Martyrs: Contemporary Writers on Modern Lives of Faith - Hardcover

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0060611200 ISBN 13: 9780060611200

Publisher: Harper San Francisco, 1996

Synopsis

Twenty original essays by distinguished contemporary writers trace an indelible portrait of the martyrs of our century, documenting a struggle that has played out across the boundaries of nations and between the realm of culture and the province of the sacred. The stories of these remarkable individuals who chose faith at the cost of life demonstrate that what remains, after the drama of their agonizing deaths, is a legacy of inspiring faith.

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Reviews

Many religions are rich with the narratives of individuals who have sacrificed their lives for their religious traditions. Since early Christianity found itself persecuted by outsiders who were suspicious of its religious claims, its history is replete with accounts of the life and work of martyrs who willingly died for their faith. While Foxe's Book of Martyrs (Baker Book House, 1983) is a popular volume of the stories of these early martyrs, there have been few collections of the stories of contemporary religious people who have suffered on behalf of their faith. Bergman's arresting compendium combines the stories of "modern lives of faith" with the narrative power of such contemporary writers as Ron Hansen and Marilynne Robinson to provide a powerful glimpse into the lives of modern martyrs. Paul Elie, editor of A Tremor of Bliss: Contemporary Writers on the Saints, offers a portrait of the martyrdom of South African anti-apartheid activist Steven Biko, while poet Carolyn Forche tells the story of her own encounter with El Salvador's archbishop Oscar Romero in the week just before he was assassinated. The modern martyrs whose inspirational and challenging stories we hear range from Dietrich Bonhoeffer and Simone Weil to Edith Stein and Maximillian Kolbe. All of the stories demonstrate the uncompromising conviction with which these martyrs held their beliefs as well as the ways that their stories continue to affect our lives.
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc.

A moving anthology that proves Tertullian's age-old axiom that the blood of the martyrs is the seed of the church. Bergman (Anonymity, 1994) has culled an impressive collection of essays on 20th-century Christian martyrs. The writings are arranged in reverse chronological order, beginning with the 1993 martyrdom of Russian pastor Aleksander Men and closing with the slayings of missionaries during China's 1900 Boxer Rebellion. Along the way, we encounter familiar exemplars, such as Oscar Romero (in a brilliant essay by Carolyn Forch‚) and Dietrich Bonhoeffer, as well as unexpected ones, such as Simone Weil. (Simone Weil a Christian martyr? Anthony Walton makes a strong case for it, though Weil's death from a heart attack hardly compares to the more gruesome ends of the other heroes described here.) Throughout many of the essays, writers mingle themes of social justice and political maneuvering with Christian theology, painting complex portraits of the individuals involved. In one essay, such complexity verges on skepticism. Gerald Early's portrayal of Martin Luther King Jr. explicitly compares the famous leader to Uncle Tom, claiming that King ``artfully and brilliantly exploited the Uncle Tom archetype to legitimate his own leadership in the eyes of both black and white America.'' Early's essay also contains no mention whatsoever of King's martyr-death, the focal point on which the other chapters converge. Still, it is a thoughtful piece that forces readers to examine King in a fresh way. Bergman's anthology is not a simplistic glorification of heroic death … la John Foxe's Book of the Martyrs. This is grittier. It is an appropriate response to a century in which cataclysmic violence has reached unprecedented proportions. These essays stand as a bold witness to the courage of a few who have sought God in the midst of systematic destruction. -- Copyright ©1996, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.

As Bergman, author of Anonymity (1993), explains why she finds the stories of twentieth-century Christian martyrs so compelling, she conveys her sense of troubled wonder. Although most of the tens of thousands of people put to death for their faith during this allegedly enlightened century will remain anonymous, more visible martyrs have burned their way into the consciousness of writers, and Bergman has selected a molten set of essays. Simone Weil's life is examined by Anthony Walton. The Russian poet and activist Osip Mandelstam is portrayed by Mark Rudman. Carolyn Forchewrites about Oscar Romero; Gerald Early remembers Martin Luther King Jr.; and Patricia Hampl considers Edith Stein, a German Jew who converted to Catholicism but was still murdered at Auschwitz. There are more, including Julia Alvarez's chronicle of the Mirabal sisters, and Kathleen Norris' telling of the controversial tale of Maria Goretti. These passionate essays confront the paradox of pure faith and persistent evil. Donna Seaman

Edition details

• Publisher: Harper San Francisco
• Publication date: 1996
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0060611200
• ISBN 13: 9780060611200
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 352
• Editor: Bergman Susan