Better to Die for Your Beliefs or Lie to Save Your Life Essay

I believe that it is better to die for what you believe rather than to lie to save your own life. Many people have died for their beliefs. There are martyrs from all over the world, and they were not afraid to stand up for what they believed in, even if it meant losing their lives. Those people have gone down in history, and are respected by many. Joan of Arc was burned at the stake at the age of 19 for believing that her visions were from God. The English leaders tried to force her to deny that God had spoken to her, but she refused. She went down in history as a great martyr and she is still today and perfect example of standing up for what you believe in. Another great martyr was St. Stephen, who was accused of blasphemy against Moses and God. St. Stephen was stoned to death by an angry mob, and he claimed to have seen God the Father and God the Son right before he died. He was considered the first Christian martyr. As well as there has been martyrs in the world, there has also been people that lied to save their life. In the Bible, Peter was recognized as one of Jesus’ followers, and was questioned in the public. As the crowd became more suspicious, Peter denied Jesus three times. He was too worried about his own life that he took the easy way out. After he denied him, he realized what he had done and the guilt almost destroyed him. Later in his life he returned and admitted to their accusations, and was crucified upside-down. In the story The Crucible, many teenage girls are accused of witchcraft, which in Puritan society the punishment is death. To save their own lives, they take the spotlight off themselves and begin to blame other women in their society for their own selfish gain. They were cowards and lived in lies, making innocent people suffer. All over the world there are people being persecuted for their own personal beliefs. The people â€Å"in charge† decide what they want everyone else to believe, and they enforce it with harsh punishments or even death. Martyrdom is not necessarily dying for spiritual beliefs; it is dying for anything you believe in. People everywhere are mistreated because of their religious beliefs, their political preference, or the color of their skin. Over time there have been leaders who have tried to make their â€Å"perfect race,† but what would this world be without diversity? No one should be able to decide what is the correct belief or the right way to live life. Everyone is different. But unfortunately there are leaders and people who believe they have the right to decide these things, so it is very important to have a good understand of what your personal beliefs are. It is very important to be willing to stand up for what you personally believe in, even if it may cost you something as great as your own life.