Would You Let Your Father Be Beaten Rather Than Denounce Christianity?
When Yeshua/Jesus stated that one who loves one’s father and mother more than him, or loves one’s sisters and brothers more than him is not worthy of him, a story related by Tertullian and found in Elaine Pagels’ book Beyond Belief: The Secret Gospel of Thomas, offers a graphic example of what he meant. In the year 202 an aristocratic young woman named Vibia Perpetua, who lived in Carthage, resolved to undergo baptism with four other young people, two of which were slaves. Married and with an... Sign in to see full entry.