The Destructive Impact Of Being A Martyr

What makes a martyr? Martyr, stemming from the Greek word for witness has long been a part of human history, tracing its origins through much of the history of the three principle Abrahamic religions, Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. Throughout much of history, a running definition of the concept of martyrdom and martyrology has been developed, often taking the shape of that of the dominant beliefs of an era and morphing to suit historical context. Martyrdom has been primarily a religious or philosophically driven concept as it has strong ties to the concept of suicide discussed so frequently in those types of circles. However, the rate of secularization in leading societal values has pushed the concept of martyrdom to be considered more broadly

V. The man behind the mask, the father figure, and the killer is now gone but he never revealed a face of full heroism or villainy features. Being a hero, vigilante, or villain helps enhance the view on a specific character. In the comic book, “V for Vendetta”, the character V constructs events in the story that describe neither heroism or villainy features, which helps creates the thought of him becoming a vigilante. With the idea of V being a vigilante, it helps highlight the event of V holding Evey in jail and him helping the citizens escape Norsefire.

Heroes have achieved many feats that support the belief of a greater good and expressing valor and selflessness through the ages. There are fictional or real life accounts that have recognized these men and women for their vigor and marked them as heroes due to their events of success and motives of committing the heroic deeds. Yet there are copious amounts of people who have sacrifice themselves for a greater good but they have been lost through time even if their actions were prosperous or doomed in the end with a valiant purpose. They are unsung heroes who committed the actions based on their inner fire of what is right or honorable or rather than the fame they hope to achieve from those acts. The world or a populous may not know of their actions, but the actions and beliefs of an individual or group can entitle them of being hero-like without the necessity of recognition and success. They have lost their lives or a part of themselves to a cause based on righteousness rather than self-gain. They presented selfless heroism rather than the the intention to receive praise from the victories. Sacrifice contributes more to Heroism because the individual invested his or her own determination, valor and accepting the opportunity to risk their self-health (physical or psychological) based on great intentions rather than reaping the accolades of committing good deeds.

When John Wilkes Booth assassinated President Lincoln at Ford’s Theater in Washington on April 14, 1865, people almost immediately deemed Lincoln a martyr. Although, no one even began to question whether Booth was one. A martyr is said to be a person who is killed for their beliefs, in the case of Booth, his hatred towards the president. Yet, with such a vague definition, martyr becomes very subjective. Aren’t those who are promised Paradise and eternal worship if they strap bombs to their chests considered martyrs too? Of course not! Not in the eyes of Americans at least. More often than not, martyrs are people who are willing to die for the cause in hopes that it will bring change. However,

In “A Behavioral Analysis of John Brown: Martyr or Terrorist,” James N. Gilbert effectively argues that John Brown’s inhumane actions clearly conform to a modern definition of a domestic terrorist. Gilbert argues that Brown justified his inhumane actions by proclaiming adherence to high political and moral values. Gilbert is a professor and former chair of the department of criminal justice at the University of Nebraska-Kearney who specializes in criminal investigative theory. In fact, Gilbert authored Criminal Investigation, which is now it its eighth edition, as well as numerous journal articles. According to Gilbert, Brown lived during a time when both the political process and democratic values had been destroyed by slavery. Gilbert offers insight throughout his argument regarding Brown’s controversial actions as Brown was unalterably opposed to slavery. Overall, in his analysis, Gilbert successfully proves that Brown’s inhumane actions relate to a modern definition of a terrorist as Brown believed that terror and violence were the only ways to abolish slavery.

Over the course of history, people have sacrificed themselves for a greater purpose, which offered them no personal gain other than the fact that they did the right thing to improve the world around them. In his "The Future of

Hundreds of private boats converged on New York City on the day of September 11th, 2001, most people now know this day as the tragic day of 9/11, the day the Twin Towers fell. This is a great representation of heroism because it shows that people who do not have to go and save the people fleeing Manhattan did. A hero is selfless, a guardian who fights for their people and beliefs, and is not to be confused with someone who uses their abilities to cause harm. Also, a hero is a person who does something more than what they are expected to do. These are the reasons we respect hero’s, because they do more than what we think or believe we would have done in those situations.

Today we live in a superhero world, we live in a world where those who risk their lives for others are considered the braves and the embodiment of selflessness. However people cannot always make it out alive survive if they are constantly jumping into the front lines trying to save others. People cannot survive they go and take the bullet for someone else. People cannot always survive if they are jumping off the bridge after people they do not know. Most importantly, trying to save others does not always make the situation better, sometimes it the situation worse.

A martyr is someone who has laid their life down to hold on to their faith. Examples of martyrs are the twelve disciples, but I chose to research the mouthiest of the disciples, Peter. Peter was the odd disciple out in every story. Who tried to follow Jesus’ lead by walking on the water? Who refused the feet washing, then asked for a whole body washing? Who denied Jesus 3 times? The answer to all of these is Peter. I chose Peter because he has obviously been at fault before, but he knows that it is not about what he has done, but what God has done. I know that I am not perfect, but I want my life to be focused on God’s strength and not my weakness.

On October 13, 1972 a plane named the Faidchild was holding 45 passangers crashed in the Andes Mountains. Among the passangers was the Old Christrians club rugby union from Urgangy with family and friends. The plane was headed to a match the team was to play in Santiago, Chile. There was severe weather problams and the weather had forced the pilots to stop in Mendoza, Argentina. When cleared to fly again the pilots and passsangers headed out. Over Curico, Chile the pilot had requested permission to decend and was approved. At this time the area covered in clouds played a vital trick on the pilots. The Pilots thought they were farther than they actually were. The pilots had to crash land on the Andes Mountains as safe as possible in the situation

For instance being caught inside a burning house and having to figure out a quick escape route. Contemporary and Archaic idea of the concept shows similarity in relation to sacrifice; this could be an individual dying or endanger themselves in order to save another life. In terms of war, there’s the sacrifice of combatants in order to save the lives of civilians and/or to fight for ones homeland. They resemble with having some defining characteristics, but they differ when it comes to the frame structure of who is recognized as heroic. They contrast with the idea that one does not have to fight in a war to be considered a

Aristotle does not give a name to this type of person, so we shall call him the moral martyr. Moral martyrs abandon worldly pleasures such as friendship, food, and entertainment for the apparent benefits of self-restraint. Therefore, they are deficient in their enjoyment of worldly pleasures and excessive in their use of self-restraint.

Heroism involves making difficult sacrifices for others. Soldiers are very good examples of heroes who have made sacrifices for others. They fight for freedom and for what they believe is right. A close family member fought in the Vietnam War and has Post Traumatic Stress Disorder because of it and it affects him every day of his life. Another example of this is the article “Soldier home after losing his leg in Afghanistan”. In the text, it reads,“I didn’t do anything special, but if the progress I have made motivates another wounded veteran to keep going, then that’s great” (Fiege 68). This shows that the soldier thinks that he did not do anything special, but he inspired

The Martyred” by Richard E. Kim Chapter 1-11 Reading Summary “The Martyred” is the novel written by Richard Kim about the Korean War and its consequences on the religious life. The first eleventh chapters of the story introduce the main character, Captain Lee, and describe his relations with his friend, Park, the ways of how they achieve the current military positions, and the tasks they have to complete during the war. The author uses the narration and a number of dialogues to describe the war’s reasons, methods, and outcomes. The idea to mix up religious and military ideas in “The Martyred” seems to be powerful indeed; still, it requires much attention from the author to every single detail like family relations, personal ambitions, and the desire to get to the truth.

Heroism, observable in one form or another in most literature throughout the history of man, is an important contributor to the social values of mankind. Almost every major civilization has a fabled hero of some sort, for example, the Greek Achilles. Heroes are undoubtedly important, raising the question of what it takes to be a hero, or what values are shared by the heroes of our world. Heroism is in essence acting bravely not to receive fame or fortune, but solely for the welfare of others. Though, without explanation of what it truly means to have each of these qualities, this statement alone is insufficient.