Hi
Martyrdom or Suicide by Christian Bullying!
Is it Christian martyrdom or just plain old suicide? If like me you read the classics of early Christianity, you see something that is odd, and that is people, committing suicide for their god! It is odd to me in the present day to see Christians of the passed willing to die for a god, and it was certainly odd for the Pagans to see it in the time I refer!
Not forgetting that some ancient religious beliefs had many gods, some had a god for each day. Christians will no doubt say that it is martyrdom on their part, not suicide like I present it.
Killing oneself is not part of human nature, humans have evolved to protect themselves, it is a self-protecting mechanism that has evolved in all of us to preserve life. It only goes wrong when someone suffers from:
Depression and Mental Illness
Trauma
Substance Use
*Bullying and forcefully urging people to do things
Sexual abuse
Loss
Hopelessness
Chronic Pain
A Burden to Others
Social Isolation
Cry for Help
Accidental Suicide, etc.
Not all Christians saw Martyrdom as a way to Heaven, that was mainly Orthodoxy, the Gnostics were against such actions.
*Most of the surviving Christian writings from antiquity take a positive view of Christian martyrdom, urging Christians to go willingly to their deaths for the faith and to endure all the torture that humans can devise. By doing so, Christians would imitate the passion of their lord, Jesus. Today, we would call this aiding and abetting suicide and Bulling!
But not everyone agreed. We know from the letters of Pliny (the Younger) and writings of several Christian authors, for example, that there were large-scale defections from the Christian ranks in time of persecution. Indeed, one of these authors, Tertullian, specifically attacks Christian Gnostic groups for opposing martyrdom. These groups tried to persuade their fellow Christians not to be so foolish as to die for their faith. In their view, Christ died so that his followers did not have to do so. For them, anyone who embraced the need for martyrdom in effect denied that Jesus’ death itself was sufficient for salvation (Tertullian Scorpion’s Sting 1). [The snippet is taken from The New Testament: A Historical Introduction to the Early Christian Writings, p. 378 [box 25.2], Oxford University Press, Oxford—New York.] Which is a textbook for scholars and students?
Humans are not lemmings that we supposedly see as freaks of nature who throw themselves off cliffs. It is not a deliberate mass suicide where the animal voluntarily chooses to die, but rather a result of their migratory behaviour.
On prejudice. It was not the Pagans from any of the civilizations of the ancient world such as Egypt, Greece and Rome that were intolerant of other religions. Far from it, they welcomed other religions with open arms. It has always been the Christians who were intolerant of any other religions, as history is proof of this. One only has to read about the ancient library of Serapeum and the Serapeum Temple destruction of 391 CE, by the Christian mobs.
As a lifetime follower of Humanism (over six decades), I say in regards to this subject topic, let’s take the Christians at their own words. Every Christian that has been cited as a martyr (a lot are none historical, made-up to entice followers to suicide) had the choice to live. As documentation has shown that they could follow their chosen religion of choice like all other citizens. Especially those in the Roman empire who paid homage to the state god at certain festivals in the year. All that was required of the Christians were to—”swear by the fortunes of Caesar.” This was no different to a Christian today being true to his country, like “I pledge allegiance to the Flag of the United States of America and to the Republic for which it stands, one nation, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.” Or standing up for the Queen during the British National Anthem, etc.
Self-immolation Saints:
- Perpetua and Felicity, who supposedly gave birth to a baby just a day before her execution but chose suicide.
- St. Ignatius of Antioch, did not want anyone to intervene with his death by lions—suicide.
- Polycarp, he just wanted to die like his old master Ignatius, so the order was given to spear him when he was not burning at the stake. The story goes that he flooded the arena with his blood that pours out of his wound, along with a flock of doves—suicide by Doves. …they despised the tortures of the world, purchasing for themselves in a space of one hour the life eternal. To them the fire of their inhuman tortures was cold; for they set before their eyes escape from the fire that is everlasting and never quenched.—The Martyrdom of Polycarp Ch. 2
All committed suicide, not martyrdom, they all said they did not want to be spared. The same can also be said for the so-called persecution of Christians. The Romans were forced to take action against the Christians for non-compliance to Roman laws and regulations on Religion. Just think if all other citizen’s—Pagans and Jews refused to obey Roman laws, etc. The persecution was self-inflicted action by the Orthodox Christians themselves. We are all part of this channel and I urge all to be civil, as this is a historical fact, and there is no malice intended, only documented truth! You all have computers and you can all find what I have researched on the world wide web.
If a person refuses the choice of living it is suicide! What do you say?
Cofion
Jero Jones
Article URL : https://breakingnewsandreligion.online/discuss/