[sauropod]

Forced, coerersed mouthing of words is not conversion, and any rational person knows this in the heart...instead, it is a satanic lie. Conversion occurs in the heart, and God in Heaven looketh on the heart, not on the outward appearance.

Jeff, then are you saying that the Christians who were fed to the lions in Rome should have just gone ahead and declared the Caesar of the times God just to live?

Of what value then is Martyrdom? Of what value then is Christianity?

[ConservativeMind]

And if they were Christians, is there not the concern of having committed apostasy?

[Jeff Head]

Not saying that at all.

Those folks that died there as a result of their true convictions to Christ will be eternally belessed for it...and they probably had little or no choice in the matter. For most, their lives were the testament and they would have been fed to lions for sport whether they mouthed a denial or not IMHO.

Others lived and continued to teach Gods Word in their time and passed it down. Some openly, some in secret.

All I am saying is that God will judge the heart, and that that is where He looks for the anser concerning a persons true faith...not at outward appearances.