Writer's Blog

Friday, January 9, 2015

"Martyr" Defined


In light of too many recent and past horrific events. . .

Let’s take a minute here to get a couple of things straight.  According to the Merriam-Webster online dictionary:

1.  Martyr- a person who is killed or who suffers greatly for a religion, cause, etc.


2.  Religion - the belief in a god or in a group of gods.


3.  Cult - a small religious group that is not part of a larger and more accepted religion and that has beliefs regarded by many people as extreme or dangerous.

Why am I taking the time to define these three words?  Because there are too many ignorant people who do not understand these words and threaten to kill or actually do kill innocent men, women, and children.

A martyr is a person who suffers for their religion.  They do not create suffering for others.  If you intentionally cause another person to suffer, you are EVIL  plain and simple, as per every major religion in the world.

A religion is a belief in God, a god, or gods.  The tenets of all the major religions of the world (including the Muslim religion) all begin with some version of “Treat others as you would like to be treated” and “love one another.”  No single religion in the world orders people to go out and kill people just because they do not share your religion.  (Let’s put one other thing to rest:  The Quaran states that taking your own life or the life of another is a crime against Allah.  Maybe if some people actually READ the book, they’d know this.)

A cult is a bunch of people who have broken off from another religion and basically corrupts all the beauty and simple human kindness of the true religion.  A cult causes harm to themselves and others.  A cult is run by thoughtless individuals who only care about some delusion of glory that involves torturing and killing others.

If you believe that in order to get your religious beliefs across to others you have to kidnap innocent people, threaten the masses, and destroy things, then you are simply SICK.  You are not part of a loving, productive religion, you are perpetuating evil.

A true religion teaches people to love and respect one another.  A true religion teaches people to embrace our differences and learn from one another.  A martyr is someone who died holding on to the belief of what LOVE means, not hatred.

Now that we have this straight, I wish for nothing but a better life for everyone in the world.  Once we learn to be at peace with ourselves, we can find peace worldwide.  In the words of some of the world’s greatest religious leaders and books:

Love one another as I have loved you” –Jesus Christ
"What is hateful to yourself, do not do to your fellow man." -Talmud Shabbat .
“We are shaped by our thoughts; we become what we think. When the mind is pure, joy follows like a shadow that never leaves.” – The Buddah
“Indeed, Allah enjoins justice, and the doing of good to others; and giving like kindred; and forbids indecency, and manifest evil, and wrongful transgression.” –Al Quaran

Wishing you all peace – Laurie
Please check out my new novel  Luke Aloysius:  Bloodline on Amazon:


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