How were so many christians able to go to death during the persecutions?

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valentino

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Hundred maybe thousands were marytred by crucifiction or wild animals and whatever.i don’t see how they could go to death so worry free and willingly.Would people today endure such deaths?
 
valentino said:
Hundred maybe thousands were marytred by crucifiction or wild animals and whatever.i don’t see how they could go to death so worry free and willingly.Would people today endure such deaths?
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I’m sure some people would. I don’t think that it would be quite as large of numbers, though. I hope I would and would like to think that I would, but I don’t know if anyone can answer that question until they are in that situation.

I haven’t ever had my teeth drilled without an anesthetic, why would a dentist do that?
On time I had a surgery though and the nurse in recovery told the regular nurse to give me the pain meds before I woke up and she though she had told her that she had already given the pain meds. Yeah it was painful 10 minutes and I was not a happy camper.🙂
 
valentino said:
Hundred maybe thousands were marytred by crucifiction or wild animals and whatever.i don’t see how they could go to death so worry free and willingly.Would people today endure such deaths?
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I think it’s probably not unlike soldiers in a war. Nobody knows for sure whether he can be a hero or not until he either is, or isn’t. And some of them are the ones you would expect it of, and some aren’t.

We might be surprised someday to see who goes to martyrdom and who doesn’t.
 
I think it all boils down to grace. Could I see myself denying Christ? No. Would I if tortured? I hope not. If it was down to death or denial, I would hope that the grace of God would strengthen me.
 
karebear92 said:
I’m sure some people would. I don’t think that it would be quite as large of numbers, though. I hope I would and would like to think that I would, but I don’t know if anyone can answer that question until they are in that situation.

I haven’t ever had my teeth drilled without an anesthetic, why would a dentist do that?
On time I had a surgery though and the nurse in recovery told the regular nurse to give me the pain meds before I woke up and she though she had told her that she had already given the pain meds. Yeah it was painful 10 minutes and I was not a happy camper.🙂
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when I was young up to the age of 13 my father (we had 12 in the family)couldn’t afford to pay for anesthetic so our dentist didn’t use one.I can still hear my sister screaming when she had her teeth drilled.Believe me when that doc hits a nerve its painful.anyway I think it would be very difficult to get nailed to a cross and wait for hours to die.
 
Ridgerunner said:
I think it’s probably not unlike soldiers in a war. Nobody knows for sure whether he can be a hero or not until he either is, or isn’t. And some of them are the ones you would expect it of, and some aren’t.

We might be surprised someday to see who goes to martyrdom and who doesn’t.
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The used to go into the arena singing.I don’t see myself singing when they nail me to a cross.
 
Someplace I read that God will give you the strength to endure whatever troubles He sends to you, but not for the ones you imagine for yourself. That is He gave them the strength in the arena, not a couple of weeks before. He insists that we trust Him to give us what we need when we need it.
 
valentino said:
Hundred maybe thousands were marytred by crucifiction or wild animals and whatever.i don’t see how they could go to death so worry free and willingly.Would people today endure such deaths?
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May the grace and peace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you.

According to Church teaching, martyrdom is the most exceptional gift of grace. It is the highest gift of grace that we can receive.

If we are following Christ on a daily basis, as best we can with the help of an active prayer life and the sacraments, we can be hopefully confident that God would provide us with any special graces that we might be in need of in the future…especially, if we were called to shed our blood for the faith.

It is important to be faithful to our Lord right now in the present moment, so that we can receive even greater graces, if and when the time comes, that we called to give testimony to the Truth even unto death.

God bless you,
Quis ut Deus 3
 
I read where those watching those deaths were stunned how the early persecuted Christians accepted their death. Many became converts. I believe this was recorded by pagan historians. Also the Vatican was built on the site of these martyrs.
 
There are people still in this day and age who are dying for their faith in horrendous ways. They are enduring it, only with the help of God’s grace.

Let us pray for those who are being persecuted that they may have the gift of the grace of perserverance.

God bless.
 
Jesus of Nazareth…the Holy Spirit…special grace…etc

(St. Thomas More (who is important to me) wrote beautifully also of martyrdom…in the Sadness of Christ …(Book…Scepter Publishers) …and how Christ underwent his agony in the garden…bas did I imagine many martyrs…

But yes many did have special graces…we can pray for the grace we need (and we should not presume but humble ourselves trust in God)…it will up to God to give them or not at such a moment if we are faced with such. Both kinds of martyrdom are good…having a special grace etc…or overcoming via grace ones fear and pain and going forward…

The Early Martyrs are of particular importance to me…

earlychristians.org/testimonies_martyrs/scillitan_saints.html

earlychristians.org/testimonies_martyrs.html

Let us daily renew our Baptismal -YES!..our following of Jesus of Nazareth the Christ and Son of God…let us say with them “I am a Christian!”
 
Here is a great series…I love them --they are not Tolkien…and are written simply --but I find them beautiful…especially Junia…for they are regarding one of my favorite subjects.

scepterpublishers.org/product/index.php?FULL=35

Again they are not Tolkien…but I still like them…

(I read it actually in Rome though…which added to the book…as bedtime reading…)
 
One is put to mind of “The Power and the Glory” by Graham Greene, in which an extraordinarily unheroic “whiskey priest” finds it in himself to accept martyrdom, despite what he and the reader would naturally expect of him.

Again, I don’t think any of us would know for sure unless confronted with it.
 
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