Are you willing to die for your faith?

  • Thread starter Thread starter joecap
  • Start date Start date
Status
Not open for further replies.
J

joecap

Guest
The early disciples of Christianity, and indeed, even today, people often DO die for their faith. I alway wonder if I found myself standing in front of an Islamist militant with a sword at my throat, telling me I must renounce Jesus or die…would I have the strength to die? I like to believe I would be able to proclaim that Jesus is my Saviour.

But oh, how easy it would be to renounce my Lord, knowing in my heart that I am not serious, and He knows I don’t mean it. But how could I live the rest of my life knowing that?

Those who would save their life, would lose it.

Ancient martyrs often DESIRED to die for Christ like this…knowing they would swiftly be taken up to Him after death. A part of me desires this as well…I would like to think that I would be able to endure a painful death for Him, but you know what…this is a selfish feeling on my part, because I believe a martyr’s death would probably eliminate some purgatory time!

Could I endure torture knowing that very shortly, I will be in paradise with God?
It scares me to recall Christ saying that if we deny Him, He will say He does not know us.

Death itself does not scare me…if someone were pointing a shotgun at my head saying they will kill me if I don’t deny Christ, that would be easy…death would be instant, and without even knowing I had been killed, I would be with Christ.

But torture is another thing…that is where I would pray for the grace and strength to “endure till the end”.

Am I making any sense to anyone?
 
I understand. One of my teachers last year posed this question to his class: If a perons is holding a gun to your head, and asks if you believe in God, what do you say?

If you say no, what happens if he shoots you anyway:eek:

If you say yes, then good, but you really don’t know unless it happens to you:p
 
I believe that God will give the grace to face up to martyrdom - but only when it is necessary.

I hope that I would correspond with that grace, should I be in that situation.

I know that if I do, I will be with my Lord for eternity.
 
Not to derail the thread, but I’d like to spice it up a bit. What if you committed a mortal sin on Monday, it was Friday, and your Church doesn’t do confessions until Saturday and someone threatened to kill you unless you renounced Christ?
 
FrankLawrence said:
Not to derail the thread, but I’d like to spice it up a bit. What if you committed a mortal sin on Monday, it was Friday, and your Church doesn’t do confessions until Saturday and someone threatened to kill you unless you renounced Christ?
Click to expand...
We have a merciful God, so I would think that God would frogive you for that sin, if you are truly sorry. What better sign is there of being part of the Church than dying for it? I thik it would work in a similar way to how an unbaptized catechumen being killed- the desire for baptism, or in this case, confession, is enough.
 
FrankLawrence said:
Not to derail the thread, but I’d like to spice it up a bit. What if you committed a mortal sin on Monday, it was Friday, and your Church doesn’t do confessions until Saturday and someone threatened to kill you unless you renounced Christ?
Click to expand...
That’s what I was thinking as I read this…

And I do think of this topic sometimes, and I’m a scaredy-cat. I’m afraid of torture but I won’t want to say no. And I’m not afraid of the death, but worried about the torture too. This makes a lot of sense to me.
 
Dying for my faith would not be hard. It’s the living for it that is so difficult.

I don’t mean that sarcastically (it reads like I did, doesn’t it?).
 
FrankLawrence said:
Not to derail the thread, but I’d like to spice it up a bit. What if you committed a mortal sin on Monday, it was Friday, and your Church doesn’t do confessions until Saturday and someone threatened to kill you unless you renounced Christ?
Click to expand...
I’m no theologian, so I could be wrong about this, but it is my impression that martyrdom sweeps all sins before it. In other words, true martyrdom is, itself, sufficiently redemptive to wipe out one’s sins.
 
I would hope I could live up to the call to be a martyr should it ever come – though in this day and in the U.S. it is of course unlikely, but one never knows who one might meet in the streets – almost any nut can get a gun here, and I could envision some gang doing something like this should a situation come together for it so it is always possible I suppose.

The things I would have real difficulty with would involve my kids: could I stand seeing them tortured for the faith? Could I stand seeing them killed for the faith? Could I feel okay having them watch me die for the faith? Could I feel okay knowing they would be left fatherless for my martyrdom?

Those are the really tough ones for me. I am thankful we live in times that I don’t have to confront those questions.
 
FrankLawrence said:
Not to derail the thread, but I’d like to spice it up a bit. What if you committed a mortal sin on Monday, it was Friday, and your Church doesn’t do confessions until Saturday and someone threatened to kill you unless you renounced Christ?
Click to expand...
I thought martyrdom erased the slate, and formal sacramental Confession would not be necessary if you made a sincere act of contrition before getting martyred.
 
I think I can say yes to that question, it is definately an impulse for me to say “Yeah I would die for my faith”.

In fact part of me would rather die a martyr, than in a hospital bed or something (I think its the Irish in me.)
 
Of course I would be willing to die for my faith, but I would also like to add to the clause; “But I would rather not, for I feel I have work yet still to do here.” But, who knows, perhaps that work is me dying for Christ? 😃

Torture would be hard, and as long as it isn’t my teeth (long story) I’m sure I’d be able to go through it.
 
kimaz said:
I think I can say yes to that question, it is definately an impulse for me to say “Yeah I would die for my faith”.

In fact part of me would rather die a martyr, than in a hospital bed or something (I think its the Irish in me.)
Click to expand...
Me too!:shamrock2:
Now where is that story in the Bible about the woman with 7 sons that all died before her and she had to watch them be tortured to death?
 
allhers said:
Me too!:shamrock2:
Now where is that story in the Bible about the woman with 7 sons that all died before her and she had to watch them be tortured to death?
Click to expand...
2 Maccabbees Chapter 7, I actually just read that. My favorite chapter in the Old Testament.
 
I think we are already like martyrs but instead of a one time quick noose, burning, being eaten by animals, beheaded, etc we are dying daily to our sinful desires and evil impulses( or at least trying to 😊 )

I have no doubt that most people here would be willing to die for their faith. The questions is would you be willing to live for your faith? 👍
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top