tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2389530333077823143.post1570623302589339432..comments2024-01-08T10:10:48.074+00:00Comments on That The Bones You Have Crushed May Thrill: Why Do Muslims Believe Allah is Merciful?The Boneshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10271719805983763595noreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2389530333077823143.post-81499370691886445992011-05-20T15:38:35.855+01:002011-05-20T15:38:35.855+01:00Adulteresses burnt at the stake? That's news t...Adulteresses burnt at the stake? That's news to me.<br />Mind you, they did tend to get their heads chopped off a little later on if they moved in the wrong circles.georgemnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2389530333077823143.post-62499069370514779632011-05-20T15:35:14.932+01:002011-05-20T15:35:14.932+01:00In Malory's Le Morte d'Arthur (1485) Guine...In Malory's Le Morte d'Arthur (1485) Guinevere is condemned to be burned at the stake for adultery (though she escapes: http://ebooks.adelaide.edu.au/m/malory/thomas/m25m/book19.html)<br /><br />Leviticus 20:10 sanctions this in saying:<br /><br />"And the man that committeth adultery with another man's wife, even he that committeth adultery with his neighbour's wife, the adulterer and the adulteress shall surely be put to death."<br /><br />genesis is even more explicit here, noting that when "it came to pass about three months after, that it was told Judah, saying, Tamar thy daughter in law hath played the harlot; and also, behold, she is with child by whoredom. And Judah said, Bring her forth, and let her be burnt."<br /><br />OK, I will grant that few of the sentences of burning at the stake were ever executed, and where they were, the convict had probably been hanged already. However, adultery was a capital crime in Christendom, and many women who were caught in flagrante were killed. <br /><br />There are countless examples of prominent women being executed for this crime in European history. Marie of Brabant was beheaded in 1256 for the crime. She was spared burning only by her husband's 'benevolence'. <br /><br />Criticism of this system was fiercely suppressed by the Vatican, as when the nun Arcangela Tarabotti was censured for publishing 'Paternal Tyranny' in 1645, a work in which she pointed out (quite reasonably) that it was a bit silly to execute an adulteress while leaving the adulterer to his devices. <br /><br />Well, perhaps you're right. Burning was never common for that crime (though the punishment was certainly used). However, you must concede the point - adulteresses were murdered (this applied to women who were raped).Kushinoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2389530333077823143.post-67307772832711855212011-05-20T14:33:04.659+01:002011-05-20T14:33:04.659+01:00Kushi,
What is your source for the claim that &qu...Kushi, <br />What is your source for the claim that "In Medieval England adulteresses were burned at the stake", please? I don't think this is correct.Ceciliahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02181882111548805146noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2389530333077823143.post-46141379742713051332011-05-20T14:10:52.508+01:002011-05-20T14:10:52.508+01:00In Uganda homosexuals are stoned to death. In Medi...In Uganda homosexuals are stoned to death. In Medieval England adulteresses were burned at the stake. I suppose a religion is neither inherently peaceful or violent, it depends on the state that justifies its actions in reference to religion. I'd say that the 'peaceful' attitude of Western Christianity (peaceful, that is, within its own borders. Murderous when at war with others) has more to do with concessions that secularisation has forced upon the church. After all, as the Iverleigh quote shows, no prominent catholic can get away with denouncing homosexuality now, even the pope has to couch it in mild terms. This has little to do with the religion itself (since we know the same document, the bible, was used to condemn homosexuals in the most violent and bloody manner earlier in our history), and more to do with the largely secular audience they are speaking to. Put bluntly, the Pope knows he can't get away with saying anything too severe these days, so he doesn'tKushinoreply@blogger.com