Today is the church holiday historically known as "All Saints Day." Sounds fun right? But what's it all about?
The holiday came about in the early Christian church (somewhere in the neighborhood of the fourth century)as a means of commemorating the lives and deaths of Christian martyrs. If you know much about church history, the early days of Christendom were rife with brave men and women who willingly "gave what they could not keep, to gain what they could not lose."
As I thought about the occasion this morning, I pulled my "Foxe's Book of Martyrs" off the shelf and briefly skimmed through the demise of the 12 remaining disciples. Here were a few hilights:
James the Lord's half brother: Thrown from a temple tower and then had his head crushed with a fuller's club.
Peter: Crucified upside down during the reign of Nero.
Andrew: Crucified in Edessa on an X-shaped cross.
Paul: Judged guilty of crimes against the Emperor, sent to the chopping block,and condemned to death by beheading.
Doubting Thomas: Ironically enough, the disciple known for doubting his Lord's resurrection was sent to India where he preached the Gospel to a people who boasted a pantheon of over a million deities. Tradition tells us Thomas was tortured, run through with spears, and thrown into the flames of an oven.
Much more could be said. When one looks at the lives and deaths of these disciples, we're forced to conclude that they really believed what they preached. So much for the story that the disciples stole the body and lied about the resurrection. Most people won't walk across the street for what they believe. I find it difficult to believe that someone would willingly endure torture, and the fire of a thousand deaths under Nero for what they knew to be a lie.
We stand on the shoulders of giants. We stand on a faith that is built on historical evidence.
Happy All Saints Day my friends.
