Mutilation stories of saints proved the truth of Christianity against enemies
Evidence
The claims made about Chiara’s body suggest that mutilation and resurrection were evidence of “the association of dismemberment and sanctity [that] continued to permeate popular attitudes into the sixteenth century.” Stories of mutilation and death at the hands of a religious enemy allowed the Church to suggest that the existence of miracles was inherent in the only true religion. — Sophia Rose Arjana, Muslims in the Western Imagination, 260
Categorization
Category: Causal Relationships
- XREF: The internal function of the enemy narrative — martyrs’ mutilation validates the religion — directly answers the reader’s third guiding question.