Prison, Beatings, Persecutions, Sufferings, Martyrdom

[cgaviria]

It would be irresponsible for a married man to attempt to fling himself into the arms of jihadis.

Was Peter not martyred and he had a wife? All who are godly will be persecuted, if you are not persecuted, then you do not belong to God. The evidence of your godliness is shown if you suffer and are persecuted. If you are doing nothing for the Lord and sitting on your butt day and night at home, which is the equivalent of hiding a lamp under a table, then certainly no suffering and persecution will come to you.

 

[Commander Xenophon]

Was Peter not martyred and he had a wife? All who are godly will be persecuted, if you are not persecuted, then you do not belong to God. The evidence of your godliness is shown if you suffer and are persecuted. If you are doing nothing for the Lord and sitting on your butt day and night at home, which is the equivalent of hiding a lamp under a table, then certainly no suffering and persecution will come to you.

The Church Fathers describe the self sacrifice of the married state as a form of martyrdom. For a married man to abandon his wife and children to intentionally seek to be killed is an act of suicidal reckless negligence. On the other hand, when St. Anthony famously and unsuccessfully tried to get martyred during the Diocletian persecution, it was not reckless, as he he was not married, and he had previously sold his possessions and provided for his younger sister.

 

[cgaviria]

The Church Fathers describe the self sacrifice of the married state as a form of martyrdom. For a married man to abandon his wife and children to intentionally seek to be killed is an act of suicidal reckless negligence. On the other hand, when St. Anthony famously and unsuccessfully tried to get martyred during the Diocletian persecution, it was not reckless, as he he was not married, and he had previously sold his possessions and provided for his younger sister.

Marriage is not martyrdom. Dying for the sake of the gospel is martyrdom. Being matyred even when having a wife is not evil, because the same happened with Peter. We are all called to suffer and to be persecuted and whoever teaches otherwise is an illegitimate child of God, as it is said,

If you are left without discipline, in which all have participated, then you are illegitimate children and not sons. (Hebrews 12:8 [ESV])

And,

In fact, everyone who wants to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted, (2 Timothy 3:12 [NIV])

Did you catch that? EVERYONE, not just a few, not just some people in Africa and Syria, everyone who lives a godly life will be persecuted. If you are not persecuted, then it shows you are not living a godly life.

 

[Commander Xenophon]

Marriage is not martyrdom.

The holy fathers of the Orthodox church say that it is a form of martyrdom. Therefore, it is, since the Orthodox Church, as the very Body of Christ, is authoritative on matters concerning Truth.

 

[LostMarbels]

per·se·cu·tion
ˌpərsəˈkyo͞oSH(ə)n/
noun

1. hostility and ill-treatment, especially because of race or political or religious beliefs.
   "her family fled religious persecution"
   synonyms: oppression, victimization, maltreatment, ill-treatment, mistreatment,abuse, ill-usage, discrimination, tyranny; More
   
   
   
   • persistent annoyance or harassment.
     "his persecution at the hands of other students"

I don't think persecution is only the most severe of cases. An individual that preach a Jesus to a crowd of people that hate him and his God will face persecution. By not backing down said individual living as he should in faith. I do also however belive some are in a position of leadership that do not have as hard of a time, being that they preach to the choir. I think these types of individuals will have a harder time grasping the notion of sacrificing all they have and potentially their lives.

 

[Berean777]

Persecution in the western countries is not solely about physical beatings, rather it is a form of spiritual persecution that is administered by the forces of darkness, that tries to demoralise, destroy self-esteem and to ridicule and bully the target by singling them out as outcasts and members to be loathed upon.

It is like the scripture states, they exchange evil for good and good for evil and they think to change times (Isaiah 5:20).

Zechariah 14 comes to mind when the nations are poised and gathered to make war with the church of Christ by first trying to defile it from within and without and if that fails, they will use more forceful measures. In the middle-eastern countries Satan has used a more physical persecution measure to target Christianity and to disperse it using the antithesis radicalised Islam. The reason why spiritual persecution doesn't work in the Middle East because of the culture and boy have they tried to corrupt it but failed to do so, meant that they want to speed the process by destabilising that region through war and famine and to make war with Christ in this manner.

So in this respect Christianity globally is under attack and what the Father will do is as it is written in Zechariah.....

The Lord Comes and Reigns

1A day of the Lord is coming, Jerusalem (Church of Christ) , when your possessions will be plundered and divided up within your very walls. (Spiritual attack from the enemy from within and without)

2I will gather all the nations (Sodom) to Jerusalem (My Church) to fight against it; the city (congregation) will be captured, the houses (house of prayer defiled by gay lobbies) ransacked, and the women (denominations) raped. Half of the city will go into exile (defeated), but the rest of the people will not be taken (not defeated) from the city. 3Then the Lord will go out and fight against those nations, as he fights on a day of battle. 4On that day his feet will stand on the Mount of Olives, east of Jerusalem (His church), and the Mount of Olives will be split in two from east to west, forming a great valley, with half of the mountain moving north and half moving south. 5You will flee by my mountain valley, for it will extend to Azel. You will flee as you fled from the earthquake in the days of Uzziah king of Judah. Then the Lord my God will come, and all the holy ones with him.

We are living in these days leading up to the great day of battle.

This is a war cry friends, God will do this to them.......

Read Zephaniah 1 in its entirety..........

 

[nomadictheist]

Suffering and persecution and being butchered is an honor, so I'd hardly consider these people in need of prayer when they are in fact fulfilling one of the very requirements of being elect. Now @Simon Crosby , are you being persecuted and are you suffering? The same question I pose to @Wgw . You seem eager to offer prayers towards others who are being persecuted.... but are you fellas suffering and being persecuted yourselves? I surely hope you don't consider a couple of unpleasant exchanges in these forums hardly any kind of suffering worthy of the beatings and lashings of Jesus Christ.

"If it is possible, as much as depends on you, live peaceably with all men."

Sounds to me like, according to the apostle Paul, if beheading/imprisonment/etc. doesn't come to us, we're not to go looking for it.

Why would you not consider these people in need of prayer? Did not the believers pray for the apostles when they were imprisoned by the Sanhedrin? Did not the believers pray for Peter when he was imprisoned by Herod? Are we not told that the believers prayed for Paul to be freed when he was a prisoner in Rome? It's incredibly selfish to suggest that we should all withhold prayers from these brothers and sisters because they are suffering for the name of Christ! What is wrong with you that you would say we shouldn't pray for our brothers and sisters who are suffering?

 

[civilwarbuff]

What is wrong with you that you would say we shouldn't pray for our brothers and sisters who are suffering?

That is an excellent question......
Care to answer it?