The church yes but outside the RCC?? indulgences are they still taking $ for the pardoning of sins? Is the pope not burning me at the stake because its not good PR or because he no longer thinks its the right thing to do?
In past cultures, both civil authorities and religious authorities regarded heresy as a terrible crime and it was punishable by torture and death. Some used these punishments as a means to “persuade” heretics to recant their heretical beliefs in order to save their souls and also to prevent them from leading others astray by their heretical teachings.
Torture and killing have a long track record of “acceptance” starting with the Israelites, who at God’s command, killed the inhabitants of the promised lands which God gave them, in order to prevent the Israelites from adopting the pagan beliefs of the people in the lands that they conquered and also as punishment for the sins of the pagans in the lands that they conquered.
1 Samuel 15:3
Now go and attack Amalek, and utterly destroy all that they have, and do not spare them. But kill both man and woman, infant and nursing child, ox and sheep, camel and donkey.’”
We see another example in the Jew Saul, a devout Pharisee, who later became St. Paul. He tortured and killed the early Christians. This was done to keep the Jewish religion “pure” and free from heresy.
Acts 26:9-11
9 “Indeed, I (Paul/Saul) myself thought I must do many things contrary to the name of Jesus of Nazareth. 10 This I also did in Jerusalem, and many of the saints I shut up in prison, having received authority from the chief priests; and when they were put to death, I cast my vote against them. 11 And I punished them often in every synagogue and compelled them to blaspheme; and being exceedingly enraged against them, I persecuted them even to foreign cities.
Unfortunately, civil authorities and some members of the Church also later continued this “legacy” of capital punishment for heresy until it was finally outlawed in the 1800’s. Until then, heresy was a capital offense punishable by death. Protestant reformers also killed Catholics and others as punishment for this same reason.
According to Scripture, anyone who committed heresy (taught a different gospel other than the apostles) was accursed.
Galatians 1:9
As we have said before, so now I say again, if anyone preaches any other gospel to you than what you have received, let him be accursed.
2 Peter 2
In order to prevent heretics from continuing to believe in and/or teach heresy, they used torture and also threatened death and also killed in order to try to persuade them to recant of their heresy and thereby save their souls.
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They thought it necessary to use torture and death in order to save the souls of heretics.**
Mark 9:42-48
“But whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in Me to stumble, it would be better for him if a millstone were hung around his neck, and he were thrown into the sea. 43 If your hand causes you to sin, cut it off. It is better for you to enter into life maimed, rather than having two hands, to go to hell, into the fire that shall never be quenched— 44 where
‘ Their worm does not die
And the fire is not quenched.’
45 And if your foot causes you to sin, cut it off. It is better for you to enter life lame, rather than having two feet, to be cast into hell, into the fire that shall never be quenched— 46 where
‘ Their worm does not die
And the fire is not quenched.’
47 And if your eye causes you to sin, pluck it out. It is better for you to enter the kingdom of God with one eye, rather than having two eyes, to be cast into hell fire— 48 where
‘ Their worm does not die
And the fire is not quenched.’
Matthew 18:33-35
Should you not also have had compassion on your fellow servant, just as I had pity on you?’ 34 And his master was angry, and delivered him to the torturers until he should pay all that was due to him.
35 “So My heavenly Father also will do to you if each of you, from his heart, does not forgive his brother his trespasses.”
It is not prudent to use our present 21st century standards to judge ancient Jewish and past Christian (Catholic and Protestant) punishments for heresy. This is what they learned from their predecessors and they continued it until it was finally outlawed in all the “civilized” countries.
It was done in good faith in order to prevent a greater evil “heresy” which renders a person’s soul lost for eternity if he does not repent before death. Saving souls was the most important thing. How they are saved was not.
It is difficult for us to understand their way of thinking since we were never immersed in their beliefs about torture and capital punishment which they learned from those before them and those persons learned from those before them, all the way back to God commanding the Israelites to kill those persons who did not believe as they did.
Could not resist. Happy New Year! 
