The story of our Christianity; an account of the struggles, persecutions, wars, and victories of Christians of all times . lesh, and of un-natural vices, such as are not fitto be mentioned or imagined, andousrht not to be believed of man- o kind. At this all were incensedeven to madness, so that ourrelatives and former friendsraged against us. Now was ourLords word fulfilled, Whoso-ever killeth you will think hedoeth God service. The holy martyrs nowendured tortures beyond descrip-tion ; Satan laboring by thismeans to extort slanders uponthe faith. The whole fury ofthe multitude, the governor,
The story of our Christianity; an account of the struggles, persecutions, wars, and victories of Christians of all times . lesh, and of un-natural vices, such as are not fitto be mentioned or imagined, andousrht not to be believed of man- o kind. At this all were incensedeven to madness, so that ourrelatives and former friendsraged against us. Now was ourLords word fulfilled, Whoso-ever killeth you will think hedoeth God service. The holy martyrs nowendured tortures beyond descrip-tion ; Satan laboring by thismeans to extort slanders uponthe faith. The whole fury ofthe multitude, the governor, andthe soldiers was spent especiallyon Sanctus of Vienna, the deacon;on Maturus, a late convert, but amighty wrestler in the spirit; onAttalus of Pergamus, a man whohad always been the pillar andsupport of our Church; andlastly, on Blandina, in whom Christ showed that things which appear con-temptible to men are most honorable before God, through love to His name,exhibited in real energy, and not in boasting and pretence. For while we allfeared,—and in particular her mistress in the flesh, herself one of the noble. STAIRCASE IN THS PALACE OF CALIGULA. no THE STORY OF OUR CHRISTIANITY. army of martyrs,—that she would not be able to witness a good confession, becauseof the weakness of her frame, Blandina [a slave] was endued with such fortitude,that those who successively tortured her from morniug to night were worn outwith fatigue, and avowed themselves conquered, and their apparatus of tormentexhausted. These were amazed to see her still breathing, while her body wastorn and laid open ; they said that any single species of the torture would havebeen sufficient to dispatch her, much more so great a variety as had been the blessed woman, like a generous wrestler, gained fresh vigor in the act ofconfession ; and it was evidently a refreshment, a support, and an annihilation ofall her pains to say, I am a Christian, and no evil is committed among us. Meantime the i
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Keywords: ., bookcentury1800, bookdecade1890, booksubjectchurchhistory, bookye
