THOUGHTS TO PONDER

Martyrdom

This is the time in the Christian year when we think about the very early happenings in the Christian movement, and Acts chapters 6 and 7 tell of the martyrdom of Stephen.

The original meaning of the word martyr, was someone who bears testimony or gives evidence, so a martyr is really someone prepared to argue their religious viewpoint unto death. Both Jesus and Stephen put forward a new interpretation of religious belief, which those in religious power saw as a threat to the status quo or to their own position in the religious hierarchy. The response of the powerful is to get rid of the threat by killing the perpetrator, but ironically this can have the opposite effect, as it draws attention to the new viewpoint, and can encourage others to enquire into it and join the new movement. When Stephen was stoned to death it was a Saul, probably the later Saint Paul, who was guarding the coats. The killing of martyrs has often attracted others to the new movement, which has led to the adage “ the blood of the martyr is the seed of the church”.

Martyrdom in any religious organisation does however have its problems. In the 2^nd and 3^rd centuries A.D. in the stand off between Christians and some of the Roman Emperors, martyrdom could attract certain people fascinated by pain and death, and seeking a seemingly quick and certain way to personal salvation. The early church could not disown martyrdom, but it needed to control its immense spiritual power and it duly set out acceptable criteria for it. The church ruled that martyrdom was not to be sought, and that if Christians found themselves persecuted it was still legitimate for them to flee, as long as they maintained an orthodox faith.

We can see some modern parallels to this problem, when on TV news we see suicide bombers of another religious persuasion blowing themselves up and causing carnage among their more powerful enemies in what they perceive as a Holy War. While it may not be politically correct I think it is perfectly fair for us to ask – are these people faithful martyrs to their cause or just mentally unstable young people? Are they truly witnessing to their faith or just seeking their own personal salvation? Are they to be viewed with awe as people who feel so powerless that they are driven to this situation, or are they to be viewed with pity, as the socially isolated seeking a moment of glory even in death? Whatever your answer to these questions, they are very different from both Jesus and Stephen who were bearing witness to a new way of living, and who both asked God to forgive their persecutors.

I think it is important to remember in this Christian Aid week that however generous we may be in our personal giving, third world countries need more than monetary aid, despite the importance of temporary alleviation of hunger and thirst. They need good local Christian people who are prepared to stand up to bad government, to corrupt officials, to local incompetence and to protectionist elites. They need people who appreciate that poverty is not just the result of world inequality, but to a lack of opportunity and lack of human dignity of an enormous number of downtrodden and victimised people in their own country. It may be that this will require some kind of modern day martyr, but it will be a martyrdom crying out for people of conviction, of bravery and of vision, who are prepared for the long haul against imbedded forces of protectionism and self-interest. People only interested in personal salvation need not apply!

Bryan Dale