Summary
Date: 200-210 C.E.

Tertullian’s treatise On Idolatry discusses the challenges of living as Christian in the wider Graeco-Roman world, particularly in relation to religious practices which are ingrained in almost every aspect of life, including commerce, weddings, entertainment, and the Roman army. Tertullian advises Christians on how to live their lives within an essentially pagan world, while maintaining a distance from it and retaining their own religious identity. He is completely intolerant to idol worship, and while elsewhere he speaks positively of the relationship between Christianity and the Roman empire.