Tag: Church

By Michael A. Hancock | Commentary, Undercurrent Substack The Test of True Martyrdom Is in the Fruit It Bears Martyrdom is a word thrown around with reckless ease. In our political and cultural vocabulary, anyone who dies for a cause is immediately baptized as a martyr. But that is a sloppy use of a sacred word. There is a difference — a decisive one — between dying for an idea and dying for Christ. And the difference shows itself in the fruit. The first Christian martyr, Stephen, wasn't executed for a partisan position or a social grievance. He was stoned because he would not soften the charge that the religious elite had betrayed and murdered the "Righteous One." He looked up to heaven and declared that he saw Christ standing at the right hand of God. His sermon enraged the Sanh...