GO DOWN SWINGING NOT SINGING!
Many many many early African Christians were martyred in Roman coliseums. These were the first fruits of the faith, who refused to fight even to defend themselves.
What a difference the example of their lives may have had on us, had these tens of thousands of early zealous Christians, but resisted the wicked bloody Romans, with arms, rather than to suffer themselves to be objects of amusement at Roman circuses, bodies being meekly torn to shreds by wild beasts and deftly slain by gladiatorial-executioners?
We will now never know!
But, as I reflect upon these ancient African martyrs of the earliest Christian faith, those of whom the eloquent African scribe-theologian, Tertullian, valiantly wrote in his 2nd century classic, THE APOLOGY, I cannot help but think that were the twin options presented to me, that I would have rather preferred being a martyred hero, rather than to be a heroic martyr. Stated colloquially, in sum, I would much rather to go down swinging rather than singing!
Amen 🙏