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Lent Day 25: Athanasius: Life of Anthony: Chaps. 41-50

...esire for martyrdom at Alexandria during the Persecution (311 AD) The Church came under persecution from Maximinus II, who took many Christians away to Alexandria to be martyred. Anthony, having not been caught, followed anyway hoping to either be a witness or to at least minister to those who had been taken, and ended up going to those in the mines and the prisons. The judge who was overseeing the martyrs, saw this fearless zeal from Anthony and his companions, and “commanded that no monk should appear in the judgment hall, nor remain at all in the city” which led to many Christians going into hiding at that time. Life after the persecutions After the...

John Chau, missionary to the Sentinelese: martyr or madness?

...You've probably seen it in the news lately: John Chau, the American guy who tried to evangelise the secluded Sentinelese tribe off the coast of India. Much of the debate in secular media has centered around the grief of his friends and family; how he could have brought outside disease to the tribespeople and potentially killed them all (despite this not being their first contact with outsiders, with no known ill effect), or that he ventured there completely in ignorance with no preparation or wisdom — something which the missionary agency, All Nations, has recently debunked. But the question I want to look at is this: was Chau's mission total madness or is...

The Gospel of Jeffrey Dahmer

...ephen’s martyrdom (Acts 8:1). Paul acknowledges his sin but recognises that God saved him as a testimony to the abundant goodness and mercy of God, so that if even Paul can be saved, then so can anyone. 1 Timothy 1:16But I received mercy for this reason, so that in me, the worst of them, Christ Jesus might demonstrate His extraordinary patience as an example to those who would believe in Him for eternal life. Jeffrey Dahmer was definitely “the worst of them”, yet not beyond the reach of our ever-loving saviour, Christ Jesus. I understand the human desire to want to see the vilest of people punished or condemned to hellfire, and even the Apostles and...

When did Christians become so whiny?

...equal of martyrdom. They heathen behaved in the very opposite way. At the first onset of the disease they push the sufferers away and fled from their dearest, throwing them into the roads before they were dead and treated unburied corpses as dirt, hoping thereby to avert the spreading contagion of the fatal disease; but do what they might they found it difficult to escape. Here, Dionysius wrote a tribute to the efforts and labours of the Christians who literally risked their lives to aid others during great epidemic. Emperor Julian is also known to have made a comment about this aspect of the Christian life and faith too: Emperor Julian (AD 361-363) [...

The Coming of Jesus: The Olivet Discourse – Part 1

...s that of martyrdom for standing for Jesus and proclaiming his Gospel message, and those who will depart the faith. Matthew 24:9-10, 12 Then they will hand you over to be tortured and will put you to death, and you will be hated by all nations because of my name. Then many will fall away, and they will betray one another and hate one another ... And because of the increase of lawlessness, the love of many will grow cold. (cf. Mark 13:9-13; Luke 21:12-17) The stoning of Stephen is the first martyr we come across, and it doesn't stop there. Before Paul (then, Saul) met with the risen Jesus, he was going from town to town arresting and killing the followe...

The Coming of Jesus: Revelation Fulfilled?

...e seal of martyrdom. vv.14-16ff: And this good news of the kingdom will be proclaimed throughout the world, as a testimony to all the nations; and then the end will come. vv.12-13:  When he opened the sixth seal, I looked, and there came a great earthquake; the sun became black as sackcloth, the full moon became like blood, and the stars of the sky fell to the earth as the fig tree drops its winter fruit when shaken by a gale. v.17: …for the great day of [God’s] wrath has come… This seal matches the same language and imagery as the prophecy in Joel 2, which Peter also quotes on Pentecost as being fulfilled in the pouring out of the H...