"Not to mention that, without the Authority of the Church, who's to say what the will of the Spirit is?"
The content of the Bible is surely His will.
"Point is, he didn't say the opposite is true, that burning heretics is of the will of the Spirit, he just said it was an error to say that burning is against the will."
I'll give that a "10" for effort in mental gymnastics. :)
Ping to #68
"Given the fact that such punishments were commonplace in the secular arena as much as the religious,"
Since when is the Church to be like the world? "Harmless as doves..."
No, he's right. That's the usual way such documents should be read. If the document condemns "X" as an error, it doesn't follow that "not X" is always true, or even that "X" can't be okay given some additional circumstances or qualifications.
Call me Master Equivocator, if you like... :)
The point is, people in the Church went with what they knew--sinners would be punished, and criminals were punished a certain way. Were they right? Nope. Was it acceptable? Yes. It was neither cruel nor unusual in those days. It is hard for us to pass judgment on their actions, as nothing is seen in its correct social context.