Religion is something about which many people feel passionately. It wouldn't make sense for one to give one's self up and die for your favorite type of cheddar cheese, would it? Religion, on the other hand, is about faith. Sure, one may pledge loyalty to Vermont extra sharp cheddar, but one's pledge towards a religion can easily be much, much stronger.

It's not Jesus and suicide bombers, it's Allah and suicide bombers. According to the teachings of Jesus, a suicide bomber would go immediately to hell because he would have the unrepented sins of murder and suicide on his soul.

What the suicide bombers are doing is not martyrdom, it is a murder-suicide act. They KILL others as well as themselves. A martyr, on the other hand, is killed by an oppressive regime because of their faith. No one suffers but them, and it is a death of peaceful resignation. When Jesus was arrested, Peter tried to do the 1st century equivalent of a "jihad" and pulled out a sword to fight their way out. What was Jesus' reaction? "Put your sword away. He who lives by the sword shall die by the sword." He even healed the man who Peter had hurt. Then he went peacefully. He did not fight back. So it was with other martyrs in the New Testament and later. Stephen (Acts 6,7) was arrested for his faith, preached his one and only sermon and then was stone to death by the Sanhedrin. The summary is: do not confuse Martyrdom with Suicide Bombing. Those who kill others in a misguided belief that they are doing something of religious merit, are not martyrs. They are murderers. It is about time that we told them the difference by NOT using the word martyr for them. Call them what they are.

How is the link weird? Surely the only thing worth dying for is eternal life?

1) Here some definitions: "A martyr (Greek μαρτυρоς, "witness") is a person who is put to death or endures suffering because of a belief, principle or cause. The death of a martyr or the value attributed to it is called martyrdom. In different belief systems, the criteria for being considered a martyr is different. In the Christian context, a martyr is an innocent person who, without seeking death, is murdered or put to death for his or her religious faith or convictions. An example is the persecution of early Christians in the Roman Empire. Christian martyrs sometimes decline to defend themselves at all, in what they see as an imitation of Jesus' willing sacrifice. Islam accepts a much broader view of what constitutes a martyr, including anyone who dies in the struggle between those lands under Muslim government and those areas outside Muslim rule. Generally, some seek to include suicide bombers as a "martyr" of Islam, however, this is widely disputed in the Muslim community." Source and further information: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Martyr 2) I personally agree with the view of many Muslims and of some of the other answers to this question, that suicide bombers should not be considered as martyrs, rather as suicidal murders. Further information: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Murder-suicide http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Suicide_attack 3) many great religions do not need martyrs and many great martyrs were not motivated from religion: "Though often religious in nature, martyrdom can be applied to a secular context as well. The term is sometimes applied to those who use violence, such as those who die for a nation's glory during wartime (usually known under other names such as "fallen warriors"). It may also apply to nonviolent individuals who are killed or hurt in the struggle for independence, civil rights etc. Outside of an academic or religious context, the word "martyr" is used ironically in casual conversation to refer to someone who seeks attention or sympathy by exaggerating the impact upon themselves of some deprivation or work." Source and further information: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Martyr

In my humble opinion, the link in and of itself is perfectly logical, it's the two concepts themselves that are "Weird". It's a fairly simple principle, people feel the need to validate their beliefs, and inversely, people feel the need to validate their lives, so by their slightly delusional logic, it makes perfect sense to sacrifice their lives for their beliefs, even when it's not truly necessary. Some people just need something that they believe strongly enough in to die for it, and some truly dangerous people feel the need to firmly *Prove* to themselves and others, that they would die for it. It's one thing to die defending something you believe strongly in, it's quite another to feel that you *Need* to die in the name of your beliefs to give them validity. Suicide Bombing is nothing but an insult to one's own faith, someone with true faith in their religion would not feel the need to die in an effort to prove it. That's the very definition of "Faith", not needing to prove it.