Rethinking Christian Martyrdom: The Blood or the Seed?

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Matthew Recla (Boise State University, USA) Craig Martin (St Thomas Aquinas College USA)

Rethinking Christian Martyrdom

The Blood or the Seed?

Matthew Recla (Boise State University, USA), Craig Martin (St Thomas Aquinas College USA)

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English

Bloomsbury Academic
18 April 2024

Religious ethics; Religious intolerance, persecution & conflict; Christianity; Violence in society

Series: Critiquing Religion: Discourse, Culture, Power

This book argues that we have been mistaken about the fundamental assumption that Christianity is the key to understanding the “Christian” martyr. Examining martyrdom in early Christian history, Matt Recla argues that the violent deaths of martyrs, real and imagined, were appropriated for Christian institutional life. Through deconstructing martyrdom and appreciating the complexity of the martyr, we recognize martyrdom not as a socio-historical phenomenon inherent to particular ideologies, and not as a religious “identity” but as the institutional co-optation of violence. The Christian apologist Tertullian argued that the blood of the martyrs was the seed of the Church, but while the seed may be the key to martyrdom, the blood is the key to the martyr.

The book shows how martyrs exceed the bounds of institutional narrative. Centering analysis of martyrdom first around the martyr’s existential difference and the complex biological, psychological, and socio-cultural factors that lead to willing death, this book sheds new light on the motivations of martyrs, our fascination with them, and the parasitic relationship of religion to violent death.

In challenging long-held beliefs about the praiseworthiness of martyrdom, this book is of interest to scholars of religion as well as those concerned about the relationship between religion and violence.

By: Matthew Recla (Boise State University USA)
Edited by: Craig Martin (St Thomas Aquinas College USA)
Imprint: Bloomsbury Academic
Country of Publication: United Kingdom
Dimensions: Height: 234mm, Width: 156mm, Spine: 25mm
Weight: 454g
ISBN: 9781350184299
ISBN 10: 1350184292
Series: Critiquing Religion: Discourse, Culture, Power
Pages: 232
Publication Date: 18 April 2024
Audience: College/higher education , Primary
Format: Paperback
Publisher's Status: Active

Introduction 1. ‘I Need to Watch Things Die’: Why Martyrdom At All? Part I: Theories of the Martyr and Martyrdom 2. Autothanatos: The Martyr’s Self-Formation 3. Homo Profanus: Martyrdom as Institutional Violence 4. Blood as Seed: Martyrdom and the Triumph of Christianity Part II: Martyrdom in Scholarship 5. ‘Voluntary’ Martyrdom: Avoiding the Stigma of Suicide 6. Scholarship as Ideology: Martyrdom as Christian Identity 7. ‘In Love With Death’: Revitalizing the Pathological Approach to Martyrdom Part III: Morality of Martyrdom 8. The Immorality of Martyrdom: Religion and the Manipulation of the Pathological 9. Divine Compulsion: The Autothanatos and the Possibility of Authenticity Conclusion 10. Blood or Seed?: Martyrdom and the Future of Religion Bibliography Index

Matt Recla is Associate Director of general education at Boise State University, USA.