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Elesha Coffman is Assistant Editor of Christian History

Find information on the Roman era, as well as the story of a famous Christian killed in the arena, in Christian Historyissue 27: Persecution in the Early ChurchRead more about gladiators online at Britannica.com and the CUNY's Classics Department."If we can maintain that it is right to indulge in the cruel, and the impious, and the fierce, let us go there," early church father Tertullian wrote of the gladiator games in De Spectaculis (The Spectacles). "But I mean these remarks for heathen. As to Christians, I shall not insult them by adding another word as to the aversion with which they should regard this sort of exhibition; though no one is more able than myself to set forth fully the whole subject, unless it be one who is still in the habit of going to the shows. I would rather withal be incomplete than set memory a-working."The rest of Augustine's Confessions, including a longer description of Alypius's entrapment by the arena, is at the Christian Classics Ethereal Library.More Christian History, including a listing of events that occurred this week in the church's past, is available at ChristianHistory.net. We also strongly encourage you to subscribe to the quarterly print magazine.Christian History Corner appears every Friday at ChristianityToday.com. Previous Christian History Corners include:Maniac or Martyr? | Two centuries after his birth, John Brown remains a divisive figure (May 5, 2000)Dietrich's Friend Eberhard | A fellow resister of the Nazis, editor, and biographer dies half a century after his subject and companion (April 28, 2000)When Is Easter This Year? | It may be hard to tell when Easter will fall, but it was even harder for the church to create its calculations. (April 20, 2000)Coming Soon to a Bookshelf Near You | Christianity Today's annual book awards contain some choice history selections (April 14, 2000)The Original 'Charitable Choice' Program | Transferring authority over Native Americans from the military to the church was a nice idea, but it failed. (Apr. 7, 2000)Donne on Death | Poet John Donne's "morbid tendencies" were neither unfounded nor without an attendant hope. (Mar. 31, 2000)Heaven Can't Wait | Mass suicides, like last week's in Uganda, may be a newer tactic, but the temptation to predict, even force, the coming of kingdom bliss is not. (Mar. 24, 2000)Forgive and Remember | Pope John Paul II's apology was unprecedented, but not entirely unique. (Mar. 17, 2000)

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May (Web-only) 2000, Vol. 44