Religious question: How did the plea of declaring Sanctuary develop?

Question

Recall the movie "The Hunchback of Norte Dame?" Well, Quasimodo, the church bell ringer, made such a plea.

Answer 1

Art, When the Christian church was well established in Europe it often found itself in conflict with the ruling secular powers. Sanctuary was one of many claims that the church made for self-rule. At another level, the Church's claim of jurisdiction over its clergy, supplanting local law, was at the heart of the trouble between Henry II of England and Thomas a' Becket. The Church in France, Germany and England insisted on it's being a part of the papal state and so not subject to the laws of the land. Therefore, anyone who entered its doors was protected from secular authorities but not from the judgement of the church. If they judged you to be a heretic or witch, they could have you tortured or killed. Or they handed you over to the local lads for torture and execution. Santuary is not respected today in most Western countries.

Answer 2

The idea of sanctuary dates back to the formation of the nation of Israel after the exodus from Egypt. In the book of Numbers chapter 35 and verse 6 “ And among the cities which ye shall give unto the Levites there shall be six cities for refuge, which ye shall appoint for the manslayer, that he may flee thither: and to them ye shall add forty and two cities.” The idea is that if you accidentally killed someone you could seek refuge/sanctuary in one of these cities that were scattered out through the land of Israel. The Law of Moses had statures that allowed a member of the family take revenge on the manslayer if the manslayer was found outside the city of refuge. The manslayer was stuck in the city of refuge until such a time that the high priest died and was replaced. At that time the manslayer was free to return home without threat of being killed by the avenger. But if the killing was not accidental and it was in fact murder the slayer would be put to death. The act of sanctuary has only been loosely used in this nation and has no legal merit. Someone asking for sanctuary from the law is just wasting his/her time law enforcement can and in most cases will enter any such “church” building and apprehend the wanted. The only time this is not the case is when law enforcement bows to public pressure and media attention. Yet the New Testament states that all men are to obey the laws of the land. Romans 13:1 “ Let every soul be subject unto the higher powers. For there is no power but of God: the powers that be are ordained of God.” What ‘powers’ is the writer talking about? Any power/government that is in power we are to be in subjection too. The great thing about our American form of government, for good or bad, is that you and I are a part of that government and we have a say in how it is run.

Answer 3

you mean like sanctuary in a church? like, if you go into a church, no one can hurt you or they have to take care of you? not sure of your meaning but it has a long history, even back to other cultures like the Polynesians, who also had a tradition of "safehouses" or safe sanctuaries where, if you could make it there, no one could hurt you or arrest you, even if you were a criminal. it's just a funky human tradition, having to do also with the sanctity of certain ground, that violence cannot take place on sacred ground, no matter what culture you are in.