The Second-Century Apologists. Alvyn Pettersen

      1 Given that to many minds good governance, effective administration, better finances, and enhanced infrastructure generally lead to a state’s peace and prosperity, to what extent was Celsus correct when he maintained that whatever Christ­ians receive in this world, they receive from the state alone?

      2 In what sense, if any, may people properly speak of the God of Christ­ianity being wrathful?

      3 What place in religion is there for the practice of propitiating, or appeasing, the divine?

      4 Some early Apologists saw the empire as the enemy of the church, while others recognized that even a non-Christ­ian emperor could be, and often was, a minster of God. How may these very different perspectives contribute to the thinking of contemporary churches as they contemplate how better to relate to their governments and peoples?

      5 How radical should conversion to Christ­ianity be? Should, for example, Christ­ian parents insist upon their children being educated only in a church school, or, indeed, only in a school of a particular Christ­ian denomination? Or, in what ways should members of the armed forces, upon converting to Christ­ianity, reconsider their position?