Lutheran theology is glorious and mysterious. It is relatable and applicable. It is for everyone, in any time, in any place. But it also can be intimidating. A Martyr's Faith in a Faithless World serves as a starting point for those looking to start reading theological works and deepen their understanding of Lutheran theology. Short, poignant chapters show the practical side of Lutheran theology and extol the doctrine of the catechism and the Lutheran Church as true, good, and beautiful. Ultimately, readers will come away with a desire for more theology and a renewed confidence and comfort in God's Word. The budding theologian, the newly catechized, the curious college student, and the inquiring visitor all will be at home in this book. A Martyr's Faith in a Faithless World serves as a great next step for those who have just finished adult confirmation classes and are looking to continue growing in their understanding of Lutheran theology.

Martin Luther had a robust theology of martyrdom, calling it the "pattern of the true Christian life." Luther expected a martyr's death, and was ready for such a death. This essay digs into Luther's theological understanding of Christian suffering and death, and preaches Christ to fainting hearts, so that we too would joyful face persecution, suffering, and even death, knowing that Jesus waits for us.

Winner of the ECPA Book Award Journey alongside Persecuted Christians Take a 40-day journey to meet brothers and sisters who share in the sufferings of Christ. When Faith Is Forbidden takes you to meet a Chinese Christian woman who called six months in prison "a wonderful time," an Iraqi pastor and his wife just eight days after assassins' bullets ripped into his flesh, and others from our spiritual family who've suffered greatly for wearing the name of Christ. Each stop on this 40-day journey includes inspiration and encouragement through the story of a persecuted believer. You’ll also find space for reflection and a suggested prayer as you grow to understand the realities of living under persecution—and learn from the examples of the bold believers you'll meet. For more than 20 years, Todd Nettleton (host of The Voice of the Martyrs Radio) has traveled the world to interview hundreds of Christians who’ve been persecuted for the name of Christ. Now he opens his memory bank—and even his personal journals—to take you along to meet bold believers who will inspire you to a deeper walk with Christ.

It can be said, almost without exaggeration, that martyrdom has become one of the most pressing theological issues facing the contemporary world. Since the attack on the World Trade Center in 2001, the world has had to face up to an Islamic manifestation of martyrdom. Martyrdom has a long history; as long as individuals have been dying for their faith or cause, others have been telling and more importantly, interpreting their stories. These martyrologies are essentially conflict stories. Whether a Christian confessing her faith before a bemused Roman governor, or a suicide bomber blowing himself up in a crowed cafe in Jerusalem, the way these stories are recounted - positively or negatively - reflect a wider conflict in which the narrator and his community find themselves. Martyr narratives, whether textual, oral, or even a CNN news report, do more than simply report a death; they also contain the interpretative framework by which that death is understood - again positively or negatively. When the death of a martyr is reported, the way in which that story is told places that death within a larger narrative of conflict, which may be regional, global, or even cosmic. The martyr becomes a symbol of the community's desires and hopes, or for that matter, their terrors and fears, but in either case, the martyr is representative of a larger struggle, and often martyrology contains the vision of how the community envisages final victory over their enemy. This book aims to illuminate the way these conflict stories have been told and function (principally, though not exclusively) within Christian, Jewish, and Islamic communities. Continuum's Guides for the Perplexed are clear, concise and accessible introductions to thinkers, writers and subjects that students and readers can find especially challenging - or indeed downright bewildering. Concentrating specifically on what it is that makes the subject difficult to grasp, these books explain and explore key themes and ideas, guiding the reader towards a thorough understanding of demanding material.

How can we be inspired by these faith-filled brothers and sisters around the world? How can we pray for them? And what do their remarkable stories teach us about a God whose light shines in a dark world? I Am N reminds us that we are each "n". Radical Muslims use this letter in Arabic to identify followers of Jesus the Nazarene. Wherever we live, we have camaradarie with those who are persecuted. So come meet their families. Read their stories. And deepen your faith in a God who gives us the courage to shine in a dark and hurting world.

Be Inspired by Amazing Eyewitness Stories of Hope and Courage from the Persecuted Church We are witnessing an astonishing escalation in Christian persecution like we have rarely seen since the first century. Some estimate that every five minutes, a Christian is martyred for his or her faith. Countries like Egypt have experienced more Christian persecution in the last five years than in the previous six hundred years combined. And who could have missed the atrocities of ISIS in Syria, Boko Haram in Nigeria, and the continued persecution of Christians in North Korea? Johnnie Moore, like many American Christians, didn't fully appreciate the extent of what was going on--until he witnessed the graduation of theology students in India. Unlike graduation ceremonies in America--where feel-good speeches made by visiting celebrities are common--this one featured a remarkable oath. It wasn't an oath to excel or succeed. It was an oath to be willing to die, if necessary, for the cause of Christ. This was no empty promise. This was a choice, choosing the eternal over the temporal. Johnnie knew he was witnessing a raw, first-century Christianity that his comfortable American version had shielded him from. "For the first time, I really understand my faith," says Johnnie Moore. Now, he's on a mission to give this same experience to others. He and his team have crisscrossed the world, recorders in hand, gathering eyewitness accounts from dozens of people who survived persecution--and the stories of some who didn't. Join Johnnie Moore on this compelling journey to the heart of the Christian faith.

Martyrdom, i.e. testimony given, by means of suffering and death, to the reality of a fact and the divinity of a doctrine, is an exclusive privilege of Christianity. There were no martyrs of philosophy, no martyrs of paganism, nor even of Judaism. Christians were alone in sacrificing their life, in the hope of asserting the reality of fundamental facts and the doctrines of their religion, of which they wished to be the witnesses and the respondents. This testimony as a proof of Christianity, and of its reality and superiority, entered into the plans of the Founder. Sending His disciples into the world, Christ had commanded them to be witnesses to His person and mission: "You will be My witnesses even to the ends of the earth." The writer's task was then to show how the disciples of Christ gave this testimony which they had been commanded to give, and also to show what demonstrative force attaches to this testimony in favour of the divinity of the Christian religion. This task has been admirably performed. The writer has shown, with all the amplitude which such an important subject demands, the motives which occasioned the testimony, the situation in which it was given, the number of those who gave it, the proceedings taken against them, the tortures and sufferings which they endured, the impression made by their testimony on the minds of their contemporaries, the honours bestowed on their relics, and the inferences which we are entitled to draw from all this. All these questions are dealt with and suitably answered. Martyrdom having followed the expansion of Christianity, it was only right that the author should begin with a brief consideration of the spread of the Christian faith during the first three centuries. This he has done with much learning. If he does not leave us under the impression that Christianity became at once a universal religion, this is because he is too well acquainted with the facts, and can demonstrate by the study of texts that its diffusion took place by degrees, more rapidly in some localities than in others. He sketches the geographical growth of Christianity" at first in the Roman world, spreading gradually through Greece, Italy, Gaul, Great Britain, Germany, Sarmatia, and the Iberian peninsula, North Africa, Eg..ypt, and the immense provinces of Western Asia, and he completes his map of the places about to become the scene of martyrdom by tracing the progress of Christian beliefs in the countries lying beyond the limits of the Roman Empire. What historical fact could be more exceptional and inexplicable by ordinary means than the progressive conquests of a doctrine which spread amongst the most diverse and hostile surroundings, which seemed to thrive in every state of civilisation and to adapt itself to the highest and the simplest minds, which was accepted by corrupt natures, though it meant in their case the sacrifice of all that they had held dear, which surmounted all obstacles and all persecutions, though in itself it seemed to contain nothing but weakness and utter want of power? Besides considering the rapid propagation of the Gospel, the author was also justified in seeking to find to what social classes the witnesses to Christ's divinity belonged, for knowing this we obtain a yet more accurate knowledge of the degree in which the different classes of society had been permeated by Christianity. From the documents brought together by Allard it is evident that Christianity, far from having been, as some imagine, a democratic religion which at first was confined to the lower classes and only later on ascended to the higher ranks of society, was in reality from its very beginning, and by the Apostles themselves, preached to everyone, poor and rich, scholars and ignorant men; scarcely had it made its first appearance in the world than it leaped the Jewish horizon and reached the highest quarters of the Roman world, finding adherents, and martyrs too, on every rung of the social ladder.

"Wolfmueller sounds the alarm against the false teaching and dangerous practices of Christianity in America. He offers a beautiful alternative: the sweet savor of the Gospel, which brings us to to the real comfort, joy, peace, freedom, and sure hope of Christ." -- Back cover

"What is the place-if any-for violence in the Christian life? This book explores this question by analyzing a paradox of mainstream Christian history, theology, and ethics: At the heart of the Christian story, the suffering of violence stands as the price of faithfulness. From Jesus himself to martyrs who have died while following him, at the core of Christian faith is an experience of being victimized by the world's violence. At the same time, the majority opinion for most of Christian history has held that there are situations when the follower of Jesus may be justified in inflicting violence on others, especially in the context of war. Do these two facets of Christian ethics and experience-martyrdom and the just war-represent a contradiction, the self-defeating irony of those who follow a Lord who refused to defend himself taking up deadly weapons? In arguing that they do not, the book contends that any meaningful coherence between a theology of martyrdom and commitment to a just war ethic requires shifts away from a common heroic conception of Christian martyrdom and a common secularized Realpolitik conception of necessary violence. Instead, it requires a view of martyrdom that acknowledges even the martyrs as subject to the ambiguities of the human condition, even as they present a compelling witness to Jesus and the way of the cross. And it requires an approach to justified violence that reflects the self-sacrificial ethos of Jesus displayed in the lives of true Christian martyrs"--

Welcome to the fascinating story of how we got the world's greatest book -- the Bible. It is a captivating story that includes a little bit of everything: adventure and violence, mystery and bravery, and dumb luck or divine intervention -- depending on your point of view. How in the world did we get this book that some people swear by and other people swear at? You don't have to be a skeptic to have a grocery list of questions about the formation of the Bible, such as: Who wrote these documents and when? How were these ancient writings transmitted through the ages? As scribes made copies of copies, didn't they make mistakes that caused the ancient writings to be changed and corrupted? How was it decided which writings would be included in the Bible? What are the Dead Sea Scrolls, and why are archaeological finds like these such a big deal? Devoted people dedicated their lives throughout time to put this unique book into the hands of people worldwide. Retrace the passion and intrigue behind the Bible's creation.