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What is a martyr? How does the martyrdom of so many people help establish the fact of the resurrection?
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3 Replies
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Martyrdom is to die for your beliefs. The difference between what the disciples (and others) did versus what martyrs from other religions or cults do is that the disciples didn’t “believe” something was true, they “witnessed” it. Someone can believe something to be true and find out later they were wrong. Someone who witnesses something and knows it to be true has verifiable proof that they are not mistaken. They also would know if they were lying. The fact so many died who had witnessed the death and resurrection of Christ is proof beyond logic that they KNEW what they saw and what they believed and would not deter from it even unto death.
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A martyr is a person who is willing to make the ultimate sacrifice in defense of their beliefs. The fact that so many people were willing to die as martyrs in defense of the resurrection is more evidence in establishing the fact of resurrection. People would not be willing to die for something they know isn’t true. The fact that so many followers died as martyrs shows us that they believed in the resurrected Christ.
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A martyr is someone who would give up their lives for something they believed in. If Jesus followers were not sure of his resurrection or thought it was a lie, they would not have chosen to die or be tortured for this belief.
