Stories of Christian martyrs inspire us. One of my favorite early Christian quotes is a boast from one of those who lived when the churches were being persecuted:

"It's a beautiful thing to God when a Christian does battle with pain. When he faces threats, punishments, and tortures by mocking death and treading underfoot the horror of the executioner; when he raises up his freedom in Christ as a standard before kings and princes; when he yields to God alone and, triumphant and victorious, he tramples upon the very man who has pronounced sentence upon him. God finds all these things beautiful." (Minucius Felix, The Octavius 37, c. 200)

You can find stories of triumphant martyrs on my site at https://www.christian-history.org/christian-martyrs.html. You can also find a real treasure trove of stories from an Anabaptist book called Martyr's Mirror. It is an expensive book, but it can be read for free online at http://homecomers.org/mirror/

Martyr's Mirror covers Christian martyr stories back to the first century, but its primary benefit is accounts of the persecution of the Anabaptists in Europe during the Reformation. Anabaptists were persecuted by Roman Catholics and Protestants alike, and Martyr's Mirror covers the stories more like a news report than a history book.

Unfortunately, the Anabaptists splintered even more than Protestant groups did. Today they live on in the Amish, Mennonites, German Baptist Brethren, Hutterites, and others, but the real glory of their bold and holy ancestors has passed into history.