Martyrdom: Self-Denial or Self-Exaltation? Motives for Self-Sacrifice from Homer to Polycarp a Theological Reflection
This article explores the theological understandings of martyrdom in the second century and how they might serve as a response to Nietzsche's critique that Christian martyrdom is not self-abnegation but a self-deluded assertion of the will to power. In reply to this objection, the article focus...
| Main Author: | |
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| Format: | Electronic Article |
| Language: | English |
| Check availability: | HBZ Gateway |
| Interlibrary Loan: | Interlibrary Loan for the Fachinformationsdienste (Specialized Information Services in Germany) |
| Published: |
2006
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| In: |
Modern theology
Year: 2006, Volume: 22, Issue: 2, Pages: 169-196 |
| Online Access: |
Volltext (lizenzpflichtig) Volltext (lizenzpflichtig) |
| Parallel Edition: | Non-electronic
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| Summary: | This article explores the theological understandings of martyrdom in the second century and how they might serve as a response to Nietzsche's critique that Christian martyrdom is not self-abnegation but a self-deluded assertion of the will to power. In reply to this objection, the article focuses on the early church's self-conscious concern for the proper and improper forms of martyrdom as depicted in the Martyrdom of Polycarp. By contrasting the depiction of Polycarp's martyrdom "according to the gospel" with classical views of self-sacrifice in Homer's Iliad and Aristotle's Nicomachean Ethics, it will show how martyrdom, contra Nietzsche, can be an act of true self-denial. |
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| ISSN: | 1468-0025 |
| Contains: | Enthalten in: Modern theology
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| Persistent identifiers: | DOI: 10.1111/j.1468-0025.2006.00314.x |
