In Christian tradition the martyr, man or woman, was honored for holding the faith as being of higher value than life itself. However, in the field of psychology, martyrs may not be seen as models for modern people. Some psychologically oriented studies on Christian martyrdom suggest that the underlying motivations of early martyrs are more complicated than previously thought. Some authors argue that early martyrs were people with psychological problems, and that they might be abuse victims, neurotics, or suicidal. But how true is this picture? This article critically reviews literature on Christian martyrdom, comments on approaches and presuppositions, and suggests that research methodology on martyrdom should (a) consider psychology in context, (b) incorporate psychology of meaning, and (c) adopt a new model of psychology of religion. Christian scholars are urged to do research on this topic so as to retrieve the legacy of Christian faith.
Get full access to this article
View all access options for this article.
References
1.
BaumeisterR. F. (1991). Meaning of Life.New York: Guilford Press.
2.
BoffL. (1983). Martyrdom: An attempt at systematic reflection. Concilium, 163, 12–17.
3.
BradfordD. T. (1990). Early Christian martyrdom and the psychology of depression, suicide, and bodily mutilation. Psychotherapy, 27, 30–41.
4.
CollinsG. R. (1977). The rebuilding of psychology: An integration of psychology and Christianity.Wheaton, IL: Tyndale.
5.
DardenneM. (1993, Fall). Contemplative psychology: Building a framework. Christian Spirituality Bulletin, 1, 20–23.
6.
DayW. F. (1984). A behaviorist looks at the surviving work of Justin Martyr. Behaviorism, 12, 111–116.
7.
De WitH. F. (1985). On contemplative psychology. In Van BelzenJ. A., & Van Der LansJ. M. (Eds.), Current issues in the psychology of religion: Proceedings of the Third Symposium on the Psychology of Religion in Europe (pp. 82–89).
8.
De WitH. F. (1991). Contemplative psychology.Pittsburgh, PA: Duquesne University Press.
9.
De WitH. F. (1993, Fall). Contemplative psychology: Uncovering the field. Christian Spirituality Bulletin, 1, 23–25.
10.
FranklV. E. (1960). The will to meaning.New York: World.
11.
FranklV. E. (1963). Man's search for meaning.New York: Washington Square Press.
12.
FranklV. E. (1973). The doctor and the soul.New York: Random House.
13.
FreudS. (1939). Moses and monotheism (K. Jones, Trans.). London: Hogarth Press/Institute of Psychoanalysis.
14.
FreudS. (1961a). Civilization and its discontents.New York: Norton. (Original work published 1930)
15.
FreudS. (1961b). The future of an illusion.New York: Norton. (Original work published 1927)
16.
HamonS. A. (1977). Beyond self-actualization: Comments on the life and death of Stephen the martyr. Journal of Psychology and Theology, 5, 292–299.
17.
HeymanS. R. (1991). The self-righteous patient: Three patients and related therapeutic issues. Psychotherapy-Patient, 7, 83–94.
18.
HinsonE. G. (1993). Women among the martyrs. In LivingstoneE. A. (Ed.), Studia Patristica, Vol. 25: Papers presented at the Eleventh International Conference on Patristic Studies held in Oxford 1991 (pp. 423–428). Leuven, Belgium: Peeters Press.
19.
HoggJ. A., & FrankM. L. (1992). Toward an interpersonal model of codependence and contradependence. Journal of Counseling and Development, 70, 371–375.
20.
HoltB. P. (1993). Thirsty for God: A brief history of Christian spirituality.Minneapolis, MN: Augsburg.
21.
LefkowitzM. R. (1976). The motivations for St. Perpetua's martyrdom. Journal of the American Academy of Religion, 44, 417–421.
22.
LesbaupinI. (1987). Blessed are the persecuted: Christian life in the Roman Empire, A.D. 64–313 (R. Barr, Trans.). Maryknoll, NY: Orbis.
23.
MennigerK. (1938). Man against himself.New York: Harcourt, Brace, & World.
MoneyJ. (1981). Paraphilia and abuse-martyrdom: Exhibitionism as a paradigm for reciprocal couple counseling combined with antiandrogen. Journal of Sex and Marital Therapy, 7, 115–123.
26.
MounteerC. A. (1981). Guilt, martyrdom and monasticism. Journal of Psychohistory, 9, 145–171.
27.
MusurilloH. (Ed.). (1972). The acts of the Christian martyrs.London: Oxford University Press.
28.
OatesW. E. (1963). The religious dimensions of personality.New York: Association Press.
29.
RahnerK. (1961). On the theology of death.New York: Herder & Herder.
30.
RoussellB. (1973). An inquiry into meaning and truth.Harmondsworth: Penguin Books.
31.
RousselleR. (1987). The dream of Vibia Perpetua: Analysis of a female Christian martyr. Journal of Psychotherapy, 14, 193–206.
32.
SchaffP., & WaceH. (Eds.). (1957). Life of Antony. Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers of the Christian Church. Vol. IV. St. Athanasius: Select works and letters.Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans.
33.
ScottJ. S. (1995). Christians and tyrants: The prison testimonies of Boethius, Thomas More and Dietrich Bonhoeffer.New York: Peter Lang.
34.
SteinH. (1978). Judaism and the group-fantasy of martyrdom: The psychodynamic paradox of survival through persecution. Journal of Psychohistory, 6, 151–210.
35.
SzalutaJ. (1980). Apotheosis to ignominy: The martyrdom of Marshal Petain. Journal of Psychohistory, 7, 415–453.
36.
ThomasL. F. (1985). Self-organized learning: Foundations of a conversational science for psychology.London, Boston: Routledge & Kegan Paul.
37.
VargaM. P. (1989). Analyzing the characterological roots of madness. Issues in Ego Psychology, 12, 50–54.
38.
Von FranzM. (1980). The passion of Perpetua (E. Welsh, Trans.). Dallas: Spring Publications.
39.
WagnerW. H. (1994). After the apostles: Christianity in the second century.Minneapolis, MN: Fortress.
