# Martyrs vs martyrs **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [June 19, 2002, 5:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/martyrs-vs-martyrs/114812 "2002-06-19T05:25:35Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 8\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![justwannano](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/7ab992/32.png) [@justwannano](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/justwannano)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2002, 5:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/martyrs-vs-martyrs/114812/1 "2002-06-19T05:25:35Z")
Growing up catholic I have/had a certain reverence toward anyone called a martyr. Until now. The happenings in the mideast has cheapened the word ,and turned it into something I just don’t understand. Is there another word that can be used to sort of reinstall the old feelings that martyrs are the saintly type people I felt such reverence for? ---
**Author:** ![friedo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/8edcca/32.png) [@friedo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/friedo)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2002, 6:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/martyrs-vs-martyrs/114812/2 "2002-06-19T06:49:40Z")
Well, martyrs don’t commit suicide, for one. ---
**Author:** ![Captain\_Amazing](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/6de8d8/32.png) [@Captain\_Amazing](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Captain_Amazing)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2002, 12:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/martyrs-vs-martyrs/114812/3 "2002-06-19T12:23:14Z")
They can. There were all those famous “virgin martyrs” in the Catholic faith, who jumped into fires or out windows or whatever to avoid being raped. ---
**Author:** ![UDS](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/ecae2f/32.png) [@UDS](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UDS)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2002, 12:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/martyrs-vs-martyrs/114812/4 "2002-06-19T12:31:47Z")
Probably a better distinguishing feature is that martyrs don’t generally kill other people. ---
**Author:** ![smiling\_bandit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e9a140/32.png) [@smiling\_bandit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/smiling_bandit)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2002, 12:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/martyrs-vs-martyrs/114812/5 "2002-06-19T12:44:07Z")
Yeah, Ito my knowledge all the martyrs in Roman days were martyrs because they allowed themselves to die for their faith without complaint (although I’m sure a few screams of agony were OK), not because they took the war to the enemy. ---
**Author:** ![refusal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/ac91a4/32.png) [@refusal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/refusal)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2002, 3:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/martyrs-vs-martyrs/114812/6 "2002-06-19T15:08:10Z")
In medieval times a number of Popes, including John VIII, made proclamations that anyone who died in battle defending the church would be accounted a Christian martyr and would be correspondingly rewarded in Heaven. Reference: [http://www.geocities.com/Athens/Oracle/2793/theo-5.html](http://www.geocities.com/Athens/Oracle/2793/theo-5.html) quoting Roman Catholic historian Paul Johnson. ---
**Author:** ![curwin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f05b48/32.png) [@curwin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/curwin)\ **Post date:** [June 20, 2002, 1:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/martyrs-vs-martyrs/114812/7 "2002-06-20T13:33:50Z")
The Arabic word commonly used for these murderers is “shahid”. I think that translates better into “holy one” than martyr. ---
**Author:** ![curwin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f05b48/32.png) [@curwin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/curwin)\ **Post date:** [June 20, 2002, 1:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/martyrs-vs-martyrs/114812/8 "2002-06-20T13:41:30Z")
The Arabic word commonly used for these murderers is “shahid”. I think that translates better into “holy one” than martyr.