the myth of early christian persecution

Claiming you are persecuted makes for powerful storytelling and can make a group more cohesive as well as give them cause to be aggressive against other groups with little or no cause.  Christian persecution is firmly tied into the belief, but how real is it?

During today's rowing I caught an interview of Candida Moss (50 minute mp3), Professor of New Testament and Early Christianity at Notre Dame, by Krys Boyd on KERA's Think podcast.    Candida's book,  The Myth of Persecution: How Early Christians Invented a Story of Martyrdom, sounds interesting...