I am talking about discipleship meaning that there is a person to follow and following Jesus means commitment and cost in every circumstance and situation.
Read this brief intro to an early Church father - Tertullian -
"Tertullian was the first to break the force of such charges as that the Christians sacrificed infants at the celebration of the Lord's Supper and committed incest. He pointed to the commission of such crimes in the pagan world and then proved by the testimony of Pliny that Christians pledged themselves not to commit murder, adultery, or other crimes. He adduced also the inhumanity of pagan customs such as feeding the flesh of gladiators to beasts. He argued that the gods have no existence and thus there is no pagan religion against which Christians may offend. Christians do not engage in the foolish worship of the emperors. They do better: they pray for them. Christians can afford to be put to torture and to death, and the more they are cast down the more they grow; "the blood of the martyrs is seed" (Apologeticum, 50). In the De Praescriptione he develops as its fundamental idea that, in a dispute between the Church and a separating party, the whole burden of proof lies with the latter, as the Church, in possession of the unbroken tradition, is by its very existence a guarantee of its truth."The book of Acts is punctuated with this concept. Do not forget that the Greek word translated "witness" in Acts is the root word martyr. All this to possibly say that martyrdom is therefore a witness by blood. Giving ones very life is considered the ultimate sacrifice.
Wonder why a M... who dies in 'jihad' is considered a martyr and is one category of M....assured of a definite place in paradise.
George Otis Jr. writes:
"Should the Church in politically or socially trying circumstances remain covert to avoid potential eradication by forces hostile to Christianity? Or would more open confrontation with prevailing spiritual ignorance and deprivation—even if it produced Christian martyrs—be more likely to lead to evangelistic breakthroughs? Islamic fundamentalists claim that their spiritual revolution is fueled by the blood of martyrs. Is it conceivable that Christianity’s failure to thrive in the Muslim world is due to the notable absence of Christian martyrs? And can the Muslim community take seriously the claims of a Church in hiding? . . . The question is not whether it is wise at times to keep worship and witness discreet, but rather how long this may continue before we are guilty of “hiding our light under a bushel. . . The record shows that from Jerusalem and Damascus to Ephesus and Rome, the apostles were beaten, stoned, conspired against and imprisoned for their witness. Invitations were rare, and never the basis for their missions."Check out these number crunches - http://www.firstthings.com/onthesquare/2011/02/christian-number-crunching - Dr. David Barrett is basically saying that in as of early 1996 that annual average for Christian martyrdom worldwide is 159,000. He also gives a great definition of what a martyr is.
This is important to me as I work at SAT-7 Canada to make a difference and encourage Christians and share faith with those who have never heard the gospel.
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