Martyrdom and Identity The Self on Trial

What does Christian martyrdom tell us about being a self? I argue that Christian martyrdom provides a coherent and compelling narration of the self in terms of the narrative of the life and death of Jesus Christ: a narrative that orients the self in hope towards the good and turns the self towards recognition of and sacrificial service of other selves. In conversation with writers such as Salman Rushdie and Charles Taylor and prompted by T.S. Eliot's Murder in the Cathedral, I show that Christian discipleship is not the path of establishing oneself securely, or pursuing the good made possible through collaboration with earthly power, or making oneself an identity through action according to some ideal, or seeking earthly or heavenly renown, but is rather narrated in the light of the experience of pierasmos (temptation/testing) and with reference to God's providence.

<div><span lang="EN-US">1. Introduction<span style="display: none;"><span> </span></span></span><br/><p style="text-indent: 36pt;" class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US">a. ‘I wish to be what I am'.<span style="display: none;"><span> </span></span></span></p><br/><p style="text-indent: 36pt;" class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US">b. martyrdom and Christian identity - the basis of the link</span></p><br/><p style="text-indent: 36pt;" class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US">c. ‘identity' and ‘the self'<span style="display: none;"><span> </span></span></span></p><br/><p style="text-indent: 36pt;" class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US">d. <span> </span>outline<span style="display: none;"><span> </span></span></span></p><br/><p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US">2. ‘What Kind of Idea Are You?' Martyrdom and Identity in Charles Taylor and in Salman Rushdie's The Satanic Verses<span style="display: none;"><span> </span></span></span></p><br/><p style="text-indent: 36pt;" class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US">a. introduction<span style="display: none;"><span> </span></span></span></p><br/><p style="text-indent: 36pt;" class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US">b. Charles Taylor and Authenticity</span></p><br/><p style="text-indent: 36pt;" class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US">c. Salman Rushdie's The Satanic Verses<span style="display: none;"><span> </span></span></span></p><br/><p style="text-indent: 36pt;" class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US">d. Conclusion<span style="display: none;"><span> </span><o:p /></span></span></p><br/><p style="text-indent: 36pt;" class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US"><o:p> </o:p></span></p><br/><p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US">3. The First Temptation: The Temptation to Security and the Risk of Martyrdom<span style="display: none;"><span> </span></span></span></p><br/><p style="text-indent: 36pt;" class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US">a. introduction<span style="display: none;"><span> </span></span></span></p><br/><p style="text-indent: 36pt;" class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US">b. Scripture and the martyrs<span style="display: none;"><span> </span></span></span></p><br/><p style="text-indent: 36pt;" class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US">c. the first temptation<span style="display: none;"><span> </span></span></span></p><br/><p style="text-indent: 36pt;" class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US">d. Martha C. Nussbaum, the Greeks and luck</span></p><br/><p style="text-indent: 36pt;" class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US">e. the martyr and the ‘good' life</span></p><br/><p style="text-indent: 36pt;" class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US">f. The martyr looking forward<span style="display: none;"><span> </span><o:p /></span></span></p><br/><p style="text-indent: 36pt;" class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US"><o:p> </o:p></span></p><br/><p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US">4. The Second Temptation: The Temptation to Collaborate and the Mission of the Martyrs<span style="display: none;"><span> </span></span></span></p><br/><p style="text-indent: 36pt;" class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US">a. introduction<span style="display: none;"><span> </span></span></span></p><br/><p style="text-indent: 36pt;" class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US">b. the seecond temptation</span></p><br/><p style="text-indent: 36pt;" class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US">c. Richard Rorty and pragmatism<span style="display: none;"><span> </span></span></span></p><br/><p style="text-indent: 36pt;" class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US">d. the martyr, power and authority<span style="display: none;"><span> </span></span></span></p><br/><p style=&quott;text-indent: 36pt;" class=&a