There are some Neopaganists who believe that Saint Paul,the Apostle of the nations,was the man who burned Rome!!!They believe that the emperor Nero was innocent!But we can learn the truth by the ancient historican roots...
Plinius writes''...there were some trees over there by the era in which the emperor nero burned the city(Rome)180 years before Crassus.''Historia Naturalis XVII. 1
Gaius Cornelius Tacitus,Roman historian,writes:
''And so, to get rid of this rumor, Nero set up [i.e., falsely accused] as the culprits and punished with the utmost refinement of cruelty a class hated for their abominations, who are commonly called Christians. Christus, from whom their name is derived, was executed at the hands of the procurator Pontius Pilate in the reign of Tiberius. Checked for a moment, this pernicious superstition again broke out, not only in Judea, the source of the evil, but even in Rome.... Accordingly, arrest was first made of those who confessed; then, on their evidence, an immense multitude was convicted, not so much on the charge of arson as because of [their] hatred for the human race. Besides being put to death they were made to serve as objects of amusement; they were clothed in the hides of beasts and torn to death by dogs; others were crucified, others set on fire to serve to illuminate the night when daylight failed. Nero had thrown open his grounds for the display, and was putting on a show in the circus, where he mingled with the people in the dress of charioteer or drove about in his chariot. All this gave rise to a feeling of pity, even towards men whose guilt merited the most exemplary punishment; for it was felt that they were being destroyed not for the public good but to gratify the cruelty of an individual." Ann.XV 44
They said that the Christians were burning the books of Ancient Greeks because: ACTS 19-19:
''MANY OF THEM ALSO WHICH USED CURIOUS ARTS BROUGHT THEIR BOOKS TOGETHER
AND BURNED THEM BEFORE ALL MEN- AND THEY COUNTED THE PRICE OF THEM
AND FOUND IT FIFTY THOUSAND PIECES OF SILVER''.
But on the text we can read:''many of them also
which used curious arts brought their books together and burned them...''
Original text (Greek translation):''magical books''.The NEW CHRISTIANS (not the Paganists)BURNED THEIR MAGICAL BOOKS BUT NOT THE BOOKS OF THE GREAT GREEK PHILOSOPHY...
You can read about nero and about the burning of Rome:
Suetonius,De Vita Caesarum, Nero XXXVIII- Dion Cassius LXII. 16 - 18.
First:Holy icon of Saint Paul
Second:emperor nero the fire-bug of Rome.
