The masked gunman confronted the Christian teenager in the high school library where he found her studying her Bible. He raised his gun to her head and asked, "Do you believe in God?" The shy seventeen year old took a breath that she knew might be her last and then spoke up in a voice loud enough to be heard by her classmates who were taking cover under nearby desks and tables, "Yes, I believe in God."

"Why?" the gunman responded mockingly. Before Cassie Bernall had time to answer he pulled the trigger and killed her.

Although there have been more martyrs for the Christian faith in the twentieth century than all previous centuries of church history combined, we rarely witness such bold confessions of faith in the United States. We do not happen to live in a place where present government policy is to hunt down and destroy people on the basis of their ethnicity or creed. But ugly prejudices and terrorist plots surface nonetheless and when they do we are shocked by the horror of hate.

The Washington Post reported that the two students Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold, who shot 13 people at the Columbine High School in Littleton Colorado did not choose their victims at random. They were acting out their ugly prejudices specifically targeting those they hated most. The media has brought attention to the fact that these boys felt alienated and misunderstood. Some have claimed that they felt like misfits. Specialists have rushed in with their sociological explanations and our need to be more discerning. But according to detective David Mowrey, the contents of Dylan Klebold's journal in particular tell of their dark journey into Satanism. These young people were willing to serve the one they worshipped. Klebold's writings give graphic expressions of his hatred for people and his love of Satan. They were not suddenly pushed over the edge. They had been planning a massacre for more than a year.

Satanism is not something new. It is not a recent fad. The name 'Satan' means 'adversary' and the Bible tells us that Satan stands against the Creator of all that is good. It is no wonder that eight of the targeted victims in the Columbine Massacre would be known worshipers of God who were dedicating their lives to the service of Christ.

The Boston Globe printed on its front page a journal entry that was found on Cassie Bernall's desk the evening of the Columbine tragedy. She had written it the two days earlier after attending a morning worship service. "Now I have given up on everything else - I have found it to be the only way to really know Christ and to experience the mighty power that brought Him back to life again, and to find out what it means to suffer and to die with him. So, whatever it takes I will be one who lives in the fresh newness of life of those who are alive from the dead."

According to the article in the Boston Globe, "Cassie had told friends recently that she intended to cut her long blond hair so that her silky locks could be made into wigs for children undergoing chemotherapy."

Chuck Colson supplies further information in his Breakthrough column of April 26: "Cassie's martyrdom was even more remarkable when you consider that just a few years ago she had dabbled in the occult, including witchcraft. She had embraced the same darkness and nihilism that drove her killers to such despicable acts. But two years ago, Cassie dedicated her life to Christ, and turned her life around. Her friend, Craig Moon, called her a "light for Christ."

Cassie's parents, Misty and Brad Bernall, issued a statement about their daughter's spiritual courage: "Cassie's response does not surprise us. Cassie's life was rightly centered on Jesus Christ."

Jesus foretold the powerful effect that His ever growing band of followers would have on the world in which they lived. Each Christian believer from the time of Pentecost continuing up through this present hour of history has available to them the enabling power of the Holy Spirit to be a fearless witness. The Greek word for witness is 'martas', from which we get the English word 'martyr'. Throughout the centuries it has been the bold confession of believers in the face of all kinds of opposition that has continually turned the tables on the enemies of the gospel.

As mourners gathered to commemorate the dead in Littleton, Colorado, 13 doves were released. The name 'Columbine' comes from Colorado's state flower, which in the Latin means "like a dove".

If you are a Christian and it were against the law for you to be so, would there be enough evidence to convict you?

Jesus said, "You will be my witnesses." (Acts 1:8).