Bring Back Burning at the Stake!

In the Middle Ages, Church and State joined forces to stamp out heretics. Heretics were dangerous because they held different views and beliefs from the officially accepted teachings of the Roman Catholic Church. Church hierarchy very quickly realized that dissenting views and beliefs could undermine the Church’s power and authority over not only their flock, but their hold over the secular leaders as well. The Nobility needed the Church’s blessing to validate their authority over their subjects. So the Church and State formed a symbiotic relationship to protect their status quo on wealth and power.

The Church had a problem when it came to heretics. Being followers of Christ’s teachings and good Christians, they could hunt down and prosecute those who held “dangerous beliefs,” but they could not execute the offenders without soiling their own pious hands. That’s where the State came in. Once the crime of Heretic was pronounced upon an unfortunate soul, the Nobility would step in as the “defender of the Faith” and carry out the dirty work of execution. The most common method of disposing of these troublesome believers was to burn them at the stake. Public burnings of heretics became a really good way to keep the “rank and file” in their place as unquestioning servants of the rich and powerful.

If someone was accused of being a heretic, but refused to confess his sin and repent so that he could then be turned over to the civil authorities and burned at the stake, then it was permissible for the good Christian inquisitors to use torture and other means to illicit a confession from the accused. This gave rise to that wonderfully dark period in Christendom known as the Spanish Inquisition. Officers of the Church were free to interrogate their accused prisoners to the point of death. They learned that pain and fear were amazing tools of the trade in their quest of a confession.

As time progressed, torture became less important to bring people to the stake. Being accused by a neighbor or authorities was often enough to seal their doom. Until the late 1700’s burning at the stake was used as capital punishment for other crimes such as treason and witchcraft. The Age of Enlightenment brought about an end to this form of punishment and replaced it with more “humane” executions like hanging, firing squads, electrocution and now…lethal injection. But, in my view, nothing could compare with the public spectacle of burning at the stake to keep those who see the world differently from contaminating the rest of us with their ideas and beliefs.

If we ever brought back burning at the stake, I could suggest a few “heretics,” if anyone is interested.

Food for THOUGHT…