A attempt at a renewed outline... (notice Eliot has disappered!)

Martyrdom is an dramatisation of the Christian self-understanding. As such it highlights the dissonance between the Christian and non-Christian views of human freedom, fulfillment and meaning. In fact, Salman Rushdie articulates a very powerful stream of anti-religious sentiment within secular western culture which specifically targets that religious self-understanding that would result in a person's death like this. He accuses martyrs of a dishonest way of approaching death, of an inauthentic selfhood, of a hatred of pleasure and a denial of the goodness of the world, of self-interest and tribalism, of promoting social disorder and stifling human aspirations.

How might Christians respond to this vigorous critique and yet maintain their identity and witness as Christians? Well, a number of possible and tempting reconciliations are on offer. Martha Nussbaum suggests that Christians are too narrow and inflexible in their approach, and ought to broaden their moral sources. Richard Rorty appeals to us to hold our metaphysical commitments at arms length, especially in public. Roger Scruton appeals to duty to the national identity. Following these is more an accusation than a temptation: that martyrdom really just reveals how egotistical Christianity is and Christians are.
However none of these suggestions proves adequate to both....