6 People Who Risked Everything For Faith

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The history of Christianity is filled with people who continued to hold fast to their faith even in the most dangerous of circumstances. Some of these men and women became martyrs for their faith. Others survived and brought inspiration to thousands of Christians across the globe. These brave believers lived throughout history.

Beginning with Saint Stephen, the first martyr, Christianity has been defined by those who refused to apostatize and reject Christ. In ancient times, these brave men and women often paid the ultimate price for their loyalty to God. Although most Western Christians merely face ridicule, Christian persecution is on the rise in today’s world. Western Christians may find themselves losing their jobs or threatened with lawsuits when they stand up for their beliefs, and Christians in the Middle East and South-East Asia have found themselves at the mercy of a lynch mob for refusing to deny Christ. Sadly, this is not a new situation for Christianity. Although the religion has become the largest faith on the planet, it is still made up of with believers who suffer in the name of God. This is not new for Christians, but that does not make the bravery of those who hold fast to their faith any lesser. Here are six people who risked everything for faith throughout history.

Peter, Paul and Early Christians

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Saint Stephen was the first martyr in Christianity, but he was far from the only one to suffer in the early days of the faith. The Apostles Peter and Paul both spread the Gospel throughout the world, including the heart of the most powerful empire itself. The two men took their lives into their own hands when they dared to preach in Rome itself. This decision would eventually cost both Apostles their lives.

Prior to the Great Fire of Rome, Christians could live peacefully in Rome if they kept their heads down. Following Rome’s burning, however, Emperor Nero blamed Christians for the fire and made them a public enemy. Christians who were caught were killed with horrifically creative tortures among which included being burned alive while nailed to a cross which served as a gruesome human torch. Despite this, Christianity survived in Rome and would continue to spread throughout the world.

Clemens August Graf von Galen

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Clemens August Graf von Galen was a Catholic bishop who lived in Muster, Germany during the rise of Hitler and the growth of the Nazi party. Von Galen was outspoken in his disdain for Nazi racism and totalitarianism following Easter 1934. He sent complaints directly to Hitler and, when the Fuhrer ignored him, von Galen used the pulpit as his weapon. Von Galen’s protests against the removal of crucifixes in schools sparked a large enough public protest that the Nazis canceled the order.

Von Galen was perhaps best known for his vehement opposition to Hitler’s euthanasia program. In a series of fiery sermons, von Galen decried the program and warned that the Nazis could use the program to dispose of anyone they disliked. Von Galen’s sermon on August 3, 1941, is his best known today. The sermon was powerful and persuasive enough that anti-Nazi forces circulated it throughout Germany, and Allied planes dropped leaflet copies of the sermon on German cities. Nazi officials demanded that von Galen be executed, but Joseph Goebbels feared that making a martyr of von Galen would galvanize the sizable Catholic population and lend credence to von Galen’s anti-Nazi claims. They decided to wait to kill von Galen until after the end of World War II.

Von Galen was made a cardinal by Pope Pius XII for his “fearless resistance” against Hitler. Germans in St. Peter’s Square cheered the decision and called von Galen the “Lion of Munster,” the famous epithet by which he is still known today.

Valeen Schnurr

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Valeen Schnurr was a student at Columbine High School when the famous school shooting happened. She, along with a number of other students, was cornered in the library. Among the other students was Cassie Bernall, a girl who would become a posthumous legend. Cassie’s story, however, really belongs to Schnurr.

While in the library, Schnurr was confronted by her would-be killer. He demanded to know if she believed in God. Schnurr, terrified and bleeding, said yes. For reasons unknown, the shooter walked away and let Schnurr live.

The conversation was overheard by other students, but mistakenly attributed to Cassie Bernall, one of the shooter’s victims. The legend grew that Bernall was the one who said “yes” and paid for it with her life. Though Schnurr was the one who reaffirmed her faith even as she stared down the barrel of a gun, she has been reluctant to speak out about her story and puncture the legend of Bernall’s martyrdom. Schnurr is not interested in fame and has no desire to strip away the myth that has given comfort to traumatized students and grieving parents.

Mariam Ibraheem, Asia Bibi and Christians in Muslim Majority Countries

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The lands that were once the cradle of Christianity have become a nightmare for the faithful that remain. Thousands have been murdered by extremist groups, and thousands more have fled to safer soils. Those that remain know well that they may one day have to choose between their faith and their lives.

Among the faithful who remained was Mariam Ibraheem. The Sudanese Christian was arrested in 2014 and told she was an apostate for not following Islam like her father. Ibraheem was sentenced to hang because she refused to renounce her faith. During her time in jail, she was forced to give birth with her legs chained together. Ibraheem was eventually released, but her defiant words to the Sudanese judge remain inspiring: “I am a Christian and will remain a Christian.”

Though Ibraheem was released following an appeal, Asia Bibi has not been so lucky. This Pakistani mother was sentenced to death by hanging in 2010. Bibi was accused of blasphemy by her neighbors and attacked by a mob that came to her house. Following her subsequent arrest, Bibi’s trial was filled with inconsistent evidence and the lingering belief that she was accused of blasphemy by neighbors looking to settle an old score. Bibi’s execution has been repeatedly deferred, but she remains in custody to this day. Salmaan Taseer, the governor of Punjab, and Minority Affairs Minister Shahbaz Bhatti were both assassinated for defending Bibi.

Father Tavrion Batozsky

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The Soviet Union, like all communist regimes, was not friendly to Christianity. The Soviet regime was committed to the complete annihilation of all religion within its borders as communist ideology cannot mix with religious ideals. The actual implementation of anti-religious policies varied, but Orthodox Christians paid an especially heavy price. They were tortured, sent to labor camps and used in human experimentation. More than 1,200 Russian Orthodox priest were murdered within the first five years of Soviet Power.

Among those who continued to believe even in this time of terror was Father Tavrion Batozsky. He spent almost 30 years in various prisons, camps and internal exile. Despite this, he used his time in prison to minister to the people who needed him most and spread the Gospel to those who would otherwise have never heard of Christ.

Choi Kwanghyuk and all other North Korean Christians

North Korea has been a breeding place for nightmares for many years. Desperate escapees, however, have been able to shed light on the true horrors taking place within the dictatorship. Starvation and malnutrition run rampant, and citizens are arrested, tortured and murdered on a regular basis. The once proud nation is on its knees, and the place that was once called the “Jerusalem of the East” has become more akin to Nero’s Rome.

Despite the danger, Choi Kwanghyuk started a secret, underground church. There were only nine people and one Bible, but they managed to answer God’s call until 2008 when Kwanghyuk was arrested. He was imprisoned, tortured and eventually sent to a labor camp before managing to escape and find asylum in America in 2013.

North Korean Christians must go to extreme lengths to hide their faith lest they face the same. Bibles are hidden inside walls, and there is always the risk that church members are government spies. Teachers have even been known to trick children into searching for “the book” in order to earn a special reward at school. When a child finds a Bible, their parents are arrested. Despite the terror, however, Christianity is actually growing inside North Korea just as it once did in Rome.

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