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<blockquote data-quote="C-Note" data-source="post: 1534456" data-attributes="member: 9873">This reminds me of an incident in history that is similar in some ways.&nbsp; In the 17th century, the Japanese shogunate (the country&#039;s government) cracked down on Christianity.&nbsp; Religious leaders, both foreign and native, were expelled, exiled, or put to death.&nbsp; One tactic that was used was to dump rotting animal carcasses and feces into a pit, then hang Christians upside down in the pit until they renounced their faith.&nbsp; Once they renounced Christ, they were let go and allowed to live freely, although they were still watched.&nbsp; If they didn&#039;t, they were either eventually pulled back up and killed, or left to hang there until they died from vertical asphyxiation or dehydration.The Japanese Christians embraced martyrdom.&nbsp; There were few, if any, Japanese who renounced their faith.&nbsp; The record among the European missionaries and religious leaders in Japan was more mixed.&nbsp; Some held fast and died for their faith, but some broke.&nbsp; One of the European religious leaders in Japan (I don&#039;t remember his name and what country he was from), renounced his faith after hanging upside down in the cesspit about 45 minutes.&nbsp; He was immediately freed and lived the rest of his life in Japan without any further persecution, although he was watched to make sure he didn&#039;t go back on his renunciation.I wonder how he felt for the remaining years of his life, knowing that he was alive because he had rejected the very thing he had previously dedicated his life to?&nbsp; It seems to me that it must have been a living hell.</blockquote>

[QUOTE="C-Note, post: 1534456, member: 9873"] This reminds me of an incident in history that is similar in some ways. In the 17th century, the Japanese shogunate (the country's government) cracked down on Christianity. Religious leaders, both foreign and native, were expelled, exiled, or put to death. One tactic that was used was to dump rotting animal carcasses and feces into a pit, then hang Christians upside down in the pit until they renounced their faith. Once they renounced Christ, they were let go and allowed to live freely, although they were still watched. If they didn't, they were either eventually pulled back up and killed, or left to hang there until they died from vertical asphyxiation or dehydration. The Japanese Christians embraced martyrdom. There were few, if any, Japanese who renounced their faith. The record among the European missionaries and religious leaders in Japan was more mixed. Some held fast and died for their faith, but some broke. One of the European religious leaders in Japan (I don't remember his name and what country he was from), renounced his faith after hanging upside down in the cesspit about 45 minutes. He was immediately freed and lived the rest of his life in Japan without any further persecution, although he was watched to make sure he didn't go back on his renunciation. I wonder how he felt for the remaining years of his life, knowing that he was alive because he had rejected the very thing he had previously dedicated his life to? It seems to me that it must have been a living hell. [/QUOTE]

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