ShmoopTube

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You can't handle the shmoop...

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Déjà vu, anyone? Yes, you've seen this passage before, but it couldn't hurt to press pause

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and take another look...

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How is Burne's view of pacifism BEST characterized in lines 45 through 50? And here are the potential answers...

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All right, lines 45 through 50... let's check 'em out...

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"That's what Stephen must have thought many years ago. But he preached his sermon and

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they killed him. He probably thought as he was dying what a waste it all was. But you

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see, I've always felt that Stephen's death was the thing that occurred to Paul on the

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road to Damascus, and sent him to preach the word of Christ all over the world."

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Okay... well the first few sentences talk about what Stephen must have thought as the

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Grim Reaper was closin' in on him...

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We don't get around to Burne's thoughts on the subject until the fourth sentence, when

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he talks about how Stephen's death affected Paul...

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...inspiring him to travel the globe, giving shout-outs to Jesus.

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So... which one of our answer choices fits with that idea?

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Pacifism is useless and the only available option?

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Well, if it inspired Paul, then seems to us it was pretty useful... so A can't be the right answer.

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A duty to family and friends?

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If that's the case, he certainly doesn't mention it... and we really have to stick to what's

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given to us in the text. So option B is bogus.

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An escapist embrace of death? Sheesh. Melodramatic much? Again... this doesn't accurately reflect

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Burne's feelings, so it's outta here.

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A religious requirement? Nah... Burne is focusing more on morality here than religion.

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And for those of you who don't understand the distinction... uh... there is one. Or

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else every atheist would be an uncontrollable killing machine.

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So looks like our answer is E -- he sees it as a potentially significant martyrdom.

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Well, sure. Stephen lost his own life, but good came out of it. So E makes sense.

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Thanks for the sacrifice, Stephen.

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