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20th Century Saw 65% of Christian Martyrs.
EWTN ^ | 5/10/02

Posted on 05/10/2002 12:41:24 PM PDT by marshmallow

ROME, (Zenit.org).- The 20th century may have been the most striking in the annals of Christian martyrdom, and a new book shows it with numbers.

In two millennia of Christian history, about 70 million faithful have given their lives for the faith, and of these, 45.5 million -- fully 65% -- were in the last century, according to "The New Persecuted" ("I Nuovi Perseguitati").

Italian journalist Antonio Socci presented his work today during a conference on "Anti-Christian Persecution in the 20th Century" held at the Regina Apostolorum Pontifical Athenaeum.

"I handed in the draft of the book in January; since then the martyrdom of Christians has had no letup," the author noted. "Suffice it to think of what is happening in Colombia and Indonesia."

In the journalist´s analysis, the term "Christian martyrs" is not understood in the specific sense of the word (with the recognition of the Church´s processes of canonization), but according to the common assessment of scholars who have compiled statistics on religious persecutions.

Socci´s map of the current persecution highlights countries where Christians are dying for their faith.

It includes the Molucca Islands of Indonesia, Bangladesh, India, Nigeria, East Timor, Cuba, the former Soviet republics, Saudi Arabia and other Muslim countries, Vietnam, China and others.

According to the author, the two currents that fuel the persecution of Christians today are Communism and Muslim fundamentalism.

Socci said that persecution of Christians is currently most severe in Sudan.


TOPICS: Culture/Society
KEYWORDS: catholiclist; christianpersecutio
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1 posted on 05/10/2002 12:41:24 PM PDT by marshmallow
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To: marshmallow
According to the author, the two currents that fuel the persecution of Christians today are Communism and Muslim fundamentalism.

This shouldn't come as a shock to anyone. I'd say there's a good chance Muslim fundamentalism will be the 21st century's chief persecutor of Christian's. 9-11 got that ball rolling early.

2 posted on 05/10/2002 12:52:02 PM PDT by Reagan Man
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To: *Christian Persecutio
index bump
3 posted on 05/10/2002 12:53:25 PM PDT by Fish out of Water
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To: marshmallow
A question: what percentage of Christians lived in the 20th Century to begin with? Methinks it's pretty doggone high.
4 posted on 05/10/2002 12:54:26 PM PDT by Poohbah
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To: Poohbah
A question: what percentage of Christians lived in the 20th Century to begin with? Methinks it's pretty doggone high.

A good question. Another is: how do you define a martyr? I mean maybe that many Christians were killed in the 20th century, but just being killed doesn't make you a martyr.
5 posted on 05/10/2002 12:58:54 PM PDT by moderation_is_not_a_bad_thing
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To: marshmallow
"...According to the author, the two currents that fuel the persecution of Christians today are Communism and Muslim fundamentalism...."

Everywhere on the planet where Christians are being murdered, if you scratch a moslem or a commie you find---United States Government funding, arming, training and oil prospecting. Scratch further and you find American Christians closely perusing their stock options....

6 posted on 05/10/2002 1:00:41 PM PDT by LaBelleDameSansMerci
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To: moderation_is_not_a_bad_thing
OK, so we're trying to define the metric. I would say "murdered because of their faith."
7 posted on 05/10/2002 1:05:51 PM PDT by Poohbah
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To: moderation_is_not_a_bad_thing
Another is: how do you define a martyr?

Here you go.

mar·tyr Pronunciation Key (märtr) n.

1.) One who chooses to suffer death rather than renounce religious principles.

2.) One who makes great sacrifices or suffers much in order to further a belief, cause, or principle.

3.) One who endures great suffering: a martyr to arthritis.

4.) One who makes a great show of suffering in order to arouse sympathy.

tr.v. mar·tyred, mar·tyr·ing, mar·tyrs To make a martyr of, especially to put to death for devotion to religious beliefs.

To inflict great pain on; torment.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

[Middle English, from Old English, from Late Latin, from Late Greek martur, from Greek martus, martur-, witness.]

Source: The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.

As in most cases to renounce the Christian faith would have lead to their lives being spared those who died at the hands of the Communist and Muslim forces should indeed be considered martyrs.

a.cricket

8 posted on 05/10/2002 1:14:35 PM PDT by another cricket
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To: father_elijah; Antoninus; aposiopetic; Salvation; ELS; nina0113; Steve0113; el_chupacabra...
Bumping. Let me know if you want on or off the list. Click my screen name for a description.

patent

9 posted on 05/10/2002 1:34:02 PM PDT by patent
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To: Poohbah
Do you think 65% of the world's Christian population over the last 20 centuries lived in this one? I would be very surprised.

patent

10 posted on 05/10/2002 1:35:23 PM PDT by patent
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To: patent
BUMP
11 posted on 05/10/2002 1:50:49 PM PDT by Siobhan
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To: frogandtoad; Domestic Church; BlessedBeGod; saradippity; maryz; Jeff Chandler; ken5050; Slyfox...
Bump

Using my father's ping list....let me know if you want on or off. God bless.

12 posted on 05/10/2002 1:52:45 PM PDT by Siobhan
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To: moderation_is_not_a_bad_thing
The author is define a martyr as a Christian who is killed because of his faith. For example, if a Muslem fundamentalist bombed a Christian Church and killed 100 people, they would be martyr's because they died while worshipping our Lord. Also, if someone is killed because they refused to denounce Jesus Christ as the only Son of God, or other basic Christian beliefs, they would be a martyr.

At least, that's what I think is going on. If I'm wrong, please correct me.

13 posted on 05/10/2002 2:00:23 PM PDT by Gophack
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To: marshmallow
Saint Polycarp, bishop of Smyrna and a disciple of the apostles, was burned at the stake about the year 155. His feast day is February 23. This is the prayer he prayed before he died:

Lord, almighty God, Father of your beloved and blessed Son Jesus Christ, through whom we have come to the knowledge of yourself, God of angels, of powers, of all creation, of all the race of saints who live in your sight, I bless you for judging me worthy of this day, this hour, so that in the company of the martyrs I may share the cup of Christ, your annointed one, and so rise again to eternal life in soul and body, immortal through the power of the Holy Spirit. May I be received among the martyrs in your presence today as a rich and pleasing sacrifice. God of truth, stranger to falsehood, you have prepared this and revealed it to me and now you have fulfilled your promise. I praise you for all things, I bless you, I glorify you through the eternal priest of heaven, Jesus Christ, your beloved Son. Through him be glory to you, together with him and the Holy Spirit, now and forever. Amen.

14 posted on 05/10/2002 2:02:55 PM PDT by Gophack
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To: patent
Put me on!
15 posted on 05/10/2002 3:13:16 PM PDT by STD
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To: patent
It isn't surprising information when you consider that Communism was so prevalent in this century. Most people don't even acknowledge what Stalin and Lenin did to Christians and the millions of people they had killed.

I wish we'd hear from father_elijah.

16 posted on 05/10/2002 8:52:12 PM PDT by tiki
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To: marshmallow; Larrylied
According to the author, the two currents that fuel the persecution of Christians today are Communism and Muslim fundamentalism.

It is clear to all who want to see it, who the enemy is.
17 posted on 05/10/2002 10:14:36 PM PDT by Michael2001
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To: Michael2001
Muslim fundamentalists have a long way to go before they off as many Christians as Kaganovitch did in a month. We'll stop them with much less loss of life and much sooner than we did the Soviets.
18 posted on 05/10/2002 11:00:54 PM PDT by LarryLied
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To: patent; Poohbah
Do you think 65% of the world's Christian population over the last 20 centuries lived in this one

Possibly, since the growth was exponential. For example, twice as many people leaved in 2000 as in 1900, 1800, 1700 combined:


WORLD POPULATION
  Year   Population  
  1700   600,000,000  
  1800   900,000,000  
  1900   1,500,000,000  
  2000   6,000,000,000  

The data earlier than that would be less reliable, but the data I was able to find on the surface makes the claim plausible. Population growth
19 posted on 05/13/2002 7:36:09 AM PDT by annalex
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To: annalex
Possibly, since the growth was exponential. For example, twice as many people leaved in 2000 as in 1900, 1800, 1700 combined:
These figures only give the population at two instants in one century rather than the number of people born, but for rough purposes they are usable. Take the last century, add the start and end together (since at least that many people lived in the century) and you get 7,500,000,000. Take the previous century, do the same, and you get 2,400,000,000. Add the previous, and you get another 1,500,000,000. In total you have at least 11,400,000,000 alive in the last three centuries, of which ~65% were alive in the last one. Obviously as you add in the remaining centuries the figure drops below that. I would guess to slightly above 50%, but of course it is a guess.

This neglects one crucial variable though, where the population grown this century has been. If the population growth has largely been in Christian lands, the 65% figure is possible. However, most of the growth isn’t in Christian lands, a fact that our western love of abortion and contraception almost makes intuitive:

World population is now growing by 1.3 per cent, or 77 million people per year. Six countries account for half of this growth: India (with 21 per cent of the total increase), China, Pakistan, Nigeria, Bangladesh and Indonesia.
In other words, while there is a good argument that about 50% of the world’s population has lived in this last century, so far as I can see there is not a good argument that the same is true for the world’s Christian population.

patent  +AMDG

20 posted on 05/13/2002 8:18:31 AM PDT by patent
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