In Medieval times, they sought out ways to cut back on crime. Instead of letting the criminals sit in a jail cell, like today, they would use different torture devices. These devices came in all shapes and sizes and were meant to scare other would be criminals into not doing the crimes committed by the person being tortured.
10.
The Brazen Bull
This device was designed in Greece by Perillos of Athens. He was a brass founder and he cast the shape of a hollow bull with a door on the side. This condemned person was shut in the bull. There was a fire lit underneath the device and because it was brass it became yellow hot, which would cause the person to roast to death. It was configured with tubes and stops, so when the person was screaming it would sound like the bull was raging.
9.
The Breaking Wheel
This wheel of torture was used to kill criminals and it did that very slowly. This device was a large wagon wheel. The criminal would be tied to the wheel, where the punisher would proceed to use a hammer to break the bones of the other person. Once that was completed, they were left there to die and even the birds would peck at their flesh until death was complete.
8.
The Rack
This device is an oblong rectangle with a wooden frame. It was raised from the ground with a roller either at one end or at both ends. One end had a fixed bar, where the feet were locked onto it, and the other end had a moveable bar, where the hands were tied to it. It had a lever that was used as the interrogation progressed. It was on a lever and pulley system that would eventually cause the joints of the person being tortured to dislocate and then separate. Eventually, the muscle fibers, ligaments, and cartilage would break separating the limbs from the body of the condemned.
7.
Judas Cradle
This torture device is a pyramid shaped seat. The victim is placed on top of it, with the point inserted into an orifice, then they are very slowly lowered onto it. The condemned was usually naked in order to add to their humiliation. This device was thought to stretch the orifice or to slowly impale the person. The stretching of the orifice would cause pain, rips and tears, which would eventually cause death.
6.
Coffin Torture
This device was used in the Middle Ages. The condemned would be placed in the metal coffin and left there for the appropriate amount of time. Depending on the crime, the person could be left in there to die, while animals ate their flesh or they would be placed on public display, which would cause their death. The people that would surround the person in the coffin would throw rocks and poke the person with objects until they finally became deceased.
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Religious types can think of such lovely things to do to people in God’s name, can’t they?
He must be very proud.
What are you talking about? Secular authorities invented most of the torture devices you hear about and were more apt to use them over the Church. The Church tortured yes but if you had a choice back during the inquistion you would much rather be in the hands of the Church than with secular authorities. History is literally a matter of perspective. I suppose people believe that millions were tortured by the Church during the Inquistion. Again, false. The Inquistion although bad, the Church can’t get out from under that shadow was pale in comparison to the surrounding secular authorities
What “secular authorities” are you talking about, exactly? That seems like a cop out to me. The only reason you’d be better off in the hands of the church during the Inquisition was because they would brutally torture you as a heretic if you went against the required beliefs. I’m not saying that some “secular authorities” weren’t also doing awful things to people, but if we’re comparing to the Inquisition here, at least they weren’t doing it “in the name of God”. If you think about it, “evil secularists” are at least better than the Church, because they do not partake in the hypocrisy of torturing people in the name of some perfect, holy religion, as a consequence of merely not believing the same things.
People will kill and torture. There are good people and bad people. It’s just that simple. Keep your lame excuses of people using religion or not to torture. Whoever has the most power will do whatever they want with it, good or bad…check out the governments and the people these days that promote it… Is killing and torturing OK just because it is more accepted in our “modern” society since we are so used to seeing it in the media and is embraced by creating new amendments to national and international laws?
There were no ’secular authorities.’ Church and State were completely intertwined.
It was the middle ages. There was no ’secular authority’. Those people who were ’secular’ were the ones who had these lovely little devices used on them.
Holy **** !!!! These people are ucked up !!!! and I agree religion is the main cause of these things and war , RELIGION !!!!! IS FUCKED UP !!!!! they praise a god then do these things !!!!! sorry to say all those ignorant little religions ***** , wake the **** up
Oh Suze, people think of lovely types of things to do to get what they want, and it’s not just in God’s name. I knew someone would quickly make a religious comment, and look at that! It was you!
Check your history books, more people have been killed through other means rather than in the name of Christianity.
Religious types can think of lovely things to do in God’s name, when, God is only a metaphor, and a disguise for a powerful man. Christianity was bred by the Roman Empire, and spread to every corner of it, as it’s impending doom, came to collapse, which, explains why the people that would have killed Jesus, and hated him so much, were the one’s to suddenly have an epiphany, after all of their guards took a conveniently timed lunch break, from his tomb, and, he “Rose from the dead.” I doubt that many of Jesus’ followers would’ve been able to read or write in Latin, seeing as, Jesus was meant to be Jewish, thus, would’ve probably spoke Hebrew, so, isn’t it convenient that that collapsing empire, decided to print a load of bibles in Latin, appoint a member of their public to be the voice of God, and, to rule from down the road from where the Roman emperor did?
Also, Jesus, and the “Saints” magic, would be classed as witchcraft too, doesn’t anyone think?
The short and simple fact of the matter is, there’s loads of crazy and deluded people in the world, and, there’s plenty of people ready to do whatever they can for power.
Religious wars and persecution? Just ancient gang warfare:
What are you doing wearing blue in Blood territory, Crip?
What are you doing believing in Allah in Christian territory, Heretic?
Switch some of the words around, and, you’ll see every generations had someting similar: Mods vs Rockers, Black vs White, England vs France, America vs Everyone in sight…
Same ****, different decade.
You all need to learn history and stop watching the world according to Richard Dawkins. Wars in history have occurred for things like land, gold, race, territory boundaries, national heritage, weaponry disputes, natural resources, secularist ideas, and even damn WOMEN! It’s just the self righteous and hypocritical militant atheist douchebags who like to blame everything on religion religion religion all the time.
While at the same time the same extreme secularists forgets that it was them who invented things like Communism, Abortion, and the damned Atomic Bomb! All of those things killed well over 120 million people of all faiths. And if you want to include all the aborted children across the globe, then that number would be around 1 Billion! Not the mention that for the past 50 years the world has been held hostage because of the atomic weapons atheists have invented. Way to go you so called “enlightened” and “intelligent” freaks, you have surpassed the kill statistics of all the mean and evil religions you hate so much!
When religion had it his way, we were fighting with swords against a Saracen soldier. When militant atheism had it their way, we were on the verge of nuclear winter. You know what? Tell Dawkins that I prefer the landscape populated with a bunch of bearded Amish people rather than the fundamentalist Atheist alternative of a bunch of Emo kids who shoot up their school in Colorado with Tech 9 submachine guns.
true, atheists have had their fair share of murder too. However many of those working on the Manhattan Project were of their own religions too, in fact not many of them were atheist. So, apparently, religious people do not appear to be unwilling to design and build the Nuke to slaughter. Hitler! Hitler was catholic and used his words of God as an excuse to kill eleven million. So apparently the amount of destruction caused by religion is also astronomical. Yes there were many people who did not have a religion that killed, but that was recently. Until then, if you did not believe in God, you would probably be killed. This is not a black and white discussion, there are many people of all faiths, including atheism who have killed. Religion does not stop, or even hinder people’s capacity to kill, there is, somewhere, in every person the morbid desire to cause pain to another. Religion cannot stop this, the only reason that we were fighting with swords was because we did not have anything better at the time. The only hindrance to cause pain is not religion, it is technology. If, during the crusades, we had nuclear bombs, we would have used them just as readily as we had used the sword.
Hitler was not Catholic. Raised in a Catholic family, yes, but let’s not delude ourselves and suggest he was a confirmed Catholic. If anything he was athiest or agnostic simply by his complete lack of any religious faith he displayed through his adult life. His political speeches are the only thing from Hitler that mention God…and that is it politics. Its like Obama promising change in his speeches – simply to get elected.
First I thought it would be nice to read this page. Now I’m really disgusted.
fu*** weir methods, isn’t it? :S
how would you think “bizarre torture methods” would be nice… D:
Ouch, I alway thought the spanish inquisition had the worst torture instruments but there are some really bizaree ones on the list.
This is my first time on this sight and this is a rare a neat site, if you are friends with Dark Roasted lend you are in excellent company.
Should have included the pear of anguish too
The Inquisition.All done in the name of a loving and compassionate God.
More people have been killed in the name of God than in all wars combined.If he(or she),loves you so much why allow this to happen in their name? Religion is a strange cup of tea.God loves you unconditionally,but if you don’t follow his rules,he will kill you.God loves you so much he will condemn you to the firey depths of hell for All Eternity.Read the Bible,there are so many contradictions about God’s love for mankind and the way he(or she)expresses displeasure at us.That maybe it is better to be an Atheist.Well that and the story about the invisible man that lives in the sky,who knocked a woman up,without having *** with her.Then was born as his own son,came to earth.Was killed came back to life,and then went back up to the sky to live with himself.But that’s for you to decide,isn’t it.
The Inquisition – started by Roman Catholic Church. The Catholic church is one of the beasts described in Bible prophecy, in Daniel and Revelation. This beast arises from the people and is a religious-political power that many worship, but does not following the teachings of Christ. One horn of the beast(the Pope) speaks blasphemies against God and true followers. The pope declares to be replacement of Jesus and have power to change the Bible law. For this fact, it is in complete opposition to God. Any torture “in the name of God” is not of biblical teachings. Anything of such is purely satanic, and not what true followers of Christ believe.
Sure, death will be a result of rejection of Jesus, but, if you can’t love Him now than why would you want eternal life? You obviously would be unhappy to live with Him forever, so eternal death is the only alternative. And no – no one will be condemned to hell(as in a fiery place) for eternity (that would mean those who reject God would become immortal).
You must be a Jehovah’s Witless to believe that (that there is no Hell) Jesus spoke more about Hell than any other preacher in both Testaments. He talked about it more than the Kingdom of Heaven.
Thats because the bible was written to scare people into behaving in the way that the church thought was acceptable among other reasons, not to entice you to a magical wonderland. If you want people to do what you want you get more by scaring them into it.
I know this is rough for you religious types but life is rough. I’m not saying don’t be religious, if it makes you less scared to die then fine, you should enjoy life, not pend it wrrying about death. I’m just saying it’s not real.
These devices are NOT biblical. They were used by an elite order of sadists to maintain they’re power over an uneducated people who were repeatedly taught specific passages out of context. God was only an excuse. No member of the inquisition is in Heaven.
If you believe in that, of course.
Reading the bible from front to back will always cause confusion because it is not time-line based.
Study something (not just read) before you form opinions and comment.
Me-Mo
Please learn to use spaces.
Ah, people always saying it’s religion’s fault! It’s not religion’s fault at all at all, the people who have badly interpreted it are the ones to blame
awesome. it’s so true, it’s all just ridiculousness. such hypocrisy, torturing someone so they’ll believe that God really does love them….
Uh, you might want to check that statistic on the casualties of war. I think you might be a little off… Unless of course you consider every war to be a holy war, in which case, you’re absolutely right!
committing a crime in those days didn’t seem like a good decision.
that’s just creepy.
“committing a crime in those days didn’t seem like a good decision. that’s just creepy.”
The only “crime” many of the unlucky torture victims “committed” was not believing in the society’s prevailing delusional fantasy, also known as “God”. Let’s see… you’re a heretic so we’ll torture you until you convert. Then we’ll torture you to make sure you’re not lying. Perhaps you’re a witch. If you drown, you’re innocent.
all robb said was ‘crime’, and you’re turning it into a religious battle. You could at least acknowledge that murder and theft were punished in these ways as well. The guy didn’t even mention heretics as being real criminals or deserving it or anything.
now that it is a religious battle:
do you really think belief in god is what caused these problems? It’s fanatical people. Anyone who goes batshit crazy over something is causing the problem. Like insane politicians and mad movie fans. It’s not the fault of a belief system that provides some explanation of the existence of humanity, gives people a feeling of purpose in their lives and reassures people that dying isn’t the end of everything. As someone mentioned elsewhere, interpretations of religion are the issue.
Like so many of our friends above have stated, it had nothing to do with crime but differing views of religion.
Nothing has changed though except these days mace, handguns, knives, bombs and the rest are used in Gods name..
What a sick lot!
Nothing was ever commited in atheisms name.
Read the news, i’ve seen 3 cases of murders committed in churches and school by a group of or just one atheist questioning if they believed in God, if they stated that they did not believe in God, they were let go if otherwise they were shot in place in 2 out of 3 cases, the third was a test to see who really believed in God… only two men stood and said they believed in God.
This is proof that there are people who refuse God easily and truly do not follow the teachings of the Bible, that is proof that not all man who exclaims God is part of religion and that you should not judge religion for its abusers.
get a clue.
could u please be more specific? it is really easy to write all that without any citation to back it up.
As I often say, most of the world’s problems are, and always have been, caused by religion. These are some excellent examples of what “god-loving” people will do to you if you dare to think different;y than they do.
God had NOTHING to do with the torture devices these sick ***** thought up. Most of the inquisition torture/terrorism was to obtain land, money and possessions from the people the inquisitors sought and was to be given to the catholic church. Please try not to confuse God’s love with man’s inherent flaws.
Yeah, sure God had nothing to do with these devices. If god wants you punished for whatever reason he simply sends a couple of thugs (I mean angels) over to perhaps turn you into a pillar of salt or change everyone’s language so there’s no communication or kill your first born son or …well we can go on all day like this. Read the bible – God is the master of torture!
Also, if god made man in his own image, how did man get these flaws you speak of? Inherent means permanent and inseparable- if it were inherent how would we get to heaven. You should try thinking for yourself instead or regurgitating the nonsense you have filled your head with….jackass.
Listen… As many before me have said, do some real research before you start claiming that God is the master of torture or the cause to all the evil in this world.. Is it God that tortures? Is it God that kills,rapes and steals? NO! Humankind does!
Sure..God made man in his own image, but God also gave us free will, and selfish as we humans are, we do things that will satisfy our own selfish needs..The evil in this world is created by our own evil actions, God didn’t teach us to torture or be evil, we did that very nicely ourselves.. The sadistic and evil people that came up with these sick instruments were NOT men of God, they were inspired by their own evil and by Satan. Read some of the new testament as well, not just the old. Jesus died for us! He was tortured and crusified, by humankind! We let a murderer live in order to kill Jesus Christ..
And by the way, Dave is thinking more for himself than your do, with your ignorance, you follow the easiest way,as most people do,we blame God for our own actions!
You cannot have a New Testament without an Old Testament. One does not contradict the other. I have read and studied the Holy Bible, as a matter of fact I studied theology to become a minister some years ago, the sadistic and evil people you mention are all a part of a story prophesied thousands of years before it happened. And if YOU had read the Holy Bible, New and Old Test., you would realize according to the story -Jesus’ torture and crucifixion were all necessary to receive eternal life. He was a perfect sacrifice to take away our sins. Soooo…. If you believe the word of God than you have to believe that these men were not inspired by evil or Satan- they were actually doing God’s work, because without Crists’ perfect sacrifice none of us evil humans would be forgiven and we would not get to heaven. Maritimuse, I think you may be just as much of a jackass as Dave. See, if you would think a little more for yourself you would understand you are the one taking the easy way out. You blame all these atrocities on Satan or Evil, when really it’s mankind doing it. And if God has a plan, which as a good Christian you must believe, THIS IS ALL PART OF IT!!!
So, you believe that because Jesus died for our sins, now we can do whatever we want because we’ll be forgiven for it? So, you’re saying that it would be God’s will that I go torture and murder someone who does not believe the same things I do today? …That is the dumbest and least thought out argument I have seen here. Just because Jesus was crucified for us, it doesn’t mean that the devil and all his evil disappeared – that’s why His second coming is necessary.
Anna, honestly, if we were raised in another part of the world, this debate would be about Allah, Buddha, Harry Krishna, whatever…
Mankind as a whole, has developed more in the past 150 years, than it ever did in the 1860 years that these books formed the basis’ for most peoples existences.
If God sets paths for everything to happen for a reason, if God really gave a rats arse about humanity, would he not have given us the minor pushes that we required to connect our planet, and to make everyone see that we’re one and the same, and, that the future of mankind, and our planet, rests in our hands, rather than advising us that heretics should be stoned to death, or killed?
Watch this:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bGoYbjzy8-s
Anna, c’mon. Where did you read that I believe Jesus died for my sins?
Pay attention:
You said “…Jesus died for our sins, now we can do whatever we want because we’ll be forgiven for it.”
According to the Bible, yes. I can break any of The Ten Commandments, ask God for forgiveness, get baptized, be forgiven and go to Heaven (Acts 2:38, among many other passages).
You also said “Just because Jesus was crucified for us, it doesn’t mean that the devil and all his evil disappeared – that’s why His second coming is necessary.”
WTF, where did I say the devil and evil has disappeared?!?!
I think all the insight and wisdom you have managed to acquire in high school has really let you down here.
Here’s an idea- Try thinking for yourself.
You believe that the simple act of asking for forgiveness will grant you just that, haha. Sheer logic and reason, mister “think for yourself”, would tell you that you obviously cannot half-*** an apology and expect to be free from it, when it is an honest repentance it will not be a matter of “ask God for forgiveness, get baptized, be forgiven and go to Heaven” after you do whatever the hell you want, you’re just quoting modern catholic practices and their loose and vague interpretations of how the underlining of God’s TRUE work goes, you clearly have no real idea of what the bible says, you can read it front to back and take as many fancy classes as you like, if your heart is empty and you take every single word to it’s most common interpretations you will easily be tricked out of your “belief” by the simplest of ways. The true meanings often lie behind the smallest details that can change any “just do it and you’re forgiven” into an act of righteousness, God can tell if you’ve learned nothing and simply do it to pick the easy way out. You can quote the bible as much as you want, it is evident you have no idea what it means in reality.
I understand and respect where you stand in theological views and i won’t bother you or anyone else in w/e they believe or don’t believe in. But have the decency to at least act like a man (or woman?) of experience (as you so claim) and don’t Ridicule other beliefs in a vague act to find meaning in your life. If you don’t believe in it that’s you, but it would be ignorant and stupid to take it to others who don’t even aggravate you or KNOW you for no reason(because im led to believe you have no spiritual beliefs). But if you belong some religion, dedicated to ridicule others, by all means make an ******* out of yourself on the internet.
God bless you regardless.
also, an issue i faild to address its this:
You obviously understand, that by the writings in the bible it is said that everything that happens, good or bad, is meant to happen because it is by this occurring that it will all be better in the end *end rainbow*
No, Jesus may have died to cleanse our us of our sins but Jesus’ purpose, which went till the grave was not to be at the start of it all, we were sinners since the forbidden fruit and it was by then that our free will became the “fruit” of our sins, it was when god saw that we took his gift and turned it into an array or selfishness and sin that he sent Jesus as a sort of guide for us, to ultimately die and cleanse us, brutal as it may be, you all must be thinking “Wow what a *******! sending his son to cleanse us?! BAH! seems awfully selfish!” It’s a sacrifice, i know we did not deserve it, i know it was brutal for a selfish nation, but hay, none of them killed jesus to be cleansed but when we learned that it was the hidden purpose we became devoted to thanking him for giving us something we know we do not deserve, for being eternally mercifull with a clearly selfish race. It’s the very reason that we’re so grateful for this and why we are so driven to serve God, sacrifice pleasures of life, hours maybe even days of our life to him still in prosecution by today’s modern society, still thinking were that barbaric bunch of ******** that killed “in the name of God” gibberish, these killed for power, these killed to have their word as law, many of them did not believe in god as much as the heretics they tortured. Anyone can scream a thousand lies, does that mean they believe in them? or maybe that they did it for their own selfish reasons, far from let’s say…what a certain book talks about? maybe they used lies to spread fear and used the name of God not as a right but as an excuse? So religion really isn’t such a card in that tragic page of history as much as how man abuses religion to get what he wants, if you don’t care or believe for any kind of religion, why are you all so crazed to believe “that it must have been religion!!!” no other explanation, it couldn’t be a selfish man, abusing the word of God, “nope, it had to be the invisible man i certainly don’t believe exists, but it was HIM!!!” listen to yourselves for once.
idk its just been something that always had bothered me lol
Yes the sins are inherent to the human race, you also said that it was through Jesus’ torture and crucifixion that we got a crack at heaven and it is also mentioned in the bible that even though our race has been stained by sin, the few who are righteous and stay firm in the teachings of the bible(not the bullcrap spouted by those blood thirsty, power-drunk “religious leaders” that call themselves men of God, do not worry because they never were) will be granted entrance, NOT by getting on your knees and quickly expecting God to forgive you, not by getting wet and walking off saying “Let’s hit the stripclub i’m cleansed!!!!” a righteous man would never do that would he? not according to the bible which clearly states against the man with two lives, a fake inside the church’s walls and blasphemy outside (don’t bother to quote against me as its obvious you will take anything from the bible with no comprehension) it’s a sacrifice, and Boscos, you have clearly not gone through any sort of sacrifice but your time as you speak with no real knowledge of what the christian religion really is but with what you’ve been told in your little classes, vaguely read and “studied” in the bible and what society has fed you so you could leave the faith. Don’t get into a stupid discussion with stupid reasons and little to no REAL knowledge of what you’re talking about, take the time out your senseless ridicule and hate into REAL Christianity not what you find written or told by obvious Fakes, that will only confuse you and lead you to doubt the bible’s sense when it is really a deep text that “Men of Logic” are trying to dig into with a plastic spork.
Mankind -is- inherently flawed isn’t it? (Including my own, and YOUR, reasoning, so, let’s just bare this in mind)
Did some supernatural being came from some other place and physically write the bible all in one sitting?
No, I don’t think it did. In fact, I have reason to believe that a bunch of old men who never even met Jesus decided to write about him and all these other tales told by a person from another person from another person.
“Virgin” was mistranslated from “young woman”– Mary wasn’t a virgin, by the way, some fool bollocks-ed up the Hebrew from Aramaic translation of “Young Woman” (or “woman of marrying age”) to the Greek word for virgin AND EVERYTHING SPIRALED OUT OF CONTROL FROM THERE. [http://www.2think.org/hii/virgin.shtml]
This being taken into account, and the fact of how blatantly flawed eye-witness testimony is [http://ezinearticles.com/?The-Accuracy-of-Eye-Witness-Testimony-and-Its-Flaws&id=328261], I CANNOT accept anything in the bible as true or even sound advice at some times.
Ultimately, God’s love does not come from some book written in the Bronze Age, especially when one is relying on the fallibility of mankind; or even more so when the people who wrote had an agenda. I don’t know where “god’s love” comes from and since I’m an Atheist for the time being I don’t believe I’ll ever know of this seemingly fictitious feeling some people speak of.
And not unlike what others have been saying about how people in power will use whatever means to keep it– I have to say: Whether religious or not, those few greedy, power-hungry, and warmongering sons-a-******* will always, ALWAYS, find a way to assert their power.
It is religion’s unfortunate place to be the pretext of these maniacs’ plans. I don’t think anyone can say for certain that if religion weren’t around this crazy stuff would not have happened. In fact, I have reason to believe that humans will almost always find different means to tear each other apart for some reason or another.
Just as the minister below me has said, it IS men that are doing these things. Just as I believe that it is MEN that are capable of so many better things. We evolved these wonderful brains and morals for the purpose of survival, and for good Darwinian reasons: we are still a species today. Granted, it’s only been 200,000 years since Homo Sapiens came onto the scene (a mere HALF amount of time of our “cousins” the Neanderthals) [http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/beta/evolution/becoming-human-part-1.html].
But nonetheless, man is certainly fallible, and therefore I don’t think that believing in “God’s Love” according to the tainting telephone game that is our terrible tendency in life to perpetuate is something that one should be living their life by. Or something to even consider.
The sawing method seems similar to another method I’ve heard of in which the torturer hand the victim upside down in an X fashion, while two people saw, very, very slowly, down the middle, starting with the groin. Nobody would survive past the abdomen, due to suffocation. Since the blood rushed to their head, they would not lose consciousness due to blood loss, so they would feel every tooth of the saw.
These things are not from, for and of God. These are from people themselves, people who hated God. There is no love in them. That’s why they’re able to come up with these.
oh **** manzzzzzz
Don’t forget that most of the target torturees also believed in God. Throughout history people have fought over the perfect way to serve their God. The problems start when those people start following their own selfish desires instead of God’s perfect plan for their lives. They turn from pleasing God to pleasing man. Without God’s guidance, man is capable of doing pretty much anything evil. With God’s guidance made possible through Jesus Christ, just the opposite is true. God’s Word never changes, it is people who change, for better or for worse.
Actually, these WERE made by the church and were officially sanctioned by the pope. Remember the Salem Witch Trials? How they would crush you with stones until you pled guilty and were then killed? That was a Catholic Movement. No matter how you say that they sicken you, or that the people who used these went to hell, or that they weren’t TRUE Catholics, the fact remains that they are a part of the churches history, and there they will remain.
The people who were killed were also part of the history…did they believe in God? small possibility but it is most likely that they didn’t, therefore were not part of the following or belief per se… They are still part of the history of the Men and Women who abused the name of God and killed thousands to maintain their twisted reigns of power FAR from God’s will and the belief itself.
So i hope you don’t mean this is still fault of religion. You can be a worker in a special cuisines’ shop and sell a kitchen knife to a man who later kills his wife with that knife, was it your fault? no, you were used to create the effect but you were not the cause.
Actually, most of the tyrants were inspired by the Church, and not just using it as cover. For example, Hitler, while he was also angry at the Jews for amassing wealth in the down-turned economy of Germany post WW1, in many of his speeches he also blamed the Jews for killing Jesus and used that to inspire the Nazis, many of whom were Catholic, including Hitler himself. Now you also said that the Church is not directly responsible for this, but you forget all the Crusades and Inquisitions there were, which were started by the Church specifically. Lastly, in my first example (the Salem Witch Trials) the Church WAS directly responsible as it was not citizens taking matters into their own hands, it was priests meddling in the courthouses on orders from the Church to kill “witches”. The Church even made a document explaining exactly how to do it for FSM’s sake!!!
Some Pig
To say that the people who are willing to use these devices on other people are inheirently evil is an obvious misunderstanding of the nature of evil. A good person can commit evil acts in a causes name and still feel regret/remorse. An evil person can do good deeds but will care nothing as to whom, a “buying a stairway to heaven” complex to use the old song. It is true that many of these devices were used on actual criminals, but is also true that in those times almost all crimes were cinsidered to be crimes against God. And thus the church was involved with many crime’s punishment regardless as to nature of the crime. And it is also true that more blood has been spilled in the name of religion than in any other cause in human history. So, you must wonder then, since people were so willing to torture others and not only not feel at least tinged with regret or remorse about it, but feel joy and pleasure were the people who used these devices good or evil? And since they took their feelings on using these thyings from their religious aspect of life… what of their religion?
u should of put in elmo….
I believe in unicorns.
Nothing was ever committed in atheisms name???
I take it that you have never heard of the soviet union.
most amusing
what ignorance!! you think these methods of torture and execution were devised for CRIMINALS ????? hahaha, a good one! there were designed to provide pleasure for the torturers, and the victims were usually innocent!
No one kills anyone in the name of god, they use it as an excuse.
the church wanted people to believe in them, so they could make money to build what today we know as the vatican, or to rule the friggin world, they didnt do it for god or satan or they daughters and sons, they did it for money and power, god’s an excuse.
the wars that go on today for “religion” are for oil and dominance, again not god, that’s just an excuse that the terrorists use.
and if god loves us so, why does he let this **** happen? well, there’s something that makes this **** happens… its called humanity..
stop blaming god for **** and blame humanity, god didn’t kill 6 million jews in the holocaust, nazis did, and god didn’t torture people in the inquisition era, the ******* church did…
don’t blame god for anything you can come up with, blame humans..
Amen – It always amazes me that there are so very few who see the truth. Even Jesus said that not all who hear (read) the word of god will understand..
Pi you are ******* AWESOME! Stole the words from my mouth
The tools of torture are cruel beyond belief, but also prove the innocence/ignorance of mankind. Most responses blame religious zealots. True or false, todays religious persons, especially all of the televangelists are so full of **** that these devices should be used on them to “go some place and get an honest job !!!
I love when people see lists like this then start making irrational claims about how religion is the cause of wars and torture and blah blah blah. Quite a lot of these tortures were performed on Christians who refused to accept the power hungry churches sadistic views. Maybe some of you want to actually read the Bible before you make such ignorant claims about how Christians tortured and how God loves to torture people. These devices were designed by sadistic minds who used the religion of the day to control the masses by any means necessary. It was all about power and had very little to do with Christian beliefs. I can say I’m anything I want, but if my actions do not match my beliefs then I’m a fraud. Which were most of these people who murdered and tortured others for not believing what they believed. Not very Christian at all.
There is no god.
People are stupid.
The end.
So your saying your stupid? How do you know there isnt a God? The end? So now its a story? I dont think people are stupid. You might be though. Have you even read the Bible, Hain? Before you comment, why dont you learn a little bit more of what your talking about.
So your (you’re) saying your (you’re) stupid? How do you know there isnt (isn’t) a God? The end? (Fragment) So now its (it’s) a story? I dont (don’t) think people are stupid. You might be(comma) though. Have you even read the Bible (bible should be lowercase unless a specific version being mentioned.), Hain? Before you comment, why dont (don’t) you learn a little bit more of what your talking about. (Awkward grammar) D-, See me after class.
How do you know there IS one? Can you produce a god right here right now? What was your god smoking when 9/11 happened, or when Auschwitz happened?
You don’t know…few decades back, lung cancer caused by cigarettes was not known/possible and now countless were lost because of it. In the end you are not sure of anything until proven and that’s were faith comes in, you believe there is no god. Claiming that he does not exist without any hard backup is as ridiculous as you believe religion is! and no i’m not saying religion is ridiculous because we have faith in it and if you are one to claim against it without any facts, and have the sheer ignorance to call US stupid it just makes you as stupid and ridiculous as you so claim we, the people of faith, are.
Gonna have to agree with you on the stupid part…thanks for the example btw!
So, do you have any evidence that the Flying Spaghetti Monster doesn’t exist? Claiming that the FSM isn’t the one true god without any evidence is absurd!
BTW, before you try, you can’t prove a negative.
Umm… What evidence have you got that God existed, other than a 2000 year old book?
Where were the dinosaurs mentioned in the bible?
Why do so many religious peoples reject evolution, when, we have proof that natural selection DOES happen, seeing as, we can estimate genetics, and provide artifical selection. Also, there are many examples of evolution working, for example, people getting taller, etc etc. Although, if you want to believe in a book that was designed to fool uneducated people into following one empires rules, when, most people who are engaged in these discussions, have been to school and been educated, etc, are the one’s questioning religion, due to their educations, then, that’s fine with me.
By the way, the only evidence that I had of God, was a friend of mine’s encounter with him.. But… He’d taken a lot of LSD, so, I don’t think that really counts. If God’s done a Michael Jackson to you, and touched you in your sleep, then, please share…
“. Also, there are many examples of evolution working, for example, people getting taller, etc etc. ”
I can’t stop laughing. Dear Lord! Proof? Show me the half man, half monkey! Show me the worm from your garden that decided to grow teeth! And while you’re at it, think of a new feature for yourself that gives you an edge over others, and let it show in you or your children! Then I’d be convinced that evolution is worth looking at.
You really need God’s help, buddy. I am going to say a prayer for you …
Yo drexla, you really don’t know a lot about Evolution do you? Your worm idea is not like it at all, because first of all Evolution takes millions of years and it isn’t a “decision”. Evolution starts with a mutation in the genes that can be passed on hereditarily, like you have an extra finger. Then hopefully it’s a dominant trait and your child will have it. But in the wild, it’s also combined with Natural Selection, the ones who survive to adulthood get to have kids. This is usually because it’s been born with some quality that allows it to get food.
For example, the giraffe used to have a shorter neck, and it needed a source of food. The ones with the longer necks had an easier time getting food, so they survived. This happened again and again with the ones with the longer necks surviving, until we got to the ones today, which have the perfect length to get to trees and don’t need to evolve anymore.
Also, we DO have half-human half-monkey skeletons, but it’s not like how you’re thinking, which is probably like a ******* centaur with human on top and monkey on the bottom.
In conclusion, you’re a ****** who believes in an omniscient man in the sky who acts like a dictator.
Sincerely, Crax
Hey Crax,
We all sat under tutors who taught us what you are so dutifully reciting. Know this for sure : Science will always hit a brick wall in trying to find the origin of the universe. Faith takes people like me above that wall.
It’s good you acknowledged that God is omniscient, and sure, He is a dictator. I beg to differ though, I am not retarded. There are realms unknown to Science buddy, and you better start asking yourself some serious questions…
I like you though. You sound intelligent. It only beats my imagination how an accident could have created your intelligence, and worse still, how that intelligence can also concur with that wild assumption.
In conclusion, you are a wonderfully made being refusing to accept the truth about your origin : You were created by God.
I’ve got a few things that I would like you to watch, and read through. The first of which, is something humorous,which nails home how ridiculous the bible is:
http://www.stumbleupon.com/su/1xFg9w/www.youtube.com/watch%253Fv%253DbGoYbjzy8-s
Also, by your beliefs, it would’ve been fate for me to find this video, and God would’ve put it in my path, so I could encounter it, and use it as a way to mock you?
Anyway, time for some cold hard facts, about some interesting things:
The brain of the Amazon river dolphin (Pink Dolphin) is 40% larger than a human brain.
So, seeing as these dolphins brains are bigger than a humans, then, surely, they have some kind of capabilities along the lines of intelligence. Why are these not mentioned in the bible? If their brains are superior to our own, why the hell, would they not get a chance to go to heaven? Why instead does this happen?:
The pink dolphin has been listed as endangered by the International Union for Conservation of the Nature due to pollution, over fishing, excessive boat trafficking and habitat loss.
Is that just? Is this fair? I think not.
This next report:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dog
explains the way that dogs have been forced to evolve through breeding, in order to be better used to assist humanity, although this should actually be classed as genetic engineering, which has been cited as blasphemy, and as playing god… This has been happening for thousands of years, so, when god got in touch with with Noah, when Jesus apparently, walked the earth, when Muhammed was converted into a prophet, why was this not mentioned, and stopped?
It is stated that, without dogs and their breeding (forced evolution), man may not have survived for so long, for example, with the crossing of the Bering Strait, which is mentioned on the above page, and, we have all heard stories about how they have assisted us, in many, many ways:
Sniffer dogs, mountain rescue dogs, pulling their owners from burning buildings, defending people from attack, pulling sleds, etc, etc… So… As they have been so key in helping us for so long, would they not deserve a place in Heaven too?
Would Mahatma Ghandi be burning in Hell now, because he was not a Christian?
Would Malcolm X be burning in Hell, because he was so militant in his approaches to changing American Human Rights policies?
Would the millions of Allied soldiers, who fought to restore (relative) peace, during the first and second world wars, be condemned to Hell for breaking the: Thou shalt not murder, commandment?
On the flipside to that, do you think that a rapist or a paedophile, or any other type of criminal, would be allowed into Heaven if he “found God”?
Will the children whom don’t even get to take their 3rd breath be banned to Hell, as they weren’t Christened, before they died?
I look forward to your responses on the above.
Although, in answer to those of you who ask why the majority of us English speakers are picking on Christianity, rather than Islam, that’s because the majority of Western countries, which I imagine that the majority of the forum readers in here come from, will have been brainwashed since youth, into believing in this, although, I can assure you that I have had many, many conversations with ill informed Muslims, who are also unable to offer satisfactory answers about why Darwins theories (which were based on many years of research) would be impossible.
And, while I mention that, I must advise you that I found your statement above rather entertaining:
Science will always hit a brick wall in trying to find the origin of the universe. Faith takes people like me above that wall.
First and foremost, what ******* evidence do you have of anything in the bible? If you can work out how to produce any of the “miracles” which are mentioned in the bible; Parting of a sea, being the ideal choice, without with a stick and faith alone, then, I promise you that I will follow whatever old books’ ideals you throw at me say.
Until then, here’s some reasons why I’ll trust a scientist, over a weirdo in a dress, or any ancient book, any day: http://www.newuniverse.co.uk/Scientists.html
Hi Mighty House,
I choose to concentrate on the latter aspects of your post. I have seen enough of those links you sent. I could also send you thousands of links, but let’s just try to reason out something right here.
You said this :
” First and foremost, what ******* evidence do you have of anything in the bible? If you can work out how to produce any of the “miracles” which are mentioned in the bible; Parting of a sea, being the ideal choice, without with a stick and faith alone, then, I promise you that I will follow whatever old books’ ideals you throw at me say.”
Well, I am not obliged to produce evidence, cos I lay claim to faith. (Doesn’t mean I can’t, though). Now, you lay claim to Science, and flout the need for PROOF. Evolution is as much a belief as my belief in God. Why? Cos you have no proof of it, only assumptions. I repeat, only assumptions. Where are the intermediate animals? And I guess the animals somehow always evolved in pairs, so they could reproduce, right? How intelligent of them. Yeah, so you cover all this with the “Millions of years ago” phrase, and you think it’s so, so logical?
If you demand proof of my faith, which lays no emphasis on proof, then you ought to be ready to show me some SERIOUS PROOF for your belief or non – belief, claiming science as its basis.
You also said :
“Until then, here’s some reasons why I’ll trust a scientist, over a weirdo in a dress, or any ancient book, any day”
Do you mind doing a background check on some of the revered scientists and their belief in God/ the bible? …
Hello again drexla,
To begin, you honestly believe that the so-called creator of human intelligence wanted you to take things on faith? That is the most retarded thing I have ever heard. Secondly, where is this proof that of the biblical events that YOU flout? You say that you won’t show it because of your “faith”. How about this: Humor me. Show me this proof you speak of. I’m sorry that my mind works in a way that requires me to think about and see proof of your God before I throw my life away to some nonexistent prick in the sky.
Continuing on your “they always evolved in pairs”, did you even READ my last post or take basic Biology? Let me explain for the dim-witted. GENES ARE THE INSTRUCTION PLANS FOR OUR BODIES AND THE CHARACTERISTICS THAT YOU SEE ON THEM. IF AN ANIMAL IS BORN WITH SOME MUTATION OR TRAIT THAT GIVES IT AN EDGE OVER THE OTHER ANIMALS, THEN NOT ONLY DOES IT HAVE TO SURVIVE LONG ENOUGH TO REPRODUCE, BUT IT ALSO HAS TO HAVE THAT TRAIT BE DOMINANT. THAT WAY, IT CAN REPRODUCE WITH IT’S OWN SPECIES, AND THAT TRAIT IS PASSED ON TO IT’S CHILDREN, WHO CAN DO THE SAME. DO YOU RECALL WHAT I SAID ABOUT YOUR MISGUIDED CONCEPTIONS OF A HALF-HUMAN, HALF-APE? AND HOW IT’S NOT LIKE A ******* CENTAUR? Now, that I put that explanation in a way simple enough for YOU to read, on to your next problem.
We HAVE proof. We have intermediary animals. Ever heard of birds perhaps? Or the Homo genus? Go on Wiki-*******-pedia right now and search Homo. When you get back, you may know that we even have intermediary animals for OUR OWN species. They’re called fossils.
Now show your proof, and none of that “faith” bullshit either. The DEFINITION of faith is believing without proof.
Lastly, our scientists usually don’t believe in god because they are, unlike you, intelligent. In fact, in I.Q. tests and on a TV show, Atheists have time and time again been shown to have higher I.Q.s than believers. Would you like to know why? It’s because spirituality has been CONCLUSIVELY connected to brain-damage. “Oh,” you say, “But not ALL believers could have had brain damage, could they Crax?” “Well you’re right about that” I answer. That’s because the majority of Christians, Jews, and whatever other religion were raised to believe it from birth, just like Santa Claus, though he was ALSO revealed to be a fraud, wasn’t he?
Sincerely, Crax.
hi Crax,
For some reason I like you, buddy. Now you said this :
“GENES ARE THE INSTRUCTION PLANS FOR OUR BODIES AND THE CHARACTERISTICS THAT YOU SEE ON THEM. ”
Excuse me, who made those plans? Just tell me their origin. If you’ve done a little bit of computing, you’d begin to appreciate the kind of programming that went into CREATING the genetic code. Science has only just scratched the surface.
I know a little maths as well, an I’m awed by the physical laws we have around, by their conformity to laid down rules.
Now hear me, It’s a simple issue. Atheism is a religion, as much as mine. It requires you to believe that there is no God, mine requires you to. Atheism is based on one premise, that all the wonder we see around, all the beauty, is as a result of an ACCIDENT. The source of which I dare you to TELL and PROVE.
You have ignored enough proof of God’s existence already. I doubt you will change your mind if you saw the parting of the sea. Because that’s a little miracle compared to what you see everyday.
Time will not permit me to launch into the intricate designs woven into your body, nor of the delicate forces that sustain your life.
My final word to you, Crax:
If you have a child, or a young one that you love, do me this favour:
Every morning call them to yourself, look them in the eye, and tell them the “TRUTH”. That they are nothing but ACCIDENTS, originated from some primodal soup or whatever which couldn’t take the heat on Earth some millions of years ago. Let them know that they originated from monkeys and gorillas. And while you’re at it, keep reminding yourself of it each day, for the rest of your life.
Been nice talking to you buddy. I still insist you are too intelligent to have been an Accident, and always will see you as another example of the handiworks of THE ULTIMATE BEING, GOD.
I wasnt there when these devices were used, I dont know anybody who saw them being used so I choose to believe it never existed. I think people with nothing better to do made these things and try to convince us that there was a time worste than the one we live in.
HAHAHA-You’re a tool.
You also weren’t there when the US Constitution was written, or when America was founded,nor have you met anyone alive from that time, so according to you the US must not exist either.
@Rina:
Ignorance is strength/bliss, I suppose.
Were they been used by Muslims or only midevel christian communities.
The devices from the Inquisition were used by members of the ruling Catholic church on the Jews (mostly) and Muslims of Spain and Portugal in the mid 1400s-early 1500s. My dad’s side is Sephardic (Spanish) Jewish, and they fled Spain during the middle ages to (relative) safety in Turkey, where there were indigenous Mizrachi (Middle Eastern) Jews and a more friendly (at the time) Muslim community.
lol a page about torture devices turned into a religios debate come on now aren’t we passed this yet boys and girls
You know what would happen if all religion disappeared, erased from people’s minds, all notion of a god or any supernatural being governing our actions simply blinked out of reality? Friggin’ nothing. A few people who were religious zealots and felt they were terrible sinners might be a little happier. A lot of people who derived purpose from their beliefs would feel lost and hopeless. The people who did terrible things in the name of their gods would do terrible things in the name of their countries or their leaders or for power or riches. Crime would probably increase, because if you think about it without the benefit of religion, there’s not really any meaning to…anything; people would be greedier, because what’s to stop them? Natural selection would take its course. Humanity would die out at about the same time it will now and be forgotten forever. Unless there turns out to be a god, in which case who knows, maybe he’ll sit around missing us for a while. Terrible things have been done in the name of god. Other terrible things have, yes, been done for atheism (there have been shootings in churches because people wanted to kill the people spreading lies about “gods” among other things) and there have been terrible things done for greed or in anger. Greed causes the most. As somebody pointed out, Hitler was a superstitious atheist and killed a lot of people in the name of no god at all, so clearly you can’t pin it all on religions.
And by the way, little known fact about the Spanish Inquisition. If you confessed to being a heretic, you weren’t generally killed or tortured. You were made to read from the bible aloud, do penance, give money to the church, things like that, unless you had done something really serious. The torture was for people who wouldn’t confess, which was a relatively small number. Am I saying the inquisition was a happy swell time when people were given ever more reason to love god? Nope. I’m just saying that people exaggerate it to make points. Atheists claim tens of thousands were killed horribly for no crimes, christians claim maybe a dozen people were killed for being incarnations of ultimate evil and also eating babies sometimes. Just like atheists say that all that’s wrong in the world is because of religion, and religious people say all that’s wrong in the world is because of the absence of religion. But if you really think about it, the things that are wrong with the world are wrong because lots of people are greedy idiots, some of whom believe in gods. That isn’t going to change, and as long as you’re shouting about how religion is the tar heroin of the masses, you’re not part of the solution. You’re just a fanatic.
Actually, your comment about the Inquisition is rather misleading. Yes, if a Muslim or Jew “confessed” their crime of not being Catholic– which was often brought out via torture, btw–and were forced to perform Auto de Fe (the reading from the bible, penance, etc that you mentioned). If the confession or vow to convert was deemed insincere, the victim would face risk of exile, execution, or further torture.
Even after the penance, known Jews (I am not sure about Muslims, I only know from my own family history) who had passed Auto de Fe were often interrogated (and tortured if they did not cooperate) to reveal the names of their Jewish family members or neighbors, or to give the names of known crypto Jews (those who continued to practice in secret). Thousands were executed, and over a quarter of a million were exiled http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_the_Jews_in_Spain#Number_of_the_exiles (note: this is just Spain, a similar number exists for Portugal as well). So no, there is not much of an exaggeration.
And to those of you who blame the torture on religion: religion is NOT the direct cause of these atrocities. Looking back in Medieval or even ancient times, people were savages. Christian, Muslim, Jewish, Hindu, Pagan, irreligious… people killed each other, and quite brutally at that! As our societies develop and become more modern, these practices slowly diminish. It is not in any religion’s creed to kill or torture others. It is simply a misinterpretation of their religion’s/cultures laws coupled with the already brutal nature of the era. They used religion to substantiate/excuse their horrible actions, but in reality it was just how society worked back then- all over the world.
Atheists claim tens of thousands were killed horribly for no crimes, christians claim maybe a dozen people were killed for being incarnations of ultimate evil and also eating babies sometimes. Just like atheists say that all that’s wrong in the world is because of religion, and religious people say all that’s wrong in the world is because of the absence of religion. But if you really think about it, the things that are wrong with the world are wrong because lots of people are greedy idiots, some of whom believe in gods. That isn’t going to change, and as long as you’re shouting about how religion is the tar heroin of the masses, you’re not part of the solution. You’re just a fanatic.
^^^ Sorry, Joe, for copying your last paragraph in my comment! I put it down there to see what you wrote, and forgot to take it off at the end.
it’s like i read in a book, all humans seek a leader, or something to base their way of life on.. without one, chaos would reign in our world.. thats is how religions, rulers, goverments are created..
hmmm actually, the catholic church has admitted its’ mistakes they made during that period. but those horrendous acts were committed by people who wanted power and/or fanatics. they were using religion as an excuse.
also, just something i kinda thought up of, aren’t atheists believing in “not believing”?
No, that’s absurd. Are you believing in something for not believing in the Hindu gods? Are you believing in something for not believing in Zeus, Odin, Ra, the Flying Spaghetti Monster, the Invisible Pink Unicorn? All religions don’t believe in others, we just go one god further.
You left out one of the Romans more creative torture methods.
They had method where the prisoner is placed in a wooden box, with only their hands, feet and head poking through holes.
The wooden box is place on a raft or small boat, and towed out to the middle of a small pond. Then the prisoners face is smeared with honey.
The honey attracts insects which will crawl over the prisoner day and night.
Each day the prisoner is force fed to keep them alive, but the box is never opened or emptied. Over time the box fills with urine, faeces, then maggots and flies.
Some prisoners lasted for weeks.
There are also the Chinese besides many old civilizations like the Aztecs, Mayas etc who had some pretty inhumane torture methods…Secular or religious…torture has been with us all along and today is still happening…We even watch it more and more in movies and I think it is as a medium to get us to accept it more…
Here is a small link of what is currently happening in China…http://chinaview.wordpress.com/2007/03/29/list-of-china-modern-torture-methods-photo/
I think that as we head into a fascist state here in America and more into government control allow our value system to be dictated by personal assets and valuables our country will become more like China. I hope the future proves me wrong though.
love the articles here very interesting looking forward to reading more.
Only people who suffer themselves can inflict such terror on other people – but the others an ourselves are actually one, so they are torturing themselves.
i’d like to see one of those things in action. heck, maybe try one of the non-lethal ones for bondage. yum
Woa these torture are crazy, it must of been a whole lot of people that suffered badly from these torture machines.
terrible to think that these stuff where used on human beings.!!
I know about a torture that happens everyday. It is called abortion.
torture manmade/rape earthman/ death lifemade/birth earthmade/religion manmade/ ….GOD MANMADE!!!!! The book written by man,the stories made up or experienced by man, the concept..Hummmmmm….abeautifully constucted way of countrolling the masses,for those in power. All of that stuff is . What do we say to our children to control them. Do this or so-and-so will love you; Do that bad and you,ll be punished. So I guess you will always be the children of the world. Selfish, tantrum filled, sneeky, lying ,deceitful,theiving,destuctive ,disrespectful little children. Well ,have fun I,m going like so many other adults, to learn something useful.Like leaving others,and their belongings alone; out of respect. Basic isn’t it…just like our elders taught us.
“maybe it’s me” says something important – respect. Religion can play an important role here – treat others as you’d like to be treated. I’m not religious because of the hipocracy I see day to day but I think some of those tools used on this web page can be put to good use in a lot of cases with government, murderers, rapists and thieves. How do you feel when you see a young child whose life has been snuffed out, a parent or sib that was not granted mercy before being killed. Be it your own sib or parent you would not feel mercy. (in most cases). I live in a country (like most let’s be honest – I’m a South African)where theft is the order of the day. To kill someone to steal I’d go with a public hanging. Let the punishment suit the crime. I like the idea of chopping hands off, beheadings, castration, stocks, stone throwing and the rack. Publicly. You see, we haven’t really moved too far off the dark ages. Unfortunately humankind are in most part still no better than ******* savages.
if only Barney was around back then.
The inquisitions and mass murders during the dark ages were orchestrated by the Roman Catholic Church. They do not represent the true God of the Bible.
Tell that to Jesus and the Crucifix, or the victims of the Salem Witch Trials, or the people who were invaded in any of the 8 Crusades or 3 Inquisitions. They were sanctioned by the Pope, who acts as “Gods” mouthpiece, they represent your nonexistent god. Case Closed.
The argument over who did it more is beside the point: they both did. Besides, torture way predates the Church and Christian-era governments.
Come to think of it, I want to expand on my brief posting I made a few minutes ago.
The argument over whether religious groups — the Catholic Church in particular — or secular authorities used these sorts of devices is rather beside the underlying point: they both did. Nobody kept a scorecard. To do so would allow the “loser” to use the so-called “Nuremberg defense,” so dubbed when a German on trial for war atrocities, (a relatively low-ranking guy) stammered he had “no idea it would be so many,” to which the prosecutor thundered, “One was too many! (or words to that effect).
Besides, torture, including using devices to do so, WAY predates the Church and Christian-era secular governments (where those existed separate from religion, which I’m not too sure there were very many — if any — of). Think of the “death of a thousand cuts,” a method perfected by the ancient Chinese. It is said that a skilled torturer could stretch out a person’s terrible death over a period of 1,000 days. Check out the Babylonians, Assyrians, Persians, Egyptians, etc. They all had nifty ways of torturing folks, too. Ever hear of the (possibly mythical) “Iron Maiden?” Then there were those fun games in Rome in which the condemned were armed then put into the arena with wild animals. The prisoner could defend himself only so long, and Caesar sure as heck had plenty of animals to loose if need be, unless he decided “Good show!” and spared the poor bast*rd at the last second. (I know, that’s not people directly torturing other people, but it sort of qualifies, doesn’t it?)
Modern examples abound. In parts of the world, the authorities, be they religious or secular, will do stuff like have a person stretched out on the ground, then let the crowd start piling rocks on him (or her) — but ordering a halt before the person died. But the person didn’t know ahead of time he would be “only” tortured, not executed, adding, psychologically, to the terror of the torture.
then there’s Iran, for instance, which when a person is hanged, he isn’t dropped; he’s hoisted, the reasoning being the victim or family of the victim (if the victim died) can forgive the condemned right up until he’s choking his last breath. A few years ago some poor devil dangled for upwards of four minutes, according to media reports, before the surviving family of the victim — I forget the crime — gave in and forgave the guy, at which point he was lowered and revived. Wouldn’t want to have HIS dreams!
Yes, people are capable of extraordinary cruelty; it’s one of the things that distinguishes us from the rest of the animal world.
Check your history. More people have been killed in the name of communism than any other “religion”. And the sad thing is it is still happening today. The victims are generally the powerless people of the society and the Christians.
I can’t believe anyone is even trying to minimise religion’s history by saying “someone else did it too.” Just own up to the facts. This was brutal, and inhumane, and nobody can do this and still call themselves a good person. Christians have been persecuted AND been the persecutors. Accept it. Everyone’s fallen short. And to try and argue for this vile cruelty, is to leave the door open for it to happen again. Don’t think it’s impossible: all majorities are potentially dangerous.
It’s only the idiotic atheists of today who refuse to see a difference between religion in current times as opposed to that in the middle ages. There isn’t a single Christian or Jewish authority who wouldn’t condemn any death in the name of God. That’s because most of today’s religions have gone through a reformation. I’ll give you one guess as to which major religion has NOT gone through a reformation. Of course, I doubt you would go public and say that with your contact information attached. That’s because one of them would saw your head off.
Isn’t the fact that the religions have had to reform, a sign that they’re all bullshit?
God’s word, should not be altered, as, he is supposed to be all knowing and powerful, and would’ve known that these days would come, that mankind would progress like it has, so, it would’ve been wrote, suitable, for all times, and, although I know that you lot are probably thinking: The times when it was wrote, were completely different, so, the bible would’ve had to have been too, but, if any God is supposed to be all knowing and all powerful, then, surely he’d have known which words to use, which would be relevant, to any age of humanity?
The reason that Jesus would’ve gone on about hell so much, is because, like the majority of religions, they rule through fear, which they evoke in the hearts of the simple, who are to fearful to stand up, and take responsibility for the CHOICES of their brothers and sisters.
Yes, in recent times, A bombs were invented, nuclear catastrophe has happened, and could happen, at any time, as you only need one madman to spark it all off, but, aren’t the people who want to conquer the world, simply attempting to emulate their Lord?
If some bearded ****** in the sky, who never gets involved to help humanity, and just says: Do it yourselves, after, apparently, forcing his son into suicide, then, why the **** can’t people, who are actively on earth, making changes, whether good or bad, rule for themselves?
I must admit, that sometimes when I feel so strongly about matters like this, that I am struck by a fear of: What if? But, I prefer to think that, if there was an all powerful, all knowing being, who can accept us into a palace of white and gold, that he would understand why I find it so difficult to believe, and, why I could never condone living my life by the teachings of a 2,000 year old book. Why I prefer to question, and live my life free of restrictions, for me to discover my own way, for me to share my experiences with my brethren, of all different colours, and shapes, and onto my offspring, one day, far away, and mainly, why I believe that humanity should unite, for the common good, because we want to help each other, not force people to follow any one belief, not to be sheep, but, for every single person to chase their potential, to chase the dream, to do whatever they want, as long as it adds some form of value to their lives, or brings a happiness or joy, to whomever they indulge in their wants with, not matter what they are.