Divine Deliverance

Does martyrdom hurt? The obvious answer to this question is &ldquo;yes.&rdquo; L. Stephanie Cobb, asserts, however, that early Christian martyr texts respond to this question with an emphatic &ldquo;no!&rdquo; <I>Divine Deliverance </I>examines the original martyr texts of the second through fifth centuries, concluding that these narratives in fact seek to demonstrate the Christian martyrs&rsquo; imperviousness to pain. For these martyrs, God was present with, and within, the martyrs, delivering them from pain. These martyrs&rsquo; claims not to feel pain define and redefine Christianity in the ancient world: whereas Christians did not deny the reality of their subjection to state violence, they argued that they were not ultimately vulnerable to its painful effects.