- well-written, age-appropriate, historically accurate stories of Christians persecuted for their Christian faith
- ordered chronologically, from “Early Church” to “Recent Times,” and separated by theme
- convo: brief occasional mentions of: martyrs, torture, massacres, drownings, knocking children & elderly senseless, poisoning, burning at the stake, pipe smoking, beer
- includes further reading suggestions
Type: biographical chapter book
Ages: 9+*
Author: Richard Hannula
Illustrator: Marcus Mashburn
*If this is a family read-aloud, it would be pretty easy to replace the maltreatment mentions and allow younger ages to hear most of each story.
Some of the above conversation points may be hard to stomach, but, due to the brevity of the stories (~4-6 pages each), the author does not go into detail. (The main exception is Richard Wurmbrand, the last chapter. Some of his torture types are described.) Not all of these biographical sketches are of martyrs, but each give modern Christians a boost of encouragement in their own faith trials. Hannula says in the introduction:
“If we do not know about our Christian forebearers, we cannot draw inspiration and encouragement from their lives nor praise God for His grace and power at work in them.”
The men and women cross the spectrum of denominations and confessions, so every reader will definitely have some they disagree with on certain theological points. Occasionally the author points out unbiblical beliefs, and I still encourage you to read it. Read these accounts of our Christian family’s history. Praise God for how His glory shone and shines through man’s faith and perseverance. And may your own walk be as strong as theirs!