Nero: the one-man ISIS of the early church

I felt almost physically sick as we stopped to visit Nero's palace ruins in Anzio. Clearly it was a vast and opulent structure in the first century; sobering to think that he probably cooked up some of his schemes to destroy the body of Christ right in the midst of the columns, chambers, and arches still visible along the sandy beach. Bronzed-bodied Italians today sunbathe, laugh, and play in the surf of the Tyrrhenian Sea, some setting up their umbrellas and lounge chairs amidst the ancient ruins that project onto the beach. I'm reflecting on how difficult it us for we comfortable Christians to ger our minds around the normality of suffering for Christians then and in so many places in the world today.