Jesus Freaks Trivia Quiz

Answer: Someone who suffers for what they believe in, and eventually dies.

A martyr, by definition in English, is someone who would rather choose death than renounce their faith. Some may consider people who do this as heroes, while others would consider them to be fools. Either way, martyrs believed in something so much that they were prepared to lose their lives rather than giving up their beliefs, and you have to give them credit for that.

Answer: Love and pray for them.

The amazing thing is that even though these people may be hurting and wanting to kill you for having faith, Jesus says that we should love them, pray for them and forgive them. In some of the stories of martyrs, it's amazing to see how some of these people are more concerned about saving their torturers than their own lives.

Some of the Bible passages where we can find Jesus saying to do good to those who persecute are Matthew 5: 44 and Luke 23: 34.

Answer: Forced him to stand outside in the freezing cold.

The story of Ivan Moiseyev is an incredibly inspirational one. Private Ivan "Vanya" Moiseyev was a young man in the U.S.S.R in the 1970s. He had an incredibly strong faith in God, and Major Gidenko, who was head of the Political Directive Committee at the time, along with the rest of the Communists, were constantly attempting to "re-educate" him, and get him to adopt Communist teaching. Vanya was forced to stand in the street at night, in his summer uniform, at temperatures of -13 degrees celsius, and would only be allowed back in if he renounced his faith in Jesus. However, despite being submitted to tortures such as this, as well as being clothed in a rubber suit, into which air was pumped until he could scarcely breathe, Vanya's faith never wavered. In 1972, at the age of 20, Vanya realised that the Communists would kill him. He wrote the following letter home to his parents:

"My dear parents, the Lord has showed the way to me...and I have decided to follow it...I will now have more severe and bigger battles than I have had til now. But I do not fear them. He goes before me. Do not grieve for me, my dear parents. It is because I love Jesus more than myself. I listen to Him, though my body does fear somewhat or does not wish to go through everything. I do this because I do not value my life as much as I value Him. And I will not await my own will, but I will follow as the Lord leads. He says, Go, and I go.

"Do not become grieved if this is your son's last letter. Because I myself, when I see and hear visions, hear how angels speak and see, I am even amazed and cannot believe that Vanya, your son, talks with angels. He, Vanya, has also had sins and failings, but through sufferings the Lord has wiped them away. And he does not live as he wishes himself, but as the Lord wishes."
[http://www.angelfire.com/jazz/daveland/]

Vanya was killed a few days later. His story has remained an inspiration to people everywhere.

Answer: 15

Roy Pontoh was only 15 years old when he gave his life for his faith in Jesus. He and several other children from his church had been having a Bible camp, and their pastor had gone to the local military post in order to try and seek refuge for the children, as they were in a fairly dangerous area.

However, a mob found where the children were hiding, and pulled them out into the open, Roy being one of them. After receiving severe beatings, he was pulled away from the group, and asked, "Who are you?" to which he replied, "I am a soldier of God." Roy was killed with a machete, and according to eyewitnesses, his last word was "Jesus!"

Answer: He was stoned.

Little is known about the life of St. Stephen, but he is recognised as being the first Christian martyr, who was killed sometime between 34 and 35 A.D. In Acts 6-8:1, we are told of how Stephen was tried by the Sanhedrin for blasphemy against the laws of Moses, and eventually killed by an angry mob stoning him.

Interestingly, Saul of Tarsus, who would come to be known as Saint Paul, was one of those who encouraged the stoning of Stephen.

Answer: Peter

Although Peter's death and martydom is not directly mentioned in the Bible, it is mentioned in the writings of Hegesippus, one of the early Christian historians. In his old age, Peter went to Rome to preach Jesus and administer. Emperor Nero wished to have him executed, and so Peter fled.

However, as he was going out, he saw Jesus walking in the other direction. When Peter asked Him where He was going, Jesus replied, "I have come to be crucified again." Peter took this as being his time to die, as had been prophesied in John 21:19, and so returned to the city, shortly after which he was captured and sentenced to die.

He was to be crucified, but requested that he be so upside down, as he believed he was not worthy to be killed in the same way as his Lord.

The Romans honoured this request.

Answer: Scotland

Patrick Hamilton was born in 1527 to nobleman Sir Patrick Hamilton. According to some sources, while he was at the University of Marburg, Patrick Hamilton embraced the teachings of Martin Luther, and returned to Scotland to begin spreading the Word. However, he was arrested and tried as a heretic, and eventually burnt at the stake February 29, 1528, outside the entrance of St. Salvator's Chapel.

There is a marking there of his initials in the cobblestones.

Answer: John

John was the only one of the original twelve Apostles to die a peaceful death of old age (even though he was accordingly boiled in a large vat of oil - miraculously, he survived that.) Matthew and Bartholomew were both martyred by beheading, and Peter was crucified upside down in Rome.

Answer: The Columbine High School Tragedy, April 20, 1999

Cassie Bernall was a student at Columbine High School in 1999, and was one of the 15 people killed at the Columbine High School Massacre. According to some witnesses there, and to the book written by her mother, Misty Bernall ("She Said Yes: The Unlikely Martyrdom of Cassie Bernall,"), Cassie was allegedly asked whether she believed in God, to which she replied yes, and was shot thereafter.

However, there is still a lot of speculation and controversy around the death of Cassie Bernall. The official reports into the investigation concluded that exchange did not, in fact, take place. Several other eyewitnesses that day, when taken back to the scene, confirmed that the exchange did not take place, and that her shooter slammed his hand down on the desk under which Cassie was sitting, shouting "Peek-A-Boo," before killing her.

Answer: Richard Wurmbrand

"Voice of the Martyrs" was founded in 1967 by Richard Wurmbrand. Pastor Richard Wurmbrand was imprisoned in Romania for 14 years for his faith in Jesus Christ, and once he was released, he went to the United States with his wife, Sabina, where he founded "Voice of the Martyrs", which aims to aid persecuted Christians, and educate people of what others go through for their faith. Sadly, both Richard and Sabina passed away in 2001.

Special mention must be made of the book "Jesus Freaks", which is a book by the band DC Talk and "Voice of the Martyrs", which I used as a source for several of the questions in this quiz.

Thanks for playing. Hope you enjoyed it!