Knowingly dying for something one knows to be false/lie.
1) Jonestown: Those who did commit suicide purely because Jones told them to is forever unknown - but watching your kids die and having to chose between swift poison and a bullet which might or might not be leaves a LOT of room for doubt about how many actually chose suicide in order to obey Jones. That said, those who did chose to obey Jones did so believing Jones to be some sort of prophet - they did not chose to die for a lie.
2) Black Friday Suicides: There were indeed people who committed suicide rather than face financial ruin. The reasons are complex - loss of security, loss of status, shame, inability to face loved ones, et al. One that is notably absent is committing suicide knowing that the reason was false. There's no evidence that any of the suicides that day would have occurred had they known the crash wasn't real or that their financial status wasn't as bad as they believed. They did not chose to die for a lie.
3) Samurai: This one is actually pathetic - a man who knows he is not dishonored doesn't commit suicide to restore what he hasn't lost. He might be led to believe his honor is lost when the facts would have proven otherwise - that's at least possible - but then he would have been committing suicide believing the lie, not in order to protect the lie. Even if we push credulity to the limit and assume he choses to protect his family/lord/whatever by taking the dishonor on himself and commits suicide he still isn't dying for the lie - but for loyalty. Only in Bizzaro World do the Apostles bear any resemblance to medieval samurai. Shy extreme circumstance, samurai don't die for a lie.
None of these examples parallel the lives of the Apostles who were martyred for their faith. The ten men who would certainly know if Jesus returned or not all chose death rather than deny Him - which makes no sense whatsoever if Christ did not rise from the dead.
1) Jonestown: Those who did commit suicide purely because Jones told them to is forever unknown - but watching your kids die and having to chose between swift poison and a bullet which might or might not be leaves a LOT of room for doubt about how many actually chose suicide in order to obey Jones. That said, those who did chose to obey Jones did so believing Jones to be some sort of prophet - they did not chose to die for a lie.
2) Black Friday Suicides: There were indeed people who committed suicide rather than face financial ruin. The reasons are complex - loss of security, loss of status, shame, inability to face loved ones, et al. One that is notably absent is committing suicide knowing that the reason was false. There's no evidence that any of the suicides that day would have occurred had they known the crash wasn't real or that their financial status wasn't as bad as they believed. They did not chose to die for a lie.
3) Samurai: This one is actually pathetic - a man who knows he is not dishonored doesn't commit suicide to restore what he hasn't lost. He might be led to believe his honor is lost when the facts would have proven otherwise - that's at least possible - but then he would have been committing suicide believing the lie, not in order to protect the lie. Even if we push credulity to the limit and assume he choses to protect his family/lord/whatever by taking the dishonor on himself and commits suicide he still isn't dying for the lie - but for loyalty. Only in Bizzaro World do the Apostles bear any resemblance to medieval samurai. Shy extreme circumstance, samurai don't die for a lie.
None of these examples parallel the lives of the Apostles who were martyred for their faith. The ten men who would certainly know if Jesus returned or not all chose death rather than deny Him - which makes no sense whatsoever if Christ did not rise from the dead.
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