| | A '''martyr''' is a person killed for supporting a religious or other cause. Often, his or her death will inspire others to take up the cause. The word "martyr" comes from the Greek word μαρτυς (''martus''), meaning "witness", which appears 20 times in the [[New Testament]], along with other forms having the same root meaning of "testimony", "evidence" and "witness", μαρτυρέο ''martureo'', μαρτυρία ''marturia'', μαρτύριον ''marturion'', μαρτύρομαι ''marturomai''. See [[Strong's]] numbers ''3140, 3141, 3142, 3143, 3144''. | | A '''martyr''' is a person killed for supporting a religious or other cause. Often, his or her death will inspire others to take up the cause. The word "martyr" comes from the Greek word μαρτυς (''martus''), meaning "witness", which appears 20 times in the [[New Testament]], along with other forms having the same root meaning of "testimony", "evidence" and "witness", μαρτυρέο ''martureo'', μαρτυρία ''marturia'', μαρτύριον ''marturion'', μαρτύρομαι ''marturomai''. See [[Strong's]] numbers ''3140, 3141, 3142, 3143, 3144''. |
| − | After [[Jesus Christ]], the original Christian martyr or ''proto'' martyr was [[Stephen]] (Acts 7:59-60). The famous [[Christian apologetics|apologist]] [[Justin Martyr]] was killed for his faith in [[Christ]] in A.D. 165. Many of the early [[Apostolic Fathers|Church Fathers]] were martyred. In fact, according to tradition, only one of the [[Twelve Disciples]] (The [[Apostle John]]) died of old age. | + | After [[Jesus Christ]], the original Christian martyr or ''proto'' martyr was [[Stephen]] (Acts 7:59-60). The famous [[Christian apologetics|apologist]] [[Justin Martyr]] was killed for his faith in [[Christ]] in A.D. 165. Many of the early [[Apostolic Fathers|Church Fathers]] were martyred. In fact, according to tradition, only one of the [[Twelve Disciples]] (The [[Apostle John]]) died of natural causes. |