'The examples of Jesus, Paul and Stephen shape Christian discipleship as a life in which suffering rejection is the likely norm. Christian discipleship is described as death to self and a taking on of a new life, in union with Jesus Christ. Union with Jesus Christ by faith creates a supreme bond of loyalty which is tested daily in the struggle against sin, the world, the Devil and even when put to the test of martyrdom transcends all other loyalties. Not surprisingly, Christian baptism is a symbol of the offering of the old self over to death, which is what every Christian does as an identification with Jesus Christ. It is a kind of proto-martyrdom, with its act of testimony to Christ and the renunciation of the world, the flesh and the Devil. The plunging into the water symbolises dying and then rising to new life.'
Michael Jensen, Martyrdom and Identity: The Self on Trial, p.5.
