Why do religious people choose paths that lead to their deaths as martyrs? Why do some who are killed for their faith become known and revered while others do not? Gail Streete asks these important and disturbing questions in the context of early Christianity, looking at the stories of martyred women such as Thecla, Perpetua, and Felicitas– women whose stories helped shape Christian faith for centuries, yet are all but forgotten in the modern world. Streete reclaims these stories and relates them to tragic instances of martyrdom in our own world, pulling from stories as diverse as the victims of Columbine and female suicide attackers in the Muslim world. What do their deaths mean, and why do we find their stories so moving?
Gail P. C. Streete is W. J. Millard Professor and Chair of the Department of Religious Studies at Rhodes College in Memphis, Tennessee. Her books include The Strange Woman: Power and Sex in the Bible and Her Image of Salvation: Female Saviors and Formative Christianity, both available from WJK.