Foxe's Annals of Martyrs

Foxe's Annals of Martyrs

When reading Owen Chadwick's history of the Reformation, he mentioned John Foxe and his lengthy martyrology compiled in the late 1500s.  I figured such a classic was worth tackling - however, I'm not sure I did... The best I can tell, this is a small subsection of Foxe, heavily updated and adapted to the late Victorian/early Edwardian reading public.  (There is even a quote from Tennyson.)  I could find nothing about who originally wrote, edited, or published this, or even what parts of Foxe it paraphrased. So this is easily the most mysterious publication I've ever read!

Once again, it is history, so authorial identity aside, I'm sure the facts are fairly stable. The author's intent is not merely to record history, however, but to inspire and caution Christians of any age with the examples of their ancestors in the faith. This little volume covers about the first 1200 years of Christianity, but it particularly focuses on the persecution of the early church under Roman rule.

The brave men, women, and children (yes, children) who humbly died for their faith speak a powerful testimony even 2,000 years later. The book does not deify all martyrs, though. There is plenty of condemnation of the zeal for martyrdom, and of over-excited people who provoked their own deaths from a rebellious or antagonistic spirit. The author also examines false martyrdom, or those who hoped for earthly glory by earthly sufferings -- one of the later church leaders to die under the Romans made sure to bequeath some relics to his followers on the day of his execution for future worship ("Real live relics, get your relics here!").

Martyrdom is definitely a hard topic.  I hope that I would stand by my beliefs when faced with pain and death, but I also know how wimpy I am in everyday life. The thought of censure or disagreement alone usually silences my tongue, and this is on meaningless stuff - movies, TV shows, political opinions, and so on. And of course, if real danger does come, there also rises up a host of un-Christian motives to resist it, whether it be the desire to impress people with your steadfastness, to stick it to the man, or just to refuse to conform. It can also become a kind of trump card - "They must be right, because they are dying for their beliefs."  In fact, persecution and martyrdom can be (and has been) used to justify just about anything. Ultimately, God knows the hearts of everyone, and the only heart I can really attempt to know is my own.

Arbitrary rating: 4 out of 5 mysterious publications