Okay, that tears it. I can't stand reading any more of this.
I refuse to let some Al-Qaida scumbag be the determiner of my fate. I have family at home, and they need me. If you were staring down the barrel of an AK-47 wielded by a terrorist, and you knew that lying in this situation would mean your children still had a father (or mother, in the case of the ladies here), I think you, as well as just about everyone else here, would act quite differently than you're preaching. It's one thing to have a Bible verse handy for every possible situation, but it's quite another to be staring into the eyes of the devil, ready to take you from your loved ones, the ones who depend on you for guidance, education, and their general well-being, with the pull of a trigger.
And yes, I'm a Christian.
I agree. What is so obedient about sacrificing one's God-given life, and all of one's duties, for the sake of words? Words that would not, in this case, have been comprehended by a madman?
If one is to take the verse literally, would it not be better to deny Christ to one man so that one might live to affirm Christ to countless more?
I think this man would have had a lot more cause to fear for his soul had he tossed his sacred life away over his own personal interpretation of a verse.
I hope I am never in that situation. However, I pray that if I ever were, I would stand for the name of Christ no matter the consequences to my earthly body