Jeffrey Weiss of the Dallas Morning News continues our conversation from yesterday in a piece titled, “Does dying for religion’s sake merit extra attention?” I think that title is not the best way to frame the question. I say this because for some people such martyrdoms will merit extra attention, and for other people they won’t.
-
-
Why Remember the Martyrs?
In an attempt to raise awareness about the Turkish martyrs, I sent their story to a religion writer at the Dallas Morning News. He posted links to reports about them on the Dallas Morning News religion blog: “The killing of Christians in Turkey.” Unfortunately, one of the other religion writers at the Dallas Morning News got rankled by my concern for the martyrs. His frustration with me is posted here: “With all due respect to Professor Burk.” This reporter’s main problem with my efforts is that he thinks I am paying too little attention to all the suffering in the world. The murder of three Christians is not such a…
-
In the Presence of Martyrs: A Reflection from Turkey
Dr. Mark Wilson of the Seven Churches Network attended the funeral of recently martyred Necati Aydin. He offers these reflections on the service. (HT: Ben Witherington) ______________________________ In the Presence of Martyrs: A Reflection from Turkey Recently Dindy [Mark’s wife] and I attended a funeral here in Izmir. I have attended many funerals, but this was my first in Turkey. And it was also the first time I attended the funeral of a martyr. I have been teaching and writing about martyrs and martyrdom for many years. We live in biblical Smyrna noted as the place where Polycarp was martyred in the second century. But such martyrdoms are personally and…
-
Another Clarification from Turkey
Dr. Darrell Bock of Dallas Theological Seminary has a report out of Turkey from persons that he says were very close to the events on the ground. This new letter is sent to correct some of the exaggerations that have circulated since the story of the martyrdoms broke. I cannot authenticate or verify the veracity of the letter. The name of the sender has been removed for security reasons. Here it is in its entirety:
-
Update from the Protestant Church at Smyrna
As I noted in my previous post, Smyrna (a.k.a. “Izmir”) was the hometown of one of the three martyrs from Turkey, Necati Aydin. The Protestant Church of Smyrna sent out a widely circulated letter describing the martyrdom of the three Christians in Malatya. The church has recently sent out another letter correcting inaccuracies in the first letter and reporting that at least three people have come to faith as a result of the testimony of the three men. Here is the letter in its entirety (HT: Peter Head):
-
Men of Whom the World Was Not Worthy (Part 2)
The three martyrs were buried in Turkey: Tilman Geske (46), Ugur Yuksel (32), and Necati Aydin (36). Necati (right) was the one reading the Bible when their martyrdom began. Reports say that he was stabbed multiple times during his three hour torture before his throat was finally cut. Necati was married and a father of two preschool aged children. The letter from the Protestant Church in Turkey offers this description of Necati’s funeral:
-
Voice of the Martyrs Revises Letter
I noticed last night a change on the Voice of the Martyrs website. The “graphic description” of the martyrdom of the three Turkish Christians had been removed from the “Letter to the Global Church from the Protestant Church of Smyrna.” From the beginning I was wondering how much of the story contained in this letter could be substantiated. That is why I contacted a religion reporter from The Dallas Morning News yesterday to see if the details could be confirmed. He wrote me back saying that he would look into the story. I had already sought to find independent confirmation of the details of the “graphic description.” Several news outlets…
-
Men of Whom the World Was Not Worthy
Ugur Yuksel Tilman Geske with his wife and three children Necati Aydin Two weeks ago, I saw a little story in the Associated Press about some Christians who were murdered in Turkey. The story was relatively non-descript. It briefly noted that three Christians had their throats cut by some Islamic radicals. The rest of the piece talked about how religious persecution might hurt Turkey’s bid to join the European Union. Little did I know then the horror and the glory of what really happened. On Wednesday April 18 many people in America were still focused on the aftermath of the massacre at Virginia Tech and had already moved on to…
-
From Dallas to Paris
I use Google Maps all the time. Not only do I use it when I want to look at satellite photos of the roof of my house, I also use it when I need directions. If I don’t know where I’m going, Google does. I can just type in the destination address, and presto. A map appears with detailed directions from my front door to wherever it is that I am going.
-
Passion: Hope for the Hokies
Louie Giglio’s “Passion” ministry has released an EP titled “Hope for the Hokies.” It’s a short compilation of worship songs meant to shoot a ray of hope into the lives of those who are grieving. The music is free, and you can download it at www.hopeforthehokies.com. Here are the songs: