“Religious people killed scores of famous martyrs throughout history, in fact.”
So, they were all famous martyrs before they were killed? Had they been killed by non-religious people, would they still have been “martyred”? I’m trying to get 4 out of what should be a matter of simply putting two and two together but there’something about that statement that doesn’t want to add up. No offense but...
No, they’re famous now, largely because of John Foxe.
And you’re a martyr if you die for refusing to deny your faith. Doesn’t matter what the murderer’s motivation is, but it’s usually religious in nature.