You
would still cherish the story of 17-year-old
Cassie Bernall who was killed at the Columbine High School Library
in Littleton, Colorado in April 20, 1999 because of her public affirmation
of faith to God in front of the killer who aimed smoking gun already
at her and who asked her, "Do you believe in God?"
There were many Christians like Cassie Bernall
in Korea. Among them there were also members of the Korea Christian
Church.
The Sangwol Christian Church founded in 1947
locates in the southern part of Korea, where the communists
killed 25 members in 1950 because of their faith to God. Among them
14 martyrs were kids under the age of 20. They were brutally pierced
with bamboo spears on a hill near the church building. Later the
church could exhume the piles of corpses and identify only one man
of 40-year-old minister whose name was Duk-Chul Shin.
The Sangwol Christian Church erected the monument
in remembrance of them in March 1993 on which the letter of dedication
and the names of 25 martyrs were engraved. The church also made
up a grave of a martyr, Duk-Chul Shin, at the church cemetery.
They all refused, in the face of terror and
torture, to deny the faith. Thus, their death was public witness.
And their story inspires others to embrace the true meaning of witness. |
