Martyrdom Quotes

Islam is not unusual in having a tradition of martyrs. What is unique to Islam is the tradition of murderous martyrdom, in which the individual martyr simultaneously commits suicide and kills others for religious reasons.

Can you die for a false idea? Yes. The reason you die is that you believe it’s not a false idea

The problem with martyrs is that they’re all dead. What do they have to do with us that are simple enough to still be alive? Should we just give up and want to die because death is better than dishonor? But suicide is a sin too so we really are damned if we do and damned if we don't.

But the old man would not so, but slew his son,And half the seed of Europe, one by one.

There are perhaps many causes worth dying for, but to me, certainly, there are none worth killing for.

We would do our theology better if more was at stake in what we said.

Often the contempt of vainglory becomes a source of even more vainglory, for it is not being scorned when the contempt is something one is proud of.

The only difference between a suicide and a martyrdom really is the amount of press coverage.

If we seek spiritual heroism ourselves, the old ego is just back in control under a new name. There would not really be any change at all, but only disguise, just bogus self-improvement on our own terms.