Why Early Christian Romans Prevailed
There is an enigma about development and deployment of Christianity, especially, at its early stage.
What was a decisive factor for its success in spreading among Roman citizens?
The total number of Christians who lost their lives because of these persecutions is unknown, but although early church historian Eusebius, whose works are the only source for many of these events, speaks of "great multitudes" having perished, he is thought by many scholars today to have exaggerated their numbers.[1][2]:217–233
Although provincial governors in the Roman Empire had a great deal of personal discretion and power to do what they felt was needed in their jurisdiction, and there were local and sporadic incidents of persecution and mob violence against Christians, for most of the first three hundred years of Christian history Christians were able to live in peace, practice professions, and rise to positions of responsibility. Only for approximately ten out of the first three hundred years of the church's history were Christians executed due to orders from a Roman emperor.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Persecution_of_Christians_in_the_Roman_Empire
In the first century AD, when the apostles Peter and Paul came to Rome, the Christian community in Rome was still small, perhaps as few as some hundreds or a thousand followers at best. Probably the best source of knowledge about that period comes from the Bible itself and in particular "Acts" and Paul's letter to the Romans ("The Epistles").
Being a new religion, with different ideas from the established pagan religions, it was not surprising that the Christians were persecuted on a number of occasions. One obvious problem was that being a monotheist religion (one God and no other) they, like the Jews, were prone to being called traitors. At the time of Claudius the Jewish and Christian cults were regarded as illicit and this meant that it was illegal for them to have public meetings and reunions therefore implying that their most likely meeting places would have been private homes.
In spite of the widely held belief that Nero's persecution of the Christians was a political move to divert attention from his own guilt, modern historians are beginning to look at the possibility that the Christians were indeed involved in the burning of the city. This may have been partly inspired by the uprisings in Palestine and partly by a fervent belief in the imminence of judgement day. Although there doesn't seem to be proof either way there are certainly accounts of persons preventing others from fighting the fire which was burning Rome. On whose behalf these persons were acting is difficult to tell.
In spite of the alternating periods of tolerance and persecution, the number of Christians in the city grew, particularly as the power and integrity of the empire decayed and the people of Rome lost faith in the old gods. By the middle of the second century the Christians numbered some 15,000 and a century later they were about twice as many.
http://www.mariamilani.com/ancient_rome/rome_christianity_Early.htm
By the end of the fourth century—400 years after the birth of Jesus, there were about 500,000 people living in Antioch and half the population was Christian. By the middle of the third century, there were 30,000 Christians living in Rome.
However, Christianity did not spread as quickly to the West as it did to the East. France (or Gaul as it was known then) only had one known church, based in Lyon, by the middle of the first century, and there were only a few churches in Spain, despite Paul's work.
http://www.netplaces.com/christianity/the-early-years-of-the-catholic-church/the-spread-of-christianity.htm
Since Cadoux and Yoder first published their views some decades ago, archaeology has shed new light on Christians in the Roman Army in the late 2nd and early 3rd centuries. A number of gravestones have been found that list a soldier’s religion as well as his unit. H. Leclerq recorded 8 pre-Constantian Christian gravestones of soldiers. The earliest is a gravestone of a Christian who served in Legio II Parthia and died in 201. This makes it not only the earliest Christian soldier’s inscription, but one of the oldest known Christian inscriptions period.[7] Legio II was raised by Septimius Severus in 197 in preparation for his invasion of Parthia, so the soldier in question cannot have served long before his death.
http://riversfromeden.wordpress.com/2012/04/20/christians-in-the-roman-army-countering-the-pacifist-narrative/
Early Christian art used symbolic and allegorical images mainly, partly no doubt to avoid drawing attention during the persecution of early Christians in the Roman Empire.[citation needed] In the Catacombs of Rome Jesus was represented indirectly by pictogram symbols such as the Ichthys (fish), peacock, Lamb of God, or an anchor (the Labarum or Chi-Rho was a later development). Later, personified symbols were used, including Jonah, whose three days in the belly of the whale pre-figured the interval between Christ's death and Resurrection, Daniel in the lion's den, or Orpheus charming the animals.
The image of "The Good Shepherd", a beardless youth in pastoral scenes collecting sheep, was the most common of these images, and was probably not understood as a portrait of the historical Jesus. The depiction of Jesus already from the 3rd century included images very similar to what became the traditional image of Jesus, with a longish face and long straight hair. As the Church increased in size and popularity, the need to educate illiterate converts led to the use of pictures which portrayed biblical stories, along with images of saints, angels, prophets, and the Cross (though only portrayed in a bejewelled, glorified state).
After the end of persecution, and the adoption of Christianity by Constantine, large churches were built and from the start decorated with elaborate images of Jesus and saints in mosaic.There were no records or documents on early Christians in Rome that could be comparable to the Gospels. No great individual Roman citizens who experienced a drastic incident leading to their conversion to Christianity were known. Christianity spread so silently and humbly in Rome in the first, second, and third centuries without dramatic legends except occasional martyrdom.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Idolatry_and_Christianity#The_use_of_icons_and_symbols_in_Christian_worship
But one thing sure is that those early Christians in Rome must have looked different among contemporary Romans, since their minds and hearts were directed to Heaven while other citizens were entirely bothered by worldly matters.
Another point is that there must have been strong merit in being a Christian in Rome in those centuries. For example, while others lost hope as they faced trials and tribulations in their living in Rome, those early Christians must have been able to stand predicaments well due to their faith and support and embrace other believers to survive together. Faith in Christianity must have given great endurance to those Christians. And other Roman citizens observed it in wonder.
Like Judaists today are a remarkable people with a great record of success in science and business, early Christians in Rome must have been a remarkable people with great merit in their personality and humanity. Accordingly, others gradually came to respect Christians and eventually join them in Rome in the first few centuries of these two millenniums.
The key to solving the mystery of growth of Christianity in ancient Rome must lie in the minds of those early Christians as well as their concrete behaviors when facing difficulty of their lives.
But do Judaists today look similar to those early Christians?
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Mar 5:7 And cried with a loud voice, and said, What have I to do with thee, Jesus, thou Son of the most high God? I adjure thee by God, that thou torment me not.