[dayglored]

The past 2000 years have many examples of different ways Christians have dealt with conflicts between their faithand The System.

• Renounce their faith, in a craven (and often futile) effort to avoid punishment.
• Maintain their faith, but go into hiding to avoid punishment (also often futile).
• Maintain their faith, stand up to The System in a losing situation, becoming martyrs.
• Maintain their faith, fight The System and prevail, changing The System for the better, becoming victors.

Martyrs provide spiritual inspiration, and win the approval of God, but generally do not change The System. Victors have the greater effect on The System, and as far as I can tell, also win the approval of God.

I respect the martyrs because they maintained their faith in the face of evil, but I also praise the victors because they triumphed over evil. And that matters.

[daniel1212]

Martyrs provide spiritual inspiration, and win the approval of God, but generally do not change The System. Victors have the greater effect on The System, and as far as I can tell, also win the approval of God. I respect the martyrs because they maintained their faith in the face of evil, but I also praise the victors because they triumphed over evil. And that matters.

A false dilemma in the context in which Christian martyrs usually became such. For when the choice is either to compromise or stand firm for the right, then the loser is the compromiser (as in confessing Caesar is lord).

If Kim Davis went along with the system, then she would have been a loser. What you are advocating is escaping (Matthew 2:13) a situation, versus being placed in one in which one must give in to the system or stand. In the latter case it is "Dare to be a Daniel, Dare to stand alone, Dare to have a purpose firm, Dare to make it known."