There is a huge piece of me that agrees with you. There’s another side of me that realizes 135,000 dollars could totally break most American families. It should be an extremely difficult thing for us to ask martyrdom of another Christian family. We can rejoice when they do so, but we should be understanding when they are crushed and give in. I think for most of history, the worst torture was always having the lives of one’s loved ones threatened with torture.
You are right. I would not expect most people to do what this man has done, but I do wish that he had simply refused the job without explanation. Trying to justify one’s actions, even when they are justifiable, often leads to more trouble than otherwise.