Tuesday, November 2, 2010
Hypocrites
I found it really interesting in the movie today how the messenger priest was given the message that anyone who would kill Elizabeth would be welcomed in heaven. The controversy of Elizabeth's time was over the different religions, yet the Church was being so hypocritical in its attempt to save its own church.
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3 comments:
I completely agree with you Chrissy. I don't understand how anyone in that time period thought by killing off different religions, they were getting closer to God. Murder is a sin that the people during this time obviously did not care about committing, they were only concerned about gaining power. I find the whole situation very hypocritical as well.
To futher elaborate, individuals of the time were often conflicted between fulfilling filial obligations and following Christian values. Like Hamlet, one would usually choose to remain dutiful to a family member, and as a result, murder would sometimes be committed.
However, even if you committed murder, the buying of indulgences would guarantee that your spirit be kept away from Purgatory. Post-Reformation, when the Protestants threw this practice out, characters like Hamlet believed ghosts started to appear.
It is interesting that religious responsibilities are often shirked by those who find them inconvenient in the moment. It reveals the selfishness of the human condition. And hypocrisy was the church's big business for a long time, so I'm not very surprised or aghast. The indulgences Olivia mentioned are a perfect example of this type of blatant sinfulness that the church condoned.
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