Middleton, Paul2015-02-252015-02-252015-07-09Noble death or death cult: Pagan criticism of early Christian martyrdom. In O. Lehtipuu, & M. Labahn (Eds.), People under power: Early Jewish and Christian responses to the Roman power empire (Amsterdam University Press, 2015), pp. 207–229.9789089645890http://hdl.handle.net/10034/345292Suffering and persecution forms an almost ubiquitous backdrop to most of the documents which make up the New Testament. From St Paul onwards, suffering was regarded not as an unfortunate necessity, but as a mark of true discipleship.enmartyrdomearly ChristianityBook chapter