Martyrdom, at least the modern strap-on-bombs-and-blow-yourself-up-in-public-place version of it is not martyrdom at all. It is murder. Martyrdom is not the expression of angry young men with an obsession with vengeance and virgins, it is the culmination of persistent persecution. Perpetua, a valiant young woman who lived in the third century AD, was killed by the Roman authorities who wished to eradicate the new Christ following cult that was springing up in their imperial territories. She did not walk into a Roman governor’s office and start swinging a sword, she was given an ultimatum – denounce your faith, or die. Perpetua chose death rather than bow to an idol. She…