Christians: Criminals or Not? Christians , criminals or not ? That is the very question that I've been asking myself . The Roman people are free to worship whatever gods they chose , provided they pay homage to the emperor and those who didn't pay homage would be punished. I (Pliny, Roman governor of Bithynia ) didn't know who these Christians were , I had to find out. I was forced forced to deal with Christians as a criminal matter . Christians regarded their god as the one and only creator of all things and the giver of natural and moral law. This being the case many Christians disregarded their duty of paying homage to the emperor , which is a criminal