Why do some christians seem to think that martyrdom is somehow evidence for the truth of their faith?

Question

I've read this one a few times here, and just got it in an answer to a previous question. The guy said :
"Irrefutable evidences:
1. Jesus is real, and resurrected - else the hundreds of followers would have not died for lies. ............."

And then he went on with a couple of other equally logical points.

For those who believe that point as evidence, would that not prove ALL religions, that have martyrs, to be true, even though they contradict each others faith?

How can any normal, thinking person call martyrdom evidence of anything other than human tragedy?

Sentinel..........I'm not denying the noblility of dieing for your beliefs, I'm saying that to do so does not provide evidence that your beliefs are true.

Answer 1

It is the exact same idea that people use to extend any war.

If we stop fighting now, all of the people who have died will have died in vain.

The logic train assume that it is preferable for more still to die than for those already dead to have died in vain.

Makes no sense to me.

Love and blessings Don

Answer 2

Martyrdom is not by itself evidence. Although I am a Christian I have never even considered martyrdom as an evidence. So you do have a good point in that martyrdom by itself is not evidence. The only evidence this could be is evidence that a person is 100% convinced that what they believe is true. In the case of the early followers (the apostles), we can be sure they believed in Christ not because they wanted to pull off a trick and fool the people. It is just not possible that so many people would be willing to sacrifice there lives for the sake of a practical joke.

Irrefutable evidence... not quite.... a supporting fact, yes

Answer 3

A thing is not necessarily true because a man dies for it
— Oscar Wilde, (1854-1900)

Martyrdom has always been a proof of the intensity, never of the correctness of a belief.
— Arthur Schnitzler

No man dies for what he knows to be true. Men die for what they want to be true, for what some terror in their hearts tells them is not true.
— Oscar Wilde, (1854-1900)

Most believers would kill truth if truth threatened their religion.
— L. K. Washburn

Answer 4

Excellent point!!!
A few days ago I had a debate with a christian who kept on insisting that so many followers of christianity became marytrs, so doesn't that prove that their religion is true? I was so ridculed by this useless point, that i had to call off the debate as being "cancelled due to straying from reasonable thinking from the opponent". So many more people (claim to) die for Islam or Hinduism or Judaism every hour every day, but does that prove any religion as being true? Do suicide bombers follow a true religion?No they follow a misinterpreted version of a religion!
Obviously you made a fine point, brother. Peace be upon you. And know that you brought a smile to my face....Have a nice day brother :)

Answer 5

I suppose that it depends on the reason for the martyrdom, say for example a man defends his family against a violent attack and gives his life in the process would not this be a martyrdom and the same for anyone who loses their life in the defence of others, surely this is one of the noblest and highest ideals of the human spirit.

Answer 6

i agree that martyrdom is not necessarily evidence of the truth of any faith...that being said, i still have to wonder:

how is it that Christ's disciples-those who traveled with Him, sat at His feet while He taught, shared meals with Him, watched Him arrested and killed... were willing to die, sometimes agonizingly so, for simply telling others about Him, if they were all lying? these were not people you can just write off as simple religious zealots...these were the people who knew Christ best, had taken part in His ministry, who were first-hand witnesses to what He said and did...yes, people have 'died for a lie'-witness the events in iraq, for example-but those doing the dying are not the same folks who are doing the lying...

it is my belief that these men were willing to do so because they were telling the truth, because they were part of something that surpasses death

Answer 7

If Christianity and Islam were to get into a p*ssing contest over who has more martyrs, Christianity wouldn't be the winner.

But hey, when the ruling power is killing your followers off, you may as well make them feel good about it.

Answer 8

they present a simple dichotomy: the martyrs, so they say, knew the truth and chose to die for it. if they had known it was a lie they would have recanted.

i think that the people who make this argument neglect that we're talking about matters of belief and not certain knowledge. throughout history people have willingly died for all sorts of false beliefs, but apparently this fact escapes their notice.

Answer 9

Jeez, are you writing a question or a book?? Martyrdom is the evidence showing that people are willing to die for a cause. it's different than most religious deaths, in that Christians don't take the lives of others with them lie the suicide bombers, and they don't self- mutilate, like the buddhists in the 60s who set themselves on fire.

Answer 10

by that logic, we should all behold the growing "truth" of Islam.