Early Christians: Martyred or Assassinated?

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Martyrdom would seem to mean making a conscious decision to accept death due to ones beliefs while assassination seems to imply killing the opposition in order to eradicate a certain power without the person having to accept their death, since they were killed against their will.

So, were the early Christians martyed for their beliefs? Were they so convinced in what they witnessed they were willing to die for it?

Or

Were they assassinated against their will and seen as a threat in regions where existing religions and governments were already established without them consciously accepting what was to come?

And

How do we know that they were killed for this reason or for that reason?
 
I think the answer is both. If you look at the historical evidence we do have, the madness of Nero and Diocletian certainly point to murder. Pliny’s letter to Trajan however, indicates that Christians were given an opportunity to renounce their beliefs and make sacrifices to the pagan Gods before a sentence was rendered.
 
Can’t it be both? I believe the most recent (March?) announcement for canonizations (may be beatifications or some lesser degree, sorry so fuzzy on this) included a vast number of bishops, priests, and their followers killed during the Spanish Civil War and under the Soviet Union, with their deaths noted as “Killed for hatred of the faith”.

What if the intent for martyrdom isn’t solely on the part of the victim? If someone were targeted because of their faith, wouldn’t that make them martyrs? Now, this can be a slippery slope, so I’d say the clear intention must be that the murder was because of the victim’s faith - if a good Catholic were to be killed in a mugging, obviously not a martyr. It gets tricky with a death like that of Archbishop Romero, though, because some (not myself) could make the case the murder was political, not faith-based.
 
I dont think it can be both and there is a small difference as to why.

If a person has a chance to renounce their faith to save their life or if they choose to keep it and die anyway, then that is martyrdom because its a clear decision.

Assassination, even motivated by a persons faith, isnt the same. The person isnt willing to die but is killed for being the opposition.

The question that gets asked a lot is, “Why would anyone be willing to be tortured and die for a lie?” If they were assassinated, they wouldn’t have to be willing and might not have been willing to persist in their faith if they knew death was a possibility. If assassinated, it doesn’t really show if what they died for was a lie or not IMO.
 
TheHolyGhost said:
I dont think it can be both and there is a small difference as to why.

If a person has a chance to renounce their faith to save their life or if they choose to keep it and die anyway, then that is martyrdom because its a clear decision.

Assassination, even motivated by a persons faith, isnt the same. The person isnt willing to die but is killed for being the opposition.

The question that gets asked a lot is, “Why would anyone be willing to be tortured and die for a lie?” If they were assassinated, they wouldn’t have to be willing and might not have been willing to persist in their faith if they knew death was a possibility. If assassinated, it doesn’t really show if what they died for was a lie or not IMO.
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When Peter was questioned whether he was a disciple of Jesus he had the opportunity to deny three times. If he had of instead said “yes”, and was subsequently put to death, would you consider that to be a martyrdom or merely an execution (I think the word assassination is inappropriate in its meaning for what you are attempting to portray)?

When Jesus was questioned …
 
Darryl_B said:
When Peter was questioned whether he was a disciple of Jesus he had the opportunity to deny three times. If he had of instead said “yes”, and was subsequently put to death, would you consider that to be a martyrdom or merely an execution (I think the word assassination is inappropriate in its meaning for what you are attempting to portray)?

When Jesus was questioned …
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It would have been martyrdom if he knew death was the price to pay for believing and accepted it and believed anyway, which it would appear he knew after he saw Jesus die and continued to spread the faith anyway.

If he didnt know or didnt necessarily agree with being put to death and they killed him against his will, that would be execution or assassination.
 
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