Flirtin’ With Disaster

Sometimes even little things can feel like big risks to me. For example, if I think about travelling to other parts of the world, I tend to consider the possibility of things going badly wrong, so it puts me off travelling. But I enjoy armchair travelling. I’ve been to some lovely places in real life. I remember watching a TV show about the history of South London a few years ago. It featured a lady who’d never been north of the River Thames 🙂. And many years ago, I heard of people in the black valley in Killarney, here in Ireland, who’d never travelled outside the valley. People are much more mobile nowadays. Maybe I’ll get a strong yearning to go somewhere scary at some stage.

Something that I’ve slightly considered all my life is starting my own business. But again, would I really like to take the risk? Or, to consider something very mundane, I sometimes think of having work done on the house. I hear so many stories of builders exploiting people that it puts me off. I suppose the answer to that is to ask around and discover if there are honest builders or roof repair guys in existence. Here’s an idea – create a website for your town, listing the honest roofers and builders. It should be very cheap. You won’t need a lot of space 🙂.

Anyway, how do I link all this in with music? It’s such a pity that some of the most exciting and likeable artists have messed up their lives so much. Many years ago, I remember Thin Lizzy’s lead singer describing how he was prone to live on the edge. Only this morning, I was looking up songs of 1979, and I came across this track by Thin Lizzy.

But not all rock stars live self-destructive lives. I’m tempted to list examples of sensible types, but maybe you might know more about them than I do 🙂. The reality is that it’s often the case that people who have the ability to accomplish great things are prone to great temptations too. You even sometimes get that on the Christian scene, where someone who begins a very influential church becomes the subject of a huge scandal.

But then, you do get some wonderful examples of people who died for the faith. There’s nothing great about seeking to be a martyr. You could be someone who genuinely loved God and was murdered for simply translating the Bible into English. Or you could be a suicide bomber, hell-bent on destroying lives, thinking that you’ll be rewarded in heaven for being a martyr. But here are some noble examples of people who risked all for Christ. I asked Microsoft Copilot for 10 examples.

William Tyndale (1494–1536)

• Translated the Bible into English directly from Hebrew and Greek
• Executed by strangulation and burned at the stake in Belgium for heresy

John Huss (c. 1369–1415)

• Early reformer who promoted access to Scripture in the vernacular
• Burned at the stake for challenging church authority

Adoniram Judson (1788–1850)

• Missionary to Burma who translated the Bible into Burmese
• Imprisoned and tortured during his ministry; died from illness shortly after completing his work

Jim Elliot (1927–1956)

• Missionary to the Huaorani people in Ecuador
• Speared to death along with four others while attempting peaceful contact

John Allen Chau (1991–2018)

• American missionary killed by the Sentinelese tribe while attempting to share the gospel on North Sentinel Island

David and Natalie Lloyd (d. 2024)

• Missionary couple martyred in Haiti while serving in a gospel outreach

Perpetua and Felicity (203 AD)

• Young mothers and Christian converts
• Mauled by wild animals and executed in Carthage

Stephen (1st century)

• Recognized as the first Christian martyr
• Stoned to death for preaching about Jesus in Jerusalem

The peculiar thing is that some of these were murdered by nominal “Christians.” It wasn’t just Roman Catholics, some Protestants killed heretics too. But I would think that many Catholics and Protestants, even at the time, were appalled that people were murdered in the name of Christianity, in the way that many Muslims would be appalled at murders carried out in the name of Islam today.

Following the Reformation, tens of thousands died in broader conflicts like the French Wars of Religion and the Thirty Years’ War. There’s no New Testament justification for this sort of behaviour. We are asked to avoid heretics, not kill them. Christians still argue but now, thankfully, they do it on YouTube 🙂.

When Stephen was martyred, Saul of Tarsus was standing there minding the coats of those who dragged him out of the city to stone him. And Saul became the greatest persecutor of the early church. But then, in Acts 9, we read about his conversion. After that he became the main apostle and the writer of most of the New Testament epistles. And he was certainly a risk taker. In 2 Corinthians, he reluctantly describes what he endured for Christ. He was eventually beheaded in the time of Nero.

2 Cor 11:23-29
²³ Are they servants of Christ? (I am out of my mind to talk like this.) I am more. I have worked much harder, been in prison more frequently, been flogged more severely, and been exposed to death again and again. ²⁴ Five times I received from the Jews the forty lashes minus one. ²⁵ Three times I was beaten with rods, once I was pelted with stones, three times I was shipwrecked, I spent a night and a day in the open sea, ²⁶ I have been constantly on the move. I have been in danger from rivers, in danger from bandits, in danger from my fellow Jews, in danger from Gentiles; in danger in the city, in danger in the country, in danger at sea; and in danger from false believers. ²⁷ I have labored and toiled and have often gone without sleep; I have known hunger and thirst and have often gone without food; I have been cold and naked. ²⁸ Besides everything else, I face daily the pressure of my concern for all the churches. ²⁹ Who is weak, and I do not feel weak? Who is led into sin, and I do not inwardly burn?