Like I said… “Martyrs in Christianity that actually saw the Resurrected Jesus”. There’s two requirements to fulfill
From your list… St. Martha is the only one of those from the First Century, and she actually met Jesus. Perhaps you could tell me WHICH TWELVE you’re referring to and how each of them died
"Here is a list of eye-witness martyrs as compiled from numerous sources outside the Bible, the most-famous of which is Foxes’ Christian Martyrs of the World:
Stephen was preaching the gospel in Jerusalem on the Passover after Christ’s crucifixion. He was cast out of the city and stoned to death.
About 2,000 Christians suffered martyrdom during this time (about 34 A.D.).
James, the son of Zebedee and the elder brother of John, was killed when Herod Agrippa arrived as governor of Judea. Many early disciples were martyred under Agrippa’s rule, including Timon and Parmenas (about 44 A.D.).
Philip, a disciple from Bethsaida, in Galilee, suffered martyrdom at Heliopolis, in Phrygia. He was scourged, thrown into prison, and afterwards crucified (about 54 A.D.).
Matthew, the tax-collector from Nazareth who wrote a gospel in Hebrew, was preaching in Ethiopia when he suffered martyrdom by the sword (about 60 A.D.).
James, the Brother of Jesus, administered the early church in Jerusalem and was the author of a book in the Bible. At the age of 94 he was beat and stoned, and finally had his brains bashed out with a fuller’s club.
Matthias was the apostle who filled the vacant place of Judas. He was stoned at Jerusalem and then beheaded.
Andrew, the brother of Peter, preached the gospel throughout Asia. On his arrival at Edessa, he was arrested and crucified on a cross, two ends of which were fixed transversely in the ground (thus the term, St. Andrew’s Cross).
Mark was converted to Christianity by Peter, and then transcribed Peter’s account of Jesus in his Gospel. Mark was dragged to pieces by the people of Alexandria in front of Serapis, their pagan idol.
Peter was condemned to death and crucified at Rome. Jerome holds that Peter was crucified upside down, at his own request, because he said he was unworthy to be crucified in the same manner as his Lord.
Paul suffered in the first persecution under Nero. Because of the converting impact he was having on people in the face of martyrdom, he was led to a private place outside the city where he gave his neck to the sword.
Jude, the brother of James, was commonly called Thaddeus. He was crucified at Edessa in about 72 A.D.
Bartholomew translated the Gospel of Matthew in India. He was cruelly beaten and crucified by idolaters there.
Thomas, called Didymus, preached in Parthia and India. He was thrust through with a spear by pagan priests.
Luke was the author of the Gospel under his name. He traveled with Paul through various countries and was supposedly hanged on an olive tree by idolatrous priests in Greece.
Barnabas, of Cyprus, was killed without many known facts about 73 A.D. Simon, surnamed Zelotes, preached in Africa and Britain, where he was crucified in about 74 A.D.
John, the “beloved disciple,” was the brother of James. Although he suffered great persecution, including imprisonment where he wrote the book of Revelation, he was the only apostle who escaped a violent death."
I’m restricting my focus to First Century works and people alone. I feel like the majority of Catholicism didn’t really gain any history until the Fourth Century!! That’s too far from the source, for a skeptic (like myself) to take seriously in determining the authenticity of certain issues/topics.
Friend a couple of key points.
Your asking more questions than can be answered in this Forums limited space.
Additionally, reading and writting were rare in the First Century because of limited education and more limited writting supplies. In speaking of a New Organization, especially one severly persecuted by the Jews and the Romans, growth would have been steady, but not dramatic.
And when did the dating system turn to AD? Not in the First Century… that much I know.
Right, I was only aware of Paul’s mention of a few people and the group of 500 in one day who saw the Resurrected Jesus. Where do you get thousands over 40 days?
More of the people of Jerusalem at the time of the Ressurection would have recogonized Christ, than Cesar. He was physically VISIBLE in the area for Forty Days, and had to, simply had to encounter thousands of people. He was well known B4 and notorious" after.
I was unaware that ALL of the Apostles saw the Resurrected Jesus and gracefully died for witnessing such an “incredible story in recorded history”. From my understanding, every author of the Gospels has their own set of Twelve Apostles… so I’m not sure how you could know that “ALL” of the Apostles died because they wouldn’t submit to the demands of others.
Never heard such a story b4. Certainly each Apostle had followers [deciples of CHRIST] following the teachings oChrist as taught by… But the number 12 is ficticious.
That’s exactly the point… Martyrs dying for what they BELIEVE to be the Truth, but they could not possibly know either way. My reason for asking for Christian Martyrs is because I expected people to pull out a ton of martyrs from the Fourth Century, like one person did above. These people only have HEARSAY to base their belief on… and then they die because of some hearsay. Pretty crazy if you ask me.
For one to offer to die a brutal death, even on “hear-say” is an incredible acomplishment. At root HAD to be a “bundle” of Faith Beliefs. Ad lets not omit all the miracles taking place
through the Apostles. That too must and does factor in.
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