The word "martyr" in our Bible is from the same word we get the English word "witness" from.
I would like to think I’d do the moral thing, and continue proclaiming my devotion to The Trinity, but to be truthful, I cannot guarantee that interests of self preservation wouldn’t overwhelm me at that very moment. I know this is not the right answer for any ‘real’ Christian, but I’m telling the truth as I now know it to be.
A major difference between most of us in the United States and those Blessed Martyrs of Christ in Egypt is that most Americans did not grow up in an environment where there was a general understanding that one day, you may lose your life by stating your allegiance to Jesus Christ, God or any form of deity other than Allah. I know I never worried about that as a child. Ever. Back then, it seemed only a remote possibility, something confined to history books, or missalettes in Catechism classes.
The word "martyr" in our Bible is from the same word we get the English word "witness" from.
It wouldn’t bother me a bit to lie to a heathen jihadi. The last thing in the world I owe him is the truth.
People who join the Lutheran Church–Missouri Synod take a vow that they will be faithful even in the face of death. Heaven knows how many really stop to consider their words; but it’s very moving to witness their ceremony of inducting new members.