Evangelion

This is true. The Montanists in particular, were obsessed with martyrdom.

Tertullian (who left the church to become a Montanist himself) is famous for having written:

• The oftener we are mown down by you, the more in number we grow: the blood of Christians is seed [of the church].

One of my ancient history lecturers wittily observed that...

• ...the Montanists were highly aggressive martyrs. If you didn't make some sort of attempt to kill them, they'd practically force you to do so. Many people found this very intimidating, and probably killed them for no other reason than to get some relief from their harrassment.

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People demand freedom of speech as a compensation for the freedom of thought which they seldom use.
Søren Kierkegaard