Tales of the martyrs of the first two centuries
Author: Benjamin Harris Cowper
Publisher:
Published: 1859
Total Pages: 130
ISBN-13:
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The Myth of Persecution
Author: Candida Moss
Publisher: Harper Collins
Published: 2013-03-05
Total Pages: 247
ISBN-13: 0062104543
DOWNLOAD EBOOKAn expert on early Christianity reveals how the early church invented stories of Christian martyrs—and how this persecution myth persists today. According to church tradition and popular belief, early Christians were systematically persecuted by a brutal Roman Empire intent on their destruction. As the story goes, vast numbers of believers were thrown to the lions, tortured, or burned alive because they refused to renounce Christ. But as Candida Moss reveals in The Myth of Persecution, the “Age of Martyrs” is a fiction. There was no sustained 300-year-long effort by the Romans to persecute Christians. Instead, these stories were pious exaggerations; highly stylized rewritings of Jewish, Greek, and Roman noble death traditions; and even forgeries designed to marginalize heretics, inspire the faithful, and fund churches. The traditional story of persecution is still invoked by church leaders, politicians, and media pundits who insist that Christians were—and always will be—persecuted by a hostile, secular world. While violence against Christians does occur in select parts of the world today, the rhetoric of persecution is both misleading and rooted in an inaccurate history of the early church. By shedding light on the historical record, Moss urges modern Christians to abandon the conspiratorial assumption that the world is out to get them.
Early Christian Martyr Stories
Author: Bryan M. Litfin
Publisher: Baker Academic
Published: 2014-09-30
Total Pages: 232
ISBN-13: 1441220070
DOWNLOAD EBOOKPersonal narratives are powerful instruments for teaching, both for conveying information and for forming character. The martyrdom accounts preserved in the literature of early Christianity are especially intense and dramatic. However, these narratives are not readily available and are often written in intimidating prose, making them largely inaccessible for the average reader. This introductory text brings together key early Christian martyrdom stories in a single volume, offering new, easy-to-read translations and expert commentary. An introduction and explanatory notes accompany each translation. The book not only provides a vivid window into the world of early Christianity but also offers spiritual encouragement and inspiration for Christian life today.
I Am A Christian
Author: Anthony P. Schiavo, Jr.
Publisher: Arx Publishing, LLC
Published: 2018-09-17
Total Pages: 218
ISBN-13: 1935228188
DOWNLOAD EBOOK"Jesus never existed." "The Bible is a book of fairy tales." "Accounts of Christian persecution are fables." Christians of today face ridiculous claims of this type on a regular basis. These charges gain traction in the modern world because the average person has practically no knowledge of the Church's ancient past. I Am A Christian: Authentic Accounts of Christian Martyrdom and Persecution from the Ancient Sources aims to remedy this deficiency. The works collected in this book represent some of the most trustworthy first-hand accounts of the triumphs and travails of the early Church that have survived antiquity. These include several authentic transcripts of Roman legal proceedings against Christians, along with obscure but fascinating historical works that are unfamiliar to even the most informed Christians of today. In several cases, readers will be presented with the actual words of the martyrs themselves. In others, they will read accounts penned by eye-witnesses or authors writing within the living memory of the events themselves. Taken together, these works form a glorious record of early Christian zeal and fortitude in the face of aggressive state persecution. When reading them, one notices a common refrain: when questioned, the accused would cry out: “I am a Christian,” which was the equivalent of saying, “I am guilty as charged.” In an era when such an admission carried a death sentence, these authentic testimonies provide a convincing answer to modern skeptics who will find them as baffling as did the ancient Roman emperors, proconsuls and magistrates of nearly two millennia ago.
Martyrdom and Noble Death
Author: Jan Willem van Henten
Publisher: Psychology Press
Published: 2002
Total Pages: 220
ISBN-13: 9780415138918
DOWNLOAD EBOOKThis volume explores the fascinating phenomenon of noble death through pagan, Jewish and Christian sources. The cross-cultural approach of this study make it valuable for students and scholars.
The Catholic Martyrs of the Twentieth Century
Author: Robert Royal
Publisher: Crossroad
Published: 2000
Total Pages: 456
ISBN-13:
DOWNLOAD EBOOKRoyal presents the first comprehensive history of 20th-century martyrs. This guide traces the specific situations of each area and time when martyrdom occurred and studies the political systems and the reasons for confrontation.
Martyrdom and Rome
Author: G. W. Bowersock
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Published: 2002-10-03
Total Pages: 124
ISBN-13: 9780521530491
DOWNLOAD EBOOKThis book examines the historical context of the earliest Christian martyrs, and anchors their grisly and often wilful self-sacrifice to the everyday life and outlook of the cities of the Roman empire. Professor Bowersock begins by investigating both the time and the region in which martyrdom, as we know it, came into being. He also offers comparisons of the Graeco-Roman background with the martyrology of Jews and Muslims. A study of official protocols illuminates the bureaucratic institutions of the Roman state as they applied to the first martyrs; and the martyrdoms themselves are seen within the context of urban life (and public spectacle) in the great imperial cities. By considering martyrdom in relation to suicide, the author is also able to demonstrate the peculiarly Roman character of Christian self-sacrifice in relation to other forms of deadly resistance to authority.
Martyrdom and Memory
Author: Elizabeth Anne Castelli
Publisher: Columbia University Press
Published: 2004
Total Pages: 376
ISBN-13: 9780231129862
DOWNLOAD EBOOKUtilising a wide range of early sources, this title identifies the roots of the concept of Christian martyrdom, as lloking at how it has been expressed in events such as the shootings at Columbine High School in 1999.
Jesus Freaks: Martyrs
Author: DC Talk
Publisher: Baker Books
Published: 2005-05-01
Total Pages: 308
ISBN-13: 1441260048
DOWNLOAD EBOOKThere are more Christian martyrs today than there were in ad 100--in the days of the Roman Empire. Now in the twenty-first century, according to the Center for the Study of Global Christianity, more than 150,000 Christians are martyred around the world every year. "Remember the Lord's people who are in jail and be concerned for them. Don't forget those who are suffering, but imagine that you are there with them." Hebrews 13:3 cev Their stories must be told.
Ancient Christian Martyrdom
Author: Candida R. Moss
Publisher: Yale University Press
Published: 2012-06-26
Total Pages: 272
ISBN-13: 0300154658
DOWNLOAD EBOOKUsing perspectives on death from ancient Greek, Roman and Jewish traditions, a theology professor discusses the history of Christian martyrdom and challenges the traditional understanding of the spread of Christianity.
