Foxe,
John. The New Foxe’s Book of Martyrs. Gainesville,
FL: Bridge-Logos Publishers, 2001.
"Foxe, Martyrs, Early Church, &
Osteen
(Polycarp Edition)"
A few
notes and interpolated
comments.
Mt.
16.18: “I will build My Church and
the
gates of hell [hades] shall not prevail against it."
Three
things: (1) Christ’s Church exists in this world. (2)
There are mighty and
historic enemies who attack the
Church. (3) The Church prevails.
Foxe
gives the following. (We wish to check
these
against Eusebius’s reports in Ecclesiastical
History.)
A
quick view.
1. Jesus. Crucified in Jerusalem and risen from the
grave.
2. Stephen,
deacon, Acts 6-8, stoned to death.
Saul-later-Paul was the official who witnessed and sanctioned the
martyrdom (Acts 8.1).
3. Persecution
against the church of Jerusalem (Acts 8.1).
4. James,
the son of Zebedee, Apostle, and brother of John the Apostle. 44 A.D. Put to death by King Herod Agrippa
1. According to an Alexandrian
theologian, Clement of Alexandria, the following story is given: one of James’s
captors fell at James’s feet, confessed his sins, and confessed Christ. Both James and the captor-confessor were
beheaded.
5. Timon
and Parmenas, two Deacons, were killed at Philippi and in Macedonia,
respectively.
6. Philip
the Apostle. 54 A.D. Imprisoned and
crucified in Hierapolis.
7. Matthew
the Apostle. Beheaded in Nabadah,
Ethiopia.
8. James
the Less, brother of Jesus (Acts 12.17; 15.13ff.; 21.18ff.). According to Josephus, James was killed in 66
A.D. Hegisippus, an ancient historian (110-180 A.D.),[i] is
quoted by Eusebius (260-340 A.D.).[ii]
James was tossed from the Temple tower in Jerusalem, was still alive though
injured, and was finished off with a club.
9. Mattias,
the replacement of Judas the Apostate who was elected in Acts 1 as the new
replacement. Stoned in Jerusalem.
10.
Andrew, the brother of Peter. Crucified in Edessa (near northern headwaters
of Tigris-Euphrates). In history, term
will develop called “St. Andrew’s Cross.”
11.
Mark, nephew of Peter the
Apostle. A chequered history with St.
Paul, but he recovers and is “useful” to St. Paul in later years. The reported amanuensis and “interpreter” of
St. Peter. “Dragged to pieces” in Alexandria, Egypt according to Foxe for
speaking “against the solemn ceremony of their idol Serapis.”
12.
St. Peter. According to Hegissipus, crucified upside
down in
Rome under Nero.
13.
St. Paul. A long resume of recorded sufferings in
Acts. See a catalogue in 2 Corinthians 11. More could
be said. Foxe suggests the
two-imprisonment theory with Paul’s death in 66 A.D. under Nero.
14.
Jude, the step-brother of Jesus.
Killed at Edessa, Mesopotamia. 72 A.D.
15.
Bartholomew. Translated The Gospel According to St. Matthew into Indian. Beaten and killed.
16.
Thomas. Persia, Parthia, and India.
Speared and tossed into flames.
17.
Luke.
Died quietly in Boetia at age eighty-four and “full of the Holy Ghost.”
18.
John, the Apostle. After a storied life, exiled to the island of
Patmos, repatriated to Ephesus and died in 98 A.D.
Again, three things were noted: (1) Christ’s
Church exists in
this world. (2) There are mighty and historic enemies who
attack the Church. (3) The Church prevails.
Thus far for Joel Osteen’s vision of life
(Polycarp Edition).
Tongue in cheek for those who don’t follow
Joel’s Your Best
Life Now.
Thus far from John Foxe, Anglican cleric (1560
A.D.), but a
man who refused preferments and advancements in
Elizabeth 1’s
England on puerile issues of “adiaphora
,” that is, “adiaphora that really mattered and was
imposed on others by way of felonious penalties against
property and persons.” Foxe escaped Bess 1's wrath,
however. But enough there. It's an intra-mural Anglican
thing.
And the story goes on.
[ii]
Eusebius, Ecclesiastical History. Various editions exist. It has been years since reading, but a retour
is in order. It is a must-read for high schoolers
and/or collegians. I prefer the hard
copy on the lap. However, it is available
at: http://www.ccel.org/ccel/schaff/npnf201.toc.html. Accessed 16 Jul 2013.
No comments:
Post a Comment