Editorial January 9, 1954 Issue

NOT A MARTYR, BUT A WITNESS

Robert Ellis Key

The early Christians were often martyrs to their faith. They were steadfast in their adherence to Christ and often suffered martyrdom at the hands of their persecutors. Men and women alike were thrown to the lions or burned at the stake for their religion. In spite of this persecution the Christian church gained in strength and extended its influence. Truly it can be said of the early Christians, "The blood of the martyrs is the seed of the Church."

To the age in which it appeared, Christianity was a revolutionary teaching. It provoked opposition because it ran contrary to the commonly accepted opinions of mankind. It dared to oppose the pride and selfishness of autocracy with the teaching of equality and brotherhood and to quench hatred and brutality with the gospel of Love.

The Christian martyrs went willingly to their fate, believing in the justice of their cause and in the firm conviction that death was a means by which they might enter heaven. We have moved into a higher degree of civilization since those days, but have we altogether ceased to believe in the doctrine of suffering as a means of grace or to accept the belief that death of itself may open the door to heaven?

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