Being a witness has two sides: it is public affirmation in word and life of the lordship of Jesus, and it is public resistance in word and life to the way of the dragon embodied in Babylon. Eugene Peterson observes that for the first three hundred years of the church, the most important image for a Christian was a martyr. To our shame today, the most popular and resonant images among Christians in the United States are athletes, millionaires, and movie stars. Oy!
