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1 - Introduction

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  26 February 2018

Daniel Philpott
Affiliation:
University of Notre Dame, Indiana
Timothy Samuel Shah
Affiliation:
Georgetown University, Washington DC
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Summary

This introductory essay begins with a profile of global Christian persecution. It follows with an analysis of the research of the Under Caesar’s Sword scholars, extracting eight synthetic findings. Centrally important is a typology of these findings, consisting of strategies of survival, strategies of association, and strategies of confrontation. The overarching conclusion of the study is that Christian responses to persecution evince a creative pragmatism constituted by short-term efforts to ensure security, accrue strength through associational ties with other organizations and actors, and sometimes mount strategic opposition to the government. The pragmatic, improvisational character of these efforts does not negate their also being creative, courageous, nimble, and anchored in a long-term theological conviction that a future day of freedom will come. The conclusion of the essay elaborates on this central finding.
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Under Caesar's Sword
How Christians Respond to Persecution
, pp. 1 - 29
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2018

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