Letters To The Martyrs

""Let me tell you about the day I died." So begins the story of Aulus Aurelius, who, along with his family, was murdered for his faith in AD 67. Since then, he has observed Earth from Heaven and now writes these letters to the modern church. With unique insights on eternity, prayer, and the Kingdom of God, he will challenge you to live with boldness and passion"--Page 4 of cover.

In this engrossing exploration of martyrdom, Lacey Baldwin Smith takes us on a riveting journey through history as he examines one of the most baffling characteristics of the human species: its willingness to die to sanctify a deity, to defend a cause, or simply to prove a point. In telling the stories of his chosen martyrs, by delving into their psyches, politics, and remarkable personalities, he illuminates the complex and elusive subject of martyrdom as it has evolved over two and a half millennia. The story starts with Socrates, the Western world's first recorded martyr, and moves on to Judaic and early Christian martyrs: the Maccabees and their heroic suffering; Jesus of Nazareth and the impact of the crucifixion on his message; and Saint Perpetua, who died spectacularly in a Roman amphitheater. The narrative then transports us to England: to Archbishop Thomas Becket and his sensational murder at the altar of his own cathedral in Canterbury; to Sir Thomas More, who died Henry VIII's "good servant but God's first" ; to the Protestant martyrs under Catholic Mary Tudor; and to Charles I, the only English king to be tried and executed as a traitor. The concluding chapters cover modern martyrdom as it has become increasingly secularized and entangled with treason. They include John Brown, whose "body lies a-mouldering in the grave but whose soul" goes marching on, Mahatma Gandhi and his school for martyrs, the Holocaust and its impact on modern Jewish thought, Dietrich Bonhoeffer and the unsuccessful attempts to assassinate Hitler, and Julius and Ethel Rosenberg's execution for giving secret information about the atomic bomb to the USSR. The book ends with the troubling figure of SS Lieutenant Kurt Gerstein and the ultimate question: Is there such a person as a totally disinterested martyr? Fools and traitors to some, heroes to others, all the men and women who appear here have helped shape our definition of martyrdom. The questions Lacey Baldwin Smith raises, and the way he brings the past to life, make this a uniquely compelling book.

This historic book may have numerous typos and missing text. Purchasers can usually download a free scanned copy of the original book (without typos) from the publisher. Not indexed. Not illustrated. 1837 edition. Excerpt: ...shall not 'be shaken with all the power of Satan. God's mercy in Christ be with you, and his good Spirit guide you, for ever. Amen. As to mine own soul, I wish to your Ladyship grace and mercy, from God our dear Father, in Christ our Lord and Saviour. I thank God, that something he hath eased you, and mitigated his fatherly correction in us both: I would to God he had done so much in the behalf of the grief of the body to you, as he hath done to me. For, as for the soul, I trust you feel that which I pray God encrease in you, (I mean his fatherly love, ) and grant that I may with you feel the same, in such degree as may please him---I will not say, as you feel, lest I should seem to ask too much at one time. God doth often much more plentifully visit, with the sense of his mercy, them that humble themselves under his mighty hand, and are sore exercised, as you long have been, than others, which to the face of the world have a more show and appearance. Therefore I wish as I do: and that, not only for mine own commodity, ' but also that I might occasion you to the consideration of the goodness of God, which I by your letters do well espy; which is indeed the high way whereby, as God increaseth his gifts, so sheweth he more lively his salvation. Psalms 50, I08. I have received God's blessing from you: the which I have partly distributed unto my three fellow prisoners, Master Farrer, Master Taylor, Master Philpot; and the residue I will bestow upon four poor souls which are imprisoned in the common gaol for religion also. As for mine own part, if I had had need, I would have served my turn also. But because I had not, nor (I thank God) have not, I have been and will be your almoner, in such sort as I have already...