Final answer:
Tacitus and Suetonius viewed Christians negatively, depicting their customs as hostile and inconsistent with Roman values and considering them a threat to social order and political stability, which led to intense periods of persecution.
Step-by-step explanation:
The general view of Christians held by Tacitus and Suetonius, Roman historians, was largely negative and hostile. Tacitus provides a detailed account of Jewish customs and by extension, Christian beliefs as he saw them originating from Judaism, describing their customs in particularly unfavorable terms to his Roman audience, depicting them as contrary and profane. Suetonius, while less concerned with religious aspects and more with social order, perceived Christians as a threat to Roman authority, highlighting their refusal to participate in practices such as animal sacrifices and implicating them in political disturbances such as the fire in Rome under Nero's reign.
The hostility of Roman officials towards Christians was multifaceted, focusing on concerns of atheism due to their lack of participation in the imperial cult and was marked by periods of persecution, including the most widespread carried out by Diocletian. This view of Christians as traitors and their persecution meant that for several centuries, Christians endured significant oppression, including being condemned to gladiatorial contests for the amusement of spectators, until the Great Persecution ended with Galerius's edict granting Christians the right to practice their religion.