What Would You Die For?

Youcef Nadarkhani

Just about every Thursday morning I meet with a group of anywhere between 12-24 local pastors for a prayer meeting. We pray for each other, and our churches and whatever concerns or issues we are facing. This week, one of the pastors brought up this guy (who I hadn't heard of) in Iran who is facing execution because he will not recant his Christian faith. His name is Youcef Nadarkhani. This pastor was found guilty of apostasy last year, and the conviction has been upheld by the Iranian Supreme Court. If carried out, the execution would mark the first time since 1990 that an Iranian pastor was killed for his Christian faith.

One of the other pastors in our group asked a question that has been stuck in my mind since.  He said that he had been wondering, since he heard about this, what he would do if he were in Youcef's shoes.  He admitted that he didn't know.  He's married, has a couple of kids and, well, like most of us, wants to live.  I've been pondering that same thing.  It's easy to say that I wouldn't recant my faith, but it's a lot harder to do, I bet, when you are facing a very real death.  By hanging.  All this guy has to do is say he doesn't believe Jesus was the Messiah and that Islam is the one true religion and "go back" to the faith of his childhood and he can go home to his wife and kids.  Thats it.

Yet he refuses to.  I'm not sure I could do that.  I think I would try to come up with a "recant, then repent (after I'd left the country)" kind of plan.

The whole thing reminds me of a Christian apologetic (or defense) about Jesus' resurrection.  When the question of "how do we know Jesus really rose from the dead?" comes up, one of the answers given is to look at the evidence of the 12 Disciples.  Eleven of the twelve disciples died pretty horrible deaths because they would not recant their belief that Jesus was the Messiah and that he rose from the dead.  I've got a list below - but first, some clarification.  The difference between them and Youcef is that Youcef might die for a belief.  He believes that Christ is the Messiah and refuses to recant that.  The disciples didn't have to believe... they knew.  If the whole thing was a fake and they were just going around making up stories about the resurrection, I can't see them all dying for it.  Scripture and tradition tells us that many of these guys had families just like me, my pastor friend and Youcef.  I might die for something I believed in, but I know I wouldn't die for something I knew was a lie.

So the question comes up... what would you die for?

The Disciple's Deaths:

The Martyrdom of Peter

1. Peter: crucified upside down under the reign of Nero
2. Andrew: crucified in Achaia
3. John: died a natural death at Ephesus (the only one to die a natural death, although he was boiled in oil at one point...)
4. James: beheaded by Herod in Judea
5. Philip: crucified
6. Bartholomew: crucified upside down in India
7. Matthew: arrested in Ethiopia and nailed to the ground with spears, then beheaded with a sword
8. Thomas: killed by a spear in India
9. James son of Alphaeus: stoned to death in Jerusalem
10. Thaddeus/Jude: crucified
11. Simon the Zealot: crucified
12. Matthias (Judas' successor): was stoned and then beheaded