Individual Conscience and Social Values Individual Conscience & Social Values

There are a number of interesting issues to consider when thinking about martyrs, and the stories about them. In the contemporary popular vernacular, martyrs are not viewed positively. Calling someone a "martyr" is insulting them. Martyrs are equated with victims, or with people who choose to be long-suffering and then complain, or whine, about it. At the same time, specific historical martyrs are venerated or admired. People like Martin Luther King, Jr. are honored. What then is society's real view of martyrs and martyrdom?

As a corollary to that, what is the real role of martyrs in the development and maintenance of culture? Religion is often discussed as filling contradictory roles: As both countercultural and bolstering the status quo. If martyrs are truly countercultural figures, how is it that they fill such important roles in mainstream cultural mythology?

All of these are interesting questions. What seems most interesting, however, is to think about how the martyrs described in these books have come to be part of the American cultural mainstream, rather than examples of the foolishness of opposing the constituted authorities. In other words, how can these countercultural figures be understood as supporting an American status quo?

The Exception: What is Worth Dying For?

What stands out in this selection of books is that Galileo is the only person who chose to recant, rather than die for his beliefs.

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life lived in countercultural rebellion. In looking at the death of Apollonius, it is more difficult to think how this story could serve the interests of the status quo. The story of Apollonius seems to resemble the death of Socrates in some respects. It has a dialogue form to it, although not as sophisticated a dialogue structure. Still, Apollonius is placed in the role of a speech-maker exhorting the crowd to live in a manner with more integrity. The story of Apollonius is a model different from the preceding two stories. In his story, Apollonius is resisting pagan authorities, rather than the institution of the Christian church. Apollonius is a martyr in the church's favor, in other words. His choice is easy, according to him. As he put it, the most important thing is life, but eternal life. Christianity, for him, is the promise of eternal life and the ultimate defeat of death. The dying process is not what is ultimate, or what wins out (Musurillo 99). In other words, his decision is almost a pragmatic one. This seems borne out by his discussion of the problems inherent in worshipping objects, or creatures, or things that are no better than human beings themselves (Musurillo 95-97). This story clearly serves the inte
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Some common words found in the essay are:
Christ Death, Inquisition Galileo, Worth Dying, King Jr, Christ Eliot, Perpetua Felicitas, Thomas Becket, Western Culture, Nonetheless Joan, Arc Shaw, status quo, eternal life, story apollonius, ordinary people, oxford annotated bible, annotated bible, contemporary culture, thomas becket, death thomas, oxford annotated, countercultural figures, revered holy laws, story joan arc,
Approximate Word count = 2443
Approximate Pages = 10 (250 words per page)

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