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Doesn't that mean that the priest doesn't trust god if he has to rig the ordeal himself?

• jscheel 9y ago
  I think the point is that the system was created with the understanding that the game was rigged, not that they figured it out after God didn't save a few people they truly believed were innocent.
• muzani 9y ago
  Maybe the priest tried contacting God, but got a busy line. So they normally just handle it on their own when that happens.
• coldtea 9y ago
  Medieval priests weren't naive or stupid. Even those that really believed, understood that miracles, if they existed at all, are not something that is forced just because they have a trial. At best they were something that happens once in a blue moon, or in the biblical times.
• ralmeida 9y ago
  The priests might have convinced themselves that the 'holes' in the system were the wordly vehicle through which God would show his will. Which, by the author's logic, is actually the point.
  • Bartweiss 9y ago
    In particular, it stands out that the cauldron is removed from the fire and then the priest prays over it. That's going to improve everyone's chances of acquittal, and even if it was manipulated it doesn't take any conscious fraud. You want a good judgement, you believe your prayers are a factor in that, and perhaps if you're biased it's simply by praying longer for those you believe innocent. I'm sure some priests did rig trials intentionally, but there's plenty of room produce a result like this out of piety.