~~~
Tertullian was born the
son of a Roman Centurion in Carthage around 150 AD. As a member of a higher
social class, he received an excellent education and was trained as a lawyer.
He indulged in all the trappings of his day, including the pastime of watching
gladiatorial combat and games where criminals were tortured or eaten alive by
wild animals. Historian Roger
Pearse, curator of the Tertullian project, said:
. . . among the sights he saw, was that of
Christians being executed this way. He was struck with the courage with which
stupid and contemptible slave men and little slave girls faced a hideous death,
against all nature; and after investigating, became a Christian himself . .
.
Tertullian said the
blood of Christian martyrs was the seed of the church.** It certainly seems to
be the precipitant that converted him to Christianity from the paganism of
his fathers. For many early Christians, martyrdom was the ultimate proof of
their faith. Whether martyrdom was sought out or forced on them, the courage
demonstrated by thousands of Christians in the face of unspeakable tortures has
fortified the faith of Christians for two thousand years.
But, as Constantine made
Christianity the official religion of Rome, opportunities for martyrdom
diminished—much to the chagrin of some.*** Christianity was suddenly an asset
rather than a liability. Although the centuries certainly provided
opportunities for Christians to die for their beliefs, it was never on the
scale seen in Tertullian's day.
Mormons have had more than their share of opportunities for persecution and
martyrdom in our short history. As with the blood of the early
Christians, the blood of latter-day saints has been the seed of the Mormon Church.
We therefore identify better than many Christians with the idea of martyrdom
for the faith.
Thankfully, opportunities to die for our faith have all but disappeared in
Western society.**** However, there are now ample opportunities for Mormons and
other Christian communities to be united like never before in a new kind of
virtual martyrdom. This metaphorical martyrdom comes swiftly if any dares
to publicly profess the tenets of the faith that have been firmly entrenched
for six thousand years. To describe sexual immorality as sin is
to instantly become socially marginalized and vilified as worst example of
humanity imaginable. The calls for christianos ad leones are
immediate and sustained from intolerant activists clamoring for tolerance, from
the secular media, and from the ever-present arbiters of political
correctness. Labelled intolerant or hater, those
unwilling to compromise God’s standards are sent to their social death like
recidivist criminals that are beyond reform.
Having seen so many examples of this new type of martyrdom, it's hard not to be
intimidated. Minding your own business is safer and easier than exposing
yourself to the fury. The live and let live mantra rolls off
the tongue easier today than ever before. But there is no safe place as we
watch the tide slowly erode the small piece of ground on which the church has
always resided. To stand down is to serve other gods, as was so
eloquently taught by Elder Dallin H. Oaks.
Ever courageous and uncompromising, Paul said: “For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God
unto salvation to every one that believeth" (Romans 1:16). He refused to stand down—even knowing the price he would
pay. On the eve of his final arraignment before Nero, he wrote to Timothy from
prison saying "all that live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer
persecution (2 Timothy 3:12).” He would make his case before Nero, but knew what fate
awaited him (see 2 Timothy 4:6-8).
I would never try to minimize the heavy price paid by the martyrs of our faith
by equating it with the hateful ridicule the secular world heaps upon
vocal believers today. But there are parallels, and they are
instructive. We would do well to ask ourselves if we have the same faith and courage
of the martyrs of old. President Thomas S. Monson’s advice in 1986 seems very pertinent to us today:
Of course we will face fear, experience ridicule,
and meet opposition. Let us have the courage to defy the consensus, the courage
to stand for principle. Courage, not compromise, brings the smile of God’s
approval. Courage becomes a living and an attractive virtue when it is regarded
not only as a willingness to die manfully, but as the determination to live
decently.
As we successfully
embody the principles of the gospel and outwardly live decently it gets
noticed. We must therefore be prepared for the persecution it spawns to
test the mettle of our faith.
_______________
* This picture is
a depiction of Nero watching a Christian woman killed in a re-enactment of
the Greek myth of Dirce, who was killed by being tied to the horns of a
bull. In the First Epistle Clement to the Corinthians, Clement
refers to Christian women martyred for their faith as Dircae: “Through
envy, those women, the Danaids and Dircae, being persecuted, after they had
suffered terrible and unspeakable torments, finished the course of their faith
with steadfastness, and though weak in body, received a noble reward (chapter
VI). "
**”The blood of
Christians is seed” (Apologeticum,
chapter 50)
*** During the 5th Crusade, St Francis of
Assisi went to the Egypt and met with the Sultan el-Kamil (the nephew of
Saladin) during a ceasefire at the siege of Damietta. Francis intentionally
crossed Saracen lines into what was thought to be certain death, where he was taken
to the Sultan, and warmly received. Several days later, he left the Sultan
thoroughly charmed, but unconverted. Francis' quest for martyrdom was
unsuccessful and the battle resumed.
**** This article suggests that there are still
thousands of Christians killed for their faith worldwide each year.
