Cassie's mom calls
teen girl unlikely martyr
___By Kevin Eckstrom
___Religion News Service
___LITTLETON, Colo. (RNS)--In the wake of the killings at Columbine High School in Littleton, Colo., on April 20, Cassie Bernall emerged a modern martyr. When gunmen Dylan Klebold and Eric Harris stormed into the school library, they reportedly pointed a gun at Bernall's head and asked her if she believed in God.
___She is said to have replied with a simple "yes." Moments later, she was dead. Her death resonated with an entire generation of evangelical youths.
___Chances are, though, Cassie Bernall would have been the last to assume the martyr's mantle. Her faith, while well-known, was private, and she frequently questioned her own devotion and yearned to be closer to God. Sometimes she was tempted to return to her old lifestyle, which was easier, more comfortable.
___Her mother, Misty, details why Cassie's near deification was so unexpected in her new book released this month, "She Said Yes: The Unlikely Martyrdom of Cassie Bernall."
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Some teens hoping to be martyrs
___By Todd Svanoe &
___Greg Warner
___Associated Baptist Press
___MADISON, Wis. (ABP)--Tina Leonard sat quietly while her English literature classmates talked about the teenagers killed a day earlier in a Fort Worth church. In her heart, she guarded the secret she had carried for months.
___"God has laid it on my heart that I am going to be martyred," she later confided to friends.
___Tina, 16, thought it would sound crazy to her friends. She was surprised to find them unfazed by the idea. "When I told one of my friends, he said: 'That's awesome. I wish that could happen to me.'"
___Such thoughts shock parents and even some psychologists. But others say the popularity of martyrdom may be on the rise among Christian teens fervent about their faith and sober to the reality of violence today.
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Tragedy propels
witness onto airwaves
___By Dan Martin
___Texas Baptist Communications
___FORT WORTH--The virtually non-stop news coverage of the shooting at Wedgwood Baptist Church seemed to produce an unlikely result--the most straightforward, unfiltered presentation of the Christian gospel in the secular media some observers can recall.
___From Pastor Al Meredith's appearance on "Larry King Live" to the testimonies of young survivors interviewed at the scene of the shooting, words seldom heard on network TV broadcasts became commonplace.
___In live interviews, weeping teenagers proclaimed, "Jesus is Lord." Some talked about the love of God. Others said God is in control, despite the horrible carnage in the church sanctuary.
___Christians shared their faith unashamedly as reporters stuck microphones in their faces. Reporters took down every word of testimony from grieving teenagers without cynicism or censure.
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Tragedy propels witness onto airwaves
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