it does him no good to have ceased to be one; whether the name itself, even without offenses, or only the offenses associated with the name are to be punished.
Meanwhile, in the case of those who were denounced to me as Christians, I have observed the following procedure: I interrogated these as to whether they were Christians; those who confessed I interrogated a second and a third time, threatening them with punishment; those who persisted I ordered executed. For I had no doubt that, whatever the nature of their creed, stubbornness and inflexible obstinacy surely deserve to be punished. There were others possessed of the same folly; but because they were Roman citizens, I signed an order for them to be transferred to Rome.
Soon accusations spread, as usually happens, because of the proceedings going on, and several incidents occurred. An anonymous document was published containing the names of many persons. Those who denied that they were or had been Christians, when they invoked the gods in words dictated by me, offered prayer with incense and wine to your image, which I had ordered to be brought for this purpose together with statues of the gods, and moreover cursed Christ–none of which those who are really Christians, it is said, can be forced to do–these I thought should be discharged. Others named by the informer declared that they were Christians, but then denied it, asserting that they had been but had ceased to be, some three years before, others many years, some as much as twenty-five years. They all worshipped your image and the statues of the gods, and cursed Christ.
They asserted, however, that the sum and substance of their fault or error had been that they were accustomed to meet on a fixed day before dawn and sing responsively a hymn to Christ as to a god, and to bind themselves by oath, not to some crime, but not to commit fraud, theft, or adultery, not falsify their trust, nor to refuse to return a trust when called upon to do so. When this was over, it was their custom to depart and to assemble again to partake of food–but ordinary and innocent food. Even this, they affirmed, they had ceased to do after my edict by which, in accordance with your instructions, I had forbidden political associations. Accordingly, I judged it all the more necessary to find out what the truth was by torturing two female slaves who were called deaconesses. But I discovered nothing else but depraved, excessive superstition.
I therefore postponed the investigation and hastened to consult you. For the matter seemed to me to warrant consulting you, especially because of the number involved. For many persons of every age, every rank, and also of both sexes are and will be endangered. For the contagion of this superstition has spread not only to the cities but also to the villages and farms. But it seems possible to check and cure it. It is certainly quite clear that the temples, which had been almost deserted, have begun to be frequented, that the established religious rites, long neglected, are being resumed, and that from everywhere sacrificial animals are coming, for which until now very few purchasers could be found. Hence it is easy to imagine what a multitude of people can be reformed if an opportunity for repentance is afforded.
Trajan to Pliny
You observed proper procedure, my dear Pliny, in sifting the cases of those who had been denounced to you as Christians. For it is not possible to lay down any general rule to serve as a kind of fixed standard. They are not to be sought out; if they are denounced and proved guilty, they are to be punished, with this reservation, that whoever denies that he is a Christian and really proves it–that is, by worshiping our gods–even though he was under suspicion in the past, shall obtain pardon through repentance. But anonymously posted accusations ought to have no place in any prosecution. For this is both a dangerous kind of precedent and out of keeping with the spirit of our age.
COMMENTARY
According to this pagan governor, as he reports to the emperor, we discover that:
Gentiles who had converted to Christianity no longer sacrificed to gods or frequented pagan temples.
Those that did deny Christ by sacrificing to the emperor and pagan deities had already abandoned the faith.
True Christians could not be forced to recant their faith and curse Christ.
The early Church had female deacons, two of whom had been tortured by Pliny in order to get a confession out of them.
The “crimes” which these Christians committed were to bind themselves to never “commit fraud, theft, or adultery, not falsify their trust, nor to refuse to return a trust when called upon to do so.” They were also guilty of assembling together to partake of food, an obvious reference to the Eucharist.
These Christians would also gather on a fixed day right before sunrise so as to sing hymns to Christ in recognition of his being “a God.”
It is this last point that is vitally crucial since it affirms that the early Church gathered for the express purpose of glorifying Christ as God. Here’s another rendition of Pliny’s words:
“… They affirmed the whole of their guilt, or their error, was, that they met on a stated day before it was light and addressed a form of prayer to Christ, as to a divinity (carmenque Christo quasi deo dicere secum invicem seque)…” (The Letters of Pliny, the Consul. [Otridge & Son, London 1810], translated by W. Melmoth, Volume 2, p. 248)
The Latin can also be rendered as, “and follow one another to sing to Christ as if to a G/god.”
What is interesting is that early Christian writers knew of and referenced Pliny’s letter to the emperor.
For example, note what Tertullian states in this respect:
“… For the younger Pliny, when he was ruler of a province, having condemned some Christians to death, and driven some from their steadfastness, being still annoyed by their great numbers, at last sought the advice of Trajan, the reigning emperor, as to what he was to do with the rest, explaining to his master that, except an obstinate disinclination to offer sacrifices, he found in the religious services nothing but meetings at early morning for singing hymns to Christ and God, and sealing home their way of life by a united pledge to be faithful to their religion, forbidding murder, adultery, dishonesty, and other crimes. Upon this Trajan wrote back that Christians were by no means to be sought after; but if they were brought before him, they should be punished…” (The Apology, Chapter 2)
And here’s what 4th century church historian Eusebius writes, who actually references Tertullian:
Chapter 33. Trajan forbids the Christians to be sought after.
1. So great a persecution was at that time opened against us in many places that Plinius Secundus, one of the most noted of governors, being disturbed by the great number of martyrs, communicated with the emperor concerning the multitude of those that were put to death for their faith. At the same time, he informed him in his communication that he had not heard of their doing anything profane or contrary to the laws — except that they arose at dawn and sang hymns to Christ as a God; but that they renounced adultery and murder and like criminal offenses, and did all things in accordance with the laws.
2. In reply to this Trajan made the following decree: that the race of Christians should not be sought after, but when found should be punished. On account of this the persecution which had threatened to be a most terrible one was to a certain degree checked, but there were still left plenty of pretexts for those who wished to do us harm. Sometimes the people, sometimes the rulers in various places, would lay plots against us, so that, although no great persecutions took place, local persecutions were nevertheless going on in particular provinces, and many of the faithful endured martyrdom in various forms.
3. We have taken our account from the Latin Apology of Tertullian which we mentioned above. The translation runs as follows: And indeed we have found that search for us has been forbidden. For when Plinius Secundus, the governor of a province, had condemned certain Christians and deprived them of their dignity, he was confounded by the multitude, and was uncertain what further course to pursue. He therefore communicated with Trajan the emperor, informing him that, aside from their unwillingness to sacrifice, he had found no impiety in them.
4. And he reported this also, that the Christians arose early in the morning and sang hymns unto Christ as a God, and for the purpose of preserving their discipline forbade murder, adultery, avarice, robbery, and the like. In reply to this Trajan wrote that the race of Christians should not be sought after, but when found should be punished. Such were the events which took place at that time. (Church History (CH), Book III)
Eusebius confirms the early, widespread worship of Christ as God by all the Christians throughout the then known world:
Chapter 28. Those who first advanced the Heresy of Artemon; their Manner of Life, and how they dared to corrupt the Sacred Scriptures…
5. For who does not know the works of Irenæus and of Melito and of others which teach that Christ is God and man? And how many psalms and hymns, written by the faithful brethren from the beginning, celebrate Christ the Word of God, speaking of him as Divine.
6. How then since the opinion held by the Church has been preached for so many years, can its preaching have been delayed as they affirm, until the times of Victor? And how is it that they are not ashamed to speak thus falsely of Victor, knowing well that he cut off from communion Theodotus, the cobbler, the leader and father of this God-denying apostasy, and the first to declare that Christ is mere man? For if Victor agreed with their opinions, as their slander affirms, how came he to cast out Theodotus, the inventor of this heresy? (CH, Book V)
To call this remarkable would be putting it mildly.
Pliny attests to the fact that Gentiles all over the Roman emperor had abandoned their worship of the pagan deities in order to now worship a crucified Jew as their God, a Man who wasn’t even a fellow countryman or Gentile!
What makes Pliny’s statements regarding the early Christian believers all the remarkable is that there is no mention of their worshiping God the Father, or some other God alongside of Jesus. Rather, these Christians were directing their praise and hymns to the crucified and risen Jesus!
Now this doesn’t mean that they weren’t praising either the Father or the Spirit. Rather, the implication is that the recognition of Christ as God was crucial and essential to the faith of true believers. In other words, there was no Christianity that did not necessitate the worship and glorification of the risen Jesus as God Incarnate!
It is evident as to why Pliny refers to Christians worshiping Jesus as a G/god, since this obviously a reflection from his pagan background. I.e., from Pliny’s point of view Jesus, and by extension the God worshiped by Jews, were/are just a couple of gods among the pantheon of divinities worshiped by various groups and ethnicities. It does not mean that Christians thought of Jesus another god besides the one true God YHWH.
The following Evangelical scholars bring out the import and significance of Pliny’s words:
The evidence for early Christian hymns to Christ extends beyond the pages of the New Testament—and not just from other early Christian writers, but from non-Christian observers as well. Around A.D. 111–115, Pliny described Christians as gathering “on a certain day before sunrise” in order to sing “hymns to Christ as to God” (Latin, carmenque christo quasi deo; Pliny, Epistles 10.96.7).8 Evidently Pliny is referring here to the church’s practice of meeting weekly early Sunday mornings, which from an early period they were doing to commemorate Jesus’ resurrection from the dead.9 Thus the very time of the church’s meetings, as well as the content of their songs, focused on Christ…
Pliny’s statement is supported by a comment made by an unknown Christian writer around A.D. 200 and quoted in the fourth-century church history written by Eusebius: “How many psalms and how many songs, which from the beginning were written by pious brothers, sing about Christ as the Logos of God and confess his godhood.”11 The word translated “confess his godhood” (theologountes, literally, “saying God”) also could be translated “confessing that he is God” or, more idiomatically in English, “confessing his deity.” Notice that the statement refers to such songs as having been written “from the beginning,” meaning from the beginning of the church. (Robert M. Bowman & J. Ed Komoszewski, Putting Jesus in His Place: The Case For The Deity of Christ [Kregel Publications, 2007], Part 1: The Devotion Revolution: Jesus Shares the Honors Due to God, 4. Sing to the Lord, pp. 58-59)
Another NT scholar that commented on Pliny’s letter is the late Larry W. Hurtado:
90. Swete (Apocalypse, 84) rightly notes that Rev. 5 likely reflects “the devotional attitude of the Asiatic Church” of the time of the text, as attested also a few decades later in Pliny’s famous report that the Christians he arrested met to sing hymns to Christ as (a) God (Pliny, Epistles 10.96). Note also Eusebius, HE 5.28.5-6: “All the Psalms and hymns which were written by faithful Christians from the beginning sing of Christ as the Logos of God and treat him as God.” (Hurtado, Lord Jesus Christ: Devotion to Jesus in Earliest Christianity [William B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., Grand Rapids, MI/Cambridge U.K. 2003], 10. Proto-Orthodox Devotion, p. 593)
And:
Moreover, Jewish and pagan critics of early Christianity agreed in seeing the worship of Jesus as one of the most objectionable features of the young faith.
The famous report to Trajan from the Roman magistrate Pliny offers valuable early confirmation (Pliny, Epistles 10.96-97). As Stanton pointed out, Pliny’s letter is “the first report on early Christian worship which we have from an ‘outsider.'”119 From his interrogation of apostate Christians and his torture of two unnamed Christian women “deaconesses” (ministrae), Pliny derived information on what Christians did in their weekly gatherings “on a fixed day” (probably Sunday).20 The first and most prominent action in Pliny’s summary of their regular meetings is that they chant a hymn “to Christ as to a god.”121
In itself, however, reverencing Jesus as divine would likely not have been such a problem. A sophisticated Roman such as Pliny was quite ready to accept religious diversity, and was well aware that a variety of gods and heroes were reverenced in various religious circles. Nor did recognizing another new deity present a difficulty. What caused Pliny’s concern about the Christians in Bithynia was that their reverence of Jesus as divine was accompanied by a refusal to reverence images of “the gods” and the emperor. This religious exclusivity created a major (indeed, sometimes a mortal) social and political problem for Christians, and it made their worship of Jesus pointedly offensive to pagan outsiders.122 As Finney observed, “Refusal to worship set a clear boundary between the new [Christian] religionists and their neighbors.”123 Robert Grant proposed that the Romans came to require Christians to offer sacrifice precisely because they had learned that this was a particularly effective way of distinguishing true believers from apostates or people falsely accused of being Christians. That is, the exclusivist devotional stance of Christians seems to have shaped Roman judicial practice toward them.124
But this exclusivity of devotion also signals the religious significance that worshiping Jesus had for Christians. They gave the sort of reverence to Jesus that they otherwise reserved for “God the Father” alone, regarding it apostasy to give such reverence to any of the other deities touted in their culture. Pliny wrote that he let anyone accused of being a Christian go free if they reverenced the images of the gods, made supplication to the emperor’s image, and “cursed Christ”; for Pliny was reliably informed that these were things that “those who are really Christians cannot be made to do.” Reverencing Jesus as uniquely divine, or cursing him — here lies the crucial matter in Pliny’s account of how to tell a true Christian from someone falsely accused of being one. As Lebreton noted, ” For this magistrate, as for his victims, the characteristic trait of the Christian religion is the rendering of homage to Christ ‘as to a god,’ and faithful loyalty to his service.” Justin (who later had his own opportunity to confirm his words in martyrdom) says, “though threatened with death, we do not deny his [Jesus’] name” (Dial. 30.2). (Ibid., pp. 606-697)
Furthermore, in all the reported views of critical outsiders in the first two centuries, whether pagans or Jews, Christian worship is characterized as essentially directed toward Jesus, as Lebreton showed in an incisive analysis that included Pliny, the account of Polycarp’s martyrdom, Lucian, and Celsus.128 In fact, in this early period, outsiders tend to portray Christian worship rather simply as directed to Jesus solely, though the actual pattern of Christian worship appears to have been more what we should call “binitarian,” God and Jesus the recipients.
As we have already taken note of Pliny, let us quickly consider these other witnesses, beginning with Lucian of Samosata. Around 170 Lucian complained that Christians reject “the Hellenistic gods [theous men tous hellenikous haparnesontai] in order to worship this crucified sophist and to live according to his laws” (Peregrinus 13). About the same time as Lucian, and probably with a better knowledge of Christian practice and writings, Celsus pilloried Christians for their “excessive worship” (hyperthreskeuousi) of the one they refer to as “the Son of God” (Origen, Contra Celsum 8.12). Though Christians reject the worship of the gods, claiming to revere only the one true God, Celsus says they act inconsistently with this in their unjustified exaltation of the man Jesus. As Lebreton observed, Celsus correctly saw what was central in Christianity: “the adoration of one unique God, rejecting as impiety all polytheism, and uniting in the same worship the Son of God with his Father.”129
In the account of the martyrdom of Polycarp in Smyrna (ca. 155-160), the Roman official conducting the hearing repeatedly demands that Polycarp reverence the emperor, and also urges him to “curse Christ” and thereby save himself from death (Mart. Pol. 8.2; 9.2-3; 10.1). This echoes the demand Pliny made of Bithynian Christians a few decades earlier. Polycarp’s unforgettable reply only confirms that the key issue was reverence of Jesus: “For eighty-six years I have been his servant, and he has done me no wrong. How can I blaspheme my King who saved me?” (9.3).130 After Polycarp’s fiery end, Jewish members of the hostile crowd petition the Roman official not to give the corpse to the Christians, for fear that “they will abandon the crucified one to offer worship to this one” (17.12). The early Christian editors of the account, however, portray this allegation as rank ignorance, and they insist that the worship Christians give Jesus is categorically different from the regard in which they hold martyrs “as disciples and imitators of the Lord” (17.2-3). Even though the account of Polycarp’s martyrdom comes from Christian hands and obviously had a propagandistic purpose, the insistent demand of the Roman official and the allegation of the Jews in the narrative are probably authentic indications that in the eyes of second century outsiders “the object of Christian worship is the crucified one.” (Ibid., pp. 608-609)
NT EVIDENCE
Pliny’s report merely confirms what we find in the first century documents of the New Testament. According to the NT writings, namely, the very first believers, consisting of both Jews and Gentiles, were united in their worship of Jesus as God Incarnate, as the unique divine Son of God who became Man for the redemption of the world and who, after his physical, bodily resurrection and ascension into heaven, now reigns as Lord over all.
Case in point:
“In your relationships with one another, have the same mindset as Christ Jesus: Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage; rather, he made himself nothing by taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to death— even death on a cross! Therefore God exalted him to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue acknowledge that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.” Philippians 2:5-11 New International Version (NIV)
Scholars believe that the Apostle has incorporated an early hymn of the Church, one in which Jesus is identified as eternally existing in the very nature of God who voluntarily humbled himself to be born as a Man in order to assume the status of slave.
The hymn even ascribes to Christ the very universal worship and status, which the Hebrew Bible attributes to YHWH God alone!
“Declare and draw near with your case; Indeed, let them consult together. Who has made this heard from of old? Who has long since declared it? Is it not I, Yahweh? And there is no other God besides Me, A righteous God and a Savior; There is none except Me. Turn to Me and be saved, all the ends of the earth; For I am God, and there is no other. I have sworn by Myself, The word has gone forth from My mouth in righteousness And will not turn back, That to Me every knee will bow, every tongue will swear allegiance.” Isaiah 45:21-23 Legacy Standard Bible (LSB)
“Let them praise the name of Yahweh, For His name alone is set on high; His splendor is above earth and heaven.” Psalm 148:13 LSB
“Who is like Yahweh our God, The One who sits on high,” Psalm 113:5 LSB
Other passages where we see early Christians worshiping and glorifying Christ as God Incarnate include:
“who are Israelites, to whom belongs the adoption as sons, and the glory and the covenants and the giving of the Law and the temple service and the promises, 5 whose are the fathers, and from whom is the Christ according to the flesh, who is God over all, blessed forever. Amen.” Romans 9:4-5 LSB
“To the church of God which is at Corinth, to those who have been sanctified in Christ Jesus, called as saints, with all who in every place call on the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, their Lord and ours: Grace to you and peace from God our Father AND the Lord Jesus Christ.” 1 Corinthians 1:2-3 LSB
“If anyone does not love the Lord, he is to be accursed. Maranatha. The grace of the Lord Jesus be with you.” 1 Corinthians 16:22-23 LSB
I solemnly charge you in the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who is to judge the living and the dead, and by His appearing and His kingdom… In the future there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that day, and not only to me, but also to all who have loved His appearing… The Lord will rescue me from every evil deed, and will save me unto His heavenly kingdom; to Him be the glory forever and ever. Amen. 2 Timothy 4:1, 8, 18 LSB
“And when He again brings the firstborn into the world, He says, ‘And let all the angels of God worship Him.’” Hebrews 1:6 LSB
“but grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To Him be the glory, both now and to the day of eternity. Amen.” 2 Peter 3:18 LSB
“and from Jesus Christ, the faithful witness, the firstborn of the dead, and the ruler of the kings of the earth. To Him who loves us and released us from our sins by His blood—and He has made us to be a kingdom, priests to His God and Father—to Him be the glory and the might forever and ever. Amen.” Revelation 1:5-6 LSB
“He who bears witness to these things says, ‘Yes, I am coming quickly.’ Amen. Come, Lord Jesus. The grace of the Lord Jesus be with all. Amen.” Revelation 22:20-21 LSB
The final example is truly astonishing:
“And when He had taken the scroll, the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders fell down before the Lamb, each one having a harp and golden bowls full of incense, which are the prayers of the saints.
“And they sang a new song, saying, ‘Worthy are You to take the scroll and to open its seals, because You were slain and purchased for God with Your blood people from every tribe and tongue and people and nation. And You made them to be a kingdom and priests to our God, and they will reign upon the earth.’”
“Then I looked, and I heard the voice of many angels around the throne and the living creatures and the elders; and the number of them was myriads of myriads, and thousands of thousands, saying with a loud voice, ‘Worthy is the Lamb that was slain to receive power and riches and wisdom and strength and honor and glory and blessing.’
“And EVERY CREATED THING which is in heaven and on the earth and under the earth and on the sea, and ALL THINGS IN THEM, I heard saying, ‘To Him who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb, be the blessing and the honor and the glory and the might forever and ever.’
“And the four living creatures kept saying, ‘Amen.’ And the elders fell down and worshiped.” Revelation 5:8-14 LSB
Remarkably, John sees every created thing throughout the entire creation worshiping Jesus to the same extent and for the same duration that the Father is worshiped!
This affirms that Christ is not a creature, but rather the uncreated Creator and Sustainer who took on a human nature for our redemption (Cf. Matt. 1:18-23; John 1:1-5, 9-10, 14, 18; Colossians 1:13-18; 2:2-3, 9; Hebrews 1:1-3, 10-12).
FURTHER READING
CLEMENT OF ROME AND CHRIST’S DEITY
Ignatius of Antioch’s Proclamation of the Essential Deity of Christ
LET EVERY THING THAT HAS BREATH PRAISE JAH JESUS!
Answering Islam Blog 