Beyond Belief: What the Martyrs Said to God

As Madeline L'Engle writes in the afterword, "There is a tendancy today for Chirstians to seek to condemn other Christians and to read books not looking for love and courage, but looking for ugliness and Satan. ... As Christians, we must look for Chirst, and for love." I think many books written about Christianity are unnecessarily judgmental. Whether Jewish or Chirstian, the authors of the book give a brief synopsis of the life of each martyr followed by a prayer of writing during his/her life. It is difficult not to find the book inspirational. Included in the book are the earliest martyrs such as Stephen and Justin all the way through more modern martyrs such as Oscar Romero and Dietrich Bonhoeffer. Because of the format of the book, it is best read page by page only reading about a few martyrs each day. This will allow the reader to appreicate those who gave their life for Christ.