On This Day: François-Jean de la Barre, a young French nobleman, is tortured and beheaded... (1766)

On July 1, 1766: François-Jean de la Barre, a young French nobleman, is tortured and beheaded before his body is burnt on a pyre along with a copy of Voltaire's Dictionnaire philosophique nailed to his torso for the crime of not saluting a Roman Catholic religious procession in Abbeville, France.

This historical event can serve as a powerful sermon illustration about the enduring nature of faith through history. Consider using it when preaching about faith.