Martyrdom: a guide for the perplexed by Paul MiddletonPublication Date: 2011-08-04
It can be said, that martyrdom has become one of the most pressing theological issues facing the contemporary world. As long as individuals have been dying for their faith or cause, others have been telling and more importantly, interpreting their stories. The way these stories are recounted - positively or negatively - reflect a wider conflict in which the narrator and his community find themselves. Martyr narratives, whether textual, oral, or even a CNN news report, do more than simply report a death; they also contain the interpretative framework by which that death is understood - again positively or negatively. This book aims to illuminate the way these conflict stories have been told and function (principally, though not exclusively) within Christian, Jewish, and Islamic communities.