2006-10-13 05:30:17 · 16 answers · asked by AuroraDawn 7 in Society & Culture ➔ Religion & Spirituality
Actually, I do know what martyrdom is, I just don't understand how putting your life on the line for an ideal is a religious plus. It flies in the face of the sanctity of life and makes it more of a political statement and a tool of propaganda. So I wanted to hear everyone else's views on the subject.
2006-10-13 05:36:36 · update #1
Martyrdom isn't always religious. Sometimes it's political. Give me liberty or give me death.
2006-10-13 05:32:17 · answer #1 · answered by Anonymous · 3⤊ 1⤋
Dying is never a good thing in religion. The major world religions are about living- living fully, and how to do it. They all emphasize love/compassion as essencial. Martydom is always sad, but a sign of hope because someone loved enough and was faithful enough to die for for their conviction, or for another person. When a person is martyred, it means that that person has chosen to be killed, rather than to deny their love for their God and others. Jesus said that there is no greater love than to give one's life for one's friends. These people are admired and remembered because their love for God and/or compassion for others was so great they were willing to die for it. I wouldn't include a terrorist among martyrs. The whole concept of martyrdom excludes those who would harm others. A martyr might be someone like Maximilian Kolbe, who, during WWII, volunteered to be shot in the place of a married man with children. His compassion for this man and his family was so great, he gave his life for them. A martyr might be someone who, given the choice between denying the God they love so much and death, chooses God.
2006-10-13 12:46:45 · answer #2 · answered by atbremser 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I would imagine it's because dying for your beliefs is the ultimate sign of faith.
With that said, I think that some "martyrs" probably get a big surprise when they find out that they have displeased God by committing bad acts which led to their martyrdom. It's one thing to be held prisoner, and to refuse to renounce God, and to be killed for it. It is entirely another to kill innocents, claiming to do it for God, and to die or be killed at the same time. My guess is that the first one is welcomed into heaven with open arms, and the second ends up having some explaining and penance to do, but that's just my opinion, obviously.
2006-10-13 12:37:53 · answer #3 · answered by Bronwen 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Jesus said "No greater love has any man, than that he lay down his life for his friends". (John 15:13)
This is what He did for us, and after his death it was what a great many of his followers ended up doing for Him and for one another. Even to today in some parts of the world Christians risk their very lives to follow Christ. In other parts of the world our physical lives may not be at risk, but we are still persecuted, as evidenced by the posts on these forums. We can either cave in and turn our backs on Jesus, to be more accepted by the pagan society in which we live. Or we can suffer for Him, as He suffered for us. That's what being a martyr means. It is precisely because life has such tremendous value that the willingness to sacrifice it for others is so noble.
2006-10-13 13:22:52 · answer #4 · answered by PaulCyp 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Depends on the circumstances.
If you are martyred for your beliefs, (someone else killed you) such as Stephen, John the Baptist, all of the apostles and thousands of Christians since, then as the Apostle Paul put it: For me to live is Christ and to die is gain.
If blowing yourself up to murder others, who refuse to believe like you, and prove a point is what you think martyrdom is, then you have believed a lie.
2006-10-13 12:35:02 · answer #5 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 0⤋
In the Christian context, a martyr is an innocent who, without seeking death (suicide being seen as sinful), is murdered or put to death for his or her religious faith or convictions. An example is the persecution of early Christians in the Roman Empire. Christian martyrs sometimes decline to defend themselves at all, in what they see as an imitation of Jesus' willing sacrifice.
2006-10-13 12:32:51 · answer #6 · answered by cookiesandcorn 5 · 1⤊ 0⤋
What could be more of a supreme sacrifice then to lay down one's life for God.
But it does not pertain to laying down one's life for terrorism, bravery, or revenge. Some exploit this factor and use it for personal gains, which is a pity.
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2006-10-13 12:35:19 · answer #7 · answered by ss1886 4 · 2⤊ 0⤋
Because you are standing up for your faith and for God (or Allah in some cases). You will not back down and state falsehoods about God nor will you say that you will convert to another faith because someone is threatening your life. You believe so strongly in your faith and in the Word of God that you are fully and freely willing to die verses changing your faith. Believers in any faith believe that if they die for their God, they will be eternally rewarded. Says so in their holy books and in their faith.
You will only find martyrs in religions. There are no martyrs in the non-believing groups. They have nothing (no faith) to stand up for.
2006-10-13 12:36:58 · answer #8 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 1⤋
you get eternal life by being immortalized (at least for a thousand years) for being willing to die for what you believe
I feel we should rather learn what to live for and all can do this
Joan of Arch...one delusional girl another example of a controlling and fanatic playing upon the hopes and dreams of a nation
she used people, it's what they wanted to believe that mattered not what was real
2006-10-13 12:33:16 · answer #9 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 2⤋
in some ways its horrible but look at the depth of Joan of Arcs faith...it teaches that God is very real and she knew it..
2006-10-13 12:32:57 · answer #10 · answered by Anonymous · 2⤊ 1⤋