[Erasmus]

Why did the Romans hate Christians? From my research, the Romans only persecuted one other religion -- the Druids. That was because the Druids practiced human sacrifices, and they liked using Roman soldiers -- so it's easy to understand why.

But why persecute Christians? After all, Christians were peaceable, kind people from all walks of life. Nero obviously used them as a scapegoat, but he wasn't the only Roman Emperor to attack Christians.

What got me thinking about this is Tom Cruise plays von Staffenberg in the movie, "Valkryie." Von Staffenberg is a German national hero because he nearly assassinated Hitler. The German people were horrified that Tom Cruise, a Scientologist, was playing their beloved hero. Why do people hate Scientology? I mean, it's a strange religion started by a Science Fiction writer, but you don't see Scientologists strapping bombs to themselves and killing people. Why the intense dislike for a peaceable group of people?