Really Really Non-Traditional

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Hey guys,

First post here! Just wondering if I could have your thoughts on my situation.

Currently an almost-23-year-old Master of Theological Studies candidate in Comparative Religions at Harvard Divinity School. My GPA is a 3.15 (I'll be doing better this semester). I did my undergraduate work at the University of Rochester, where I majored in religion - I actually completed a religion major and a half. I received an honors degree with highest distinction, GPA was a 3.61, and I was Cum Laude. I took none of the pre-med requirements there (we didn't have required classes). I was extremely super over-involved in my undergrad student life, holding many many different leadership positions throughout my 4 years there. In HS, i did some pretty legit research in a lab with Cholera. This fall, I will be volunteering at a local hospital, and I am searching for a nursing home to volunteer at as well (as I really enjoy spending time with older people). I would start this summer, but I'm going to Sanskrit Boot Camp.

I want to be a doctor. Obviously, I have to take the pre-reqs/MCATS, and I intend to do so in the form a formal post-bac pre-med program. I intend to apply to various programs, and am considering doing the Harvard Extension School post-bac since it would be extremely convenient (ie. I wouldn't have to move) but I'd be very willing to relocate if I got into a great program.

I have two questions. One is about reputations of post-bac programs, but the more important question is the following: Do you think that my extensive experience in the humanities will be detrimental to being seriously considered for med school admissions (obviously this is assuming I do well during the post-bac). I'd really appreciate any feedback. I feel as though I am more non-traditional than most and having feedback would really help me gain some perspective on the reality of my situation.

Thanks so much! 🙂
 
ReligionMD said:
Hey guys,

First post here! Just wondering if I could have your thoughts on my situation.

Currently an almost-23-year-old Master of Theological Studies candidate in Comparative Religions at Harvard Divinity School. My GPA is a 3.15 (I'll be doing better this semester). I did my undergraduate work at the University of Rochester, where I majored in religion - I actually completed a religion major and a half. I received an honors degree with highest distinction, GPA was a 3.61, and I was Cum Laude. I took none of the pre-med requirements there (we didn't have required classes). I was extremely super over-involved in my undergrad student life, holding many many different leadership positions throughout my 4 years there. In HS, i did some pretty legit research in a lab with Cholera. This fall, I will be volunteering at a local hospital, and I am searching for a nursing home to volunteer at as well (as I really enjoy spending time with older people). I would start this summer, but I'm going to Sanskrit Boot Camp.

I want to be a doctor. Obviously, I have to take the pre-reqs/MCATS, and I intend to do so in the form a formal post-bac pre-med program. I intend to apply to various programs, and am considering doing the Harvard Extension School post-bac since it would be extremely convenient (ie. I wouldn't have to move) but I'd be very willing to relocate if I got into a great program.

I have two questions. One is about reputations of post-bac programs, but the more important question is the following: Do you think that my extensive experience in the humanities will be detrimental to being seriously considered for med school admissions (obviously this is assuming I do well during the post-bac). I'd really appreciate any feedback. I feel as though I am more non-traditional than most and having feedback would really help me gain some perspective on the reality of my situation.

Thanks so much! 🙂
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For medical school it matters very little what school you came from, although having a master's seems to give a certain advantage.
Your experience in humanities will not be a detriment in the majority of cases IMO it can only help, but it will only be icing on the cake. The fact of the matter is that medical schools are interested in your GPA and MCAT being in acceptable ranges first - then they start weeding out using other criteria.
 
ReligionMD said:
Hey guys,

First post here! Just wondering if I could have your thoughts on my situation.

Currently an almost-23-year-old Master of Theological Studies candidate in Comparative Religions at Harvard Divinity School. My GPA is a 3.15 (I'll be doing better this semester). I did my undergraduate work at the University of Rochester, where I majored in religion - I actually completed a religion major and a half. I received an honors degree with highest distinction, GPA was a 3.61, and I was Cum Laude. I took none of the pre-med requirements there (we didn't have required classes). I was extremely super over-involved in my undergrad student life, holding many many different leadership positions throughout my 4 years there. In HS, i did some pretty legit research in a lab with Cholera. This fall, I will be volunteering at a local hospital, and I am searching for a nursing home to volunteer at as well (as I really enjoy spending time with older people). I would start this summer, but I'm going to Sanskrit Boot Camp.

I want to be a doctor. Obviously, I have to take the pre-reqs/MCATS, and I intend to do so in the form a formal post-bac pre-med program. I intend to apply to various programs, and am considering doing the Harvard Extension School post-bac since it would be extremely convenient (ie. I wouldn't have to move) but I'd be very willing to relocate if I got into a great program.

I have two questions. One is about reputations of post-bac programs, but the more important question is the following: Do you think that my extensive experience in the humanities will be detrimental to being seriously considered for med school admissions (obviously this is assuming I do well during the post-bac). I'd really appreciate any feedback. I feel as though I am more non-traditional than most and having feedback would really help me gain some perspective on the reality of my situation.

Thanks so much! 🙂
Click to expand...

There are many humanities majors in medical school. As long as you prove that you can do science, they will appreciate the diversity of different backgrounds.
 
ReligionMD said:
Hey guys,

First post here! Just wondering if I could have your thoughts on my situation.

Currently an almost-23-year-old Master of Theological Studies candidate in Comparative Religions at Harvard Divinity School. My GPA is a 3.15 (I'll be doing better this semester). I did my undergraduate work at the University of Rochester, where I majored in religion - I actually completed a religion major and a half. I received an honors degree with highest distinction, GPA was a 3.61, and I was Cum Laude. I took none of the pre-med requirements there (we didn't have required classes). I was extremely super over-involved in my undergrad student life, holding many many different leadership positions throughout my 4 years there. In HS, i did some pretty legit research in a lab with Cholera. This fall, I will be volunteering at a local hospital, and I am searching for a nursing home to volunteer at as well (as I really enjoy spending time with older people). I would start this summer, but I'm going to Sanskrit Boot Camp.

I want to be a doctor. Obviously, I have to take the pre-reqs/MCATS, and I intend to do so in the form a formal post-bac pre-med program. I intend to apply to various programs, and am considering doing the Harvard Extension School post-bac since it would be extremely convenient (ie. I wouldn't have to move) but I'd be very willing to relocate if I got into a great program.

I have two questions. One is about reputations of post-bac programs, but the more important question is the following: Do you think that my extensive experience in the humanities will be detrimental to being seriously considered for med school admissions (obviously this is assuming I do well during the post-bac). I'd really appreciate any feedback. I feel as though I am more non-traditional than most and having feedback would really help me gain some perspective on the reality of my situation.

Thanks so much! 🙂
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I am not going to start a flame or whatever but just out of curiosity...

Have you taken any science courses yet? Any intro bio or anything?

Does the science and religion conflict for you at all?
 
I graduated from a Christian college and if anything taking science classes has strengthen my faith. There is way too many unanswered questions. I don't care if the Earth is 5 thousand or 5 billion years old as long as I know there was intelligent design behind in AKA (God)
 
thomasfx10 said:
I graduated from a Christian college and if anything taking science classes has strengthen my faith. There is way too many unanswered questions. I don't care if the Earth is 5 thousand or 5 billion years old as long as I know there was intelligent design behind in AKA (God)
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To each their own.It is interesting how different people can get totally different things out of something.

I was agnostic going into college (raised jewish) and after getting a molecular biology degree it has left no doubt in my mind that god does not exist. I am 100% atheist now.
 
Podiatry1 said:
To each their own.It is interesting how different people can get totally different things out of something.

I was agnostic going into college (raised jewish) and after getting a molecular biology degree it has left no doubt in my mind that god does not exist. I am 100% atheist now.
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Why in the world would you say something silly like that here. You are perfectly aware that there are plenty of religious doctors and scientists. Obviously taking science courses occasionally destroys faith, occasionally inspires and strengthens it and most of the time has no effect on it at all.

Besides, a religion major would have less to say about this than anyone, being a religion major is not a guarantee ( and sometimes is a contra-indicator ) of personal faith.

This looks pretty much like a troll post.
 
Thanks so much for replying. I really appreciate your input. I thought my situation was particularly unusual, so if it isn't, I apologize for the misleading title. It's comforting to hear that my humanities background might actually be an asset to my application. I was concerned that it might look as though I am so interested in religion I couldn't possibly be interested in medicine lol.

In college, I used to audit a bunch of science courses so I am familiar with the material and amount of work these classes entail. I also had a lot of friends in college who were pre-med students, so I know the amount of work that goes into doing well in science classes. I think have a good handle on what to expect during a post-bac program. Furthermore, I study religion (mainly Hinduism) - I am not religious. My personal interest in religion is of an academic nature. So, I think of religion as any other subject - like history or math, though granted there is much more at stake for believers. Anyway, I'm down with evolution and science and a physical universe so I am not worried that science will somehow clash with my personal beliefs. Science is my personal belief.

Anyway, thank you all for your help - if there are more thoughts about my particular academic history and how it might appear to admissions comittees, I'd love to hear them. Otherwise, thanks for your help!
 
You're actually what they're looking for. You'd be surprised on useful your degree can be on what you have. Medical schools love to see humanities majors in their schools. In fact, there are several programs (like Mount Sinai EMSAP) that require humanities degree.

And check out this video from Stanford: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hxMNzxldU8w This should answer your question.
 
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EdLongshanks said:
Why in the world would you say something silly like that here. You are perfectly aware that there are plenty of religious doctors and scientists. Obviously taking science courses occasionally destroys faith, occasionally inspires and strengthens it and most of the time has no effect on it at all.

Besides, a religion major would have less to say about this than anyone, being a religion major is not a guarantee ( and sometimes is a contra-indicator ) of personal faith.

This looks pretty much like a troll post.
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So does the one he was replying to...
 
Nobody's trolling. Everyone needs to take a deep breath before posting in this one and remember that there are strong feelings involved in the possible ancillary discussions that one, won't be resolved through argument here, and two, that detract from the OP's actual questions. Do schools like applicants who focused on the humanities? Hell yeah, but only after they've proven an aptitude towards learning science through solid performance in the prereqs and the MCAT. Having not taken them keeps pretty much every post-bacc in play, since some are for your exact situation of not having taken the prereqs. There is great discussion of the various factors involved in the dedicated post-bacc forum:
http://forums.studentdoctor.net/forumdisplay.php?f=71
 
Podiatry1 said:
Does the science and religion conflict for you at all?
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The only conflicting thing I would have with a religion degree is the amount of term papers that are probably required in those sorts classes. :meanie:



IBdontfeedthetroll
 
thomasfx10 said:
I graduated from a Christian college and if anything taking science classes has strengthen my faith. There is way too many unanswered questions. I don't care if the Earth is 5 thousand or 5 billion years old as long as I know there was intelligent design behind in AKA (God)
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Not-sure-if-serious.jpg



[resisting...urge to...feed...troll]



To OP - you are in fine position to get in to med school in the next few years if you're willing to slog through the work. Good luck!
 
But such a non-traditional troll. A really, really non-traditional one.
 
Pons Asinorum said:
Yeah...that line right there is starting to give me some trollololo-tingles. Follow-up postings will verify one way or another.
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Maybe. I had to go to BOM bootcamp in HS. Urhhgggg.
 
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EdLongshanks said:
Why in the world would you say something silly like that here. You are perfectly aware that there are plenty of religious doctors and scientists. Obviously taking science courses occasionally destroys faith, occasionally inspires and strengthens it and most of the time has no effect on it at all.

Besides, a religion major would have less to say about this than anyone, being a religion major is not a guarantee ( and sometimes is a contra-indicator ) of personal faith.

This looks pretty much like a troll post.
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Lol. My post was not a troll post. Was yours? Seems like it.

Why did you consider mine a troll post? Because I politely expressed my own viewpoint which is different than the OP?

More likely because it is because my religious beliefs, or lack thereof offended you.

While there may be a significant amount of Physicians who are religious I remember reading a peer review article, I believe it was from UGA, which is right in the bible belt, which did a study saying something like >70% of life scientists are athiests. It may even be higher. I will try to did it later tonight but right now I am on my cell phone.
 
OK..that's it! Can someone please tell me what a troll is? 😕

And to the OP...I second every other opinion. You are not as non-traditional as you may assume. Schools will likely appreciate the diversity of educational experience you have to offer!
 
Podiatry1 said:
Lol. My post was not a troll post. Was yours? Seems like it.

Why did you consider mine a troll post? Because I politely expressed my own viewpoint which is different than the OP?

More likely because it is because my religious beliefs, or lack thereof offended you.

While there may be a significant amount of Physicians who are religious I remember reading a peer review article, I believe it was from UGA, which is right in the bible belt, which did a study saying something like >70% of life scientists are athiests. It may even be higher. I will try to did it later tonight but right now I am on my cell phone.
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Please don't post it. I can't see where this is an appropriate discussion for this forum. We are here in order to help each other get into medical school and discuss the issues related to that. There are lots and lots of forums out there for religious discussions. I would hate for someone to come to this forum asking for help and instead see a bunch of arguments about where Cain got his wife.
 
Original Poster, has your question been answered? If so you can ask the moderators to close this thread in order to prevent it becoming a source of conflict.
 
Having been a classicist for a while, I really don't think the Sanskrit Boot Camp bit is especially troll-tastic. Many people who study ancient texts in a serious, academic way end up organizing intensive summer language workshops for students. Modern language majors can always spend a few months wherever the language they study is spoken, but to really get to grips with a language that is no longer a going concern, this is obviously not an option. I myself attended an Attic Greek boot camp, once upon a time.
 
clausewitz2 said:
Having been a classicist for a while, I really don't think the Sanskrit Boot Camp bit is especially troll-tastic. Many people who study ancient texts in a serious, academic way end up organizing intensive summer language workshops for students. Modern language majors can always spend a few months wherever the language they study is spoken, but to really get to grips with a language that is no longer a going concern, this is obviously not an option. I myself attended an Attic Greek boot camp, once upon a time.
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It appears that they do have one of those at Harvard.
 
Op, why do want to be a Dr? If you can answer that you will be fine.

But since you have yet to work a day in the career you have spent time and $$ to earn, what makes you think you want to be a Dr instead?

Just curious as you WILL be asked that and need a good answer ready.
 
Wow thanks so much for all of your responses. I'm sorry if I stirred up a weird religion discussion - I can't help that that's what I am currently studying lol All of your comments have certainly reassured me that I'm not as unusual as I thought.

As to why I want to be a doctor - The real reason is a little bit of a complicated and somewhat esoteric explanation for which I require religion to really fully extrapolate, and since I don't want to fuel any fires, I'll leave it at: I'm profoundly interested in the body, how it works, and what that means.
 
ReligionMD said:
Wow thanks so much for all of your responses. I'm sorry if I stirred up a weird religion discussion - I can't help that that's what I am currently studying lol All of your comments have certainly reassured me that I'm not as unusual as I thought.

As to why I want to be a doctor - The real reason is a little bit of a complicated and somewhat esoteric explanation for which I require religion to really fully extrapolate, and since I don't want to fuel any fires, I'll leave it at: I'm profoundly interested in the body, how it works, and what that means.
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Thanks for the context. I'll add, as someone else astutely noted, that you *will* be forced to give that complicated and esoteric explanation to adcomms, and it will be beneficial to get it internalized to the point where you could explain it to your 10-year old niece or nephew without losing too much meaning. You will have never practiced the trade you've spent valuable time and money pursuing. Why is that? And what will keep you from changing your mind similarly while in a training pipeline that is vastly more arduous if you are allowed through the doors of an MD/DO program? Those are the legitimate questions that adcomms will laser in on. Be ready for them, and best of luck.
 
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Podiatry1 said:
To each their own.It is interesting how different people can get totally different things out of something.

I was agnostic going into college (raised jewish) and after getting a molecular biology degree it has left no doubt in my mind that god does not exist. I am 100% atheist now.
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Wow. After I got a molecular biology degree I was even more assured that God exists. Same information, different response.

To each his own.
 
MCAT guy said:
Wow. After I got a molecular biology degree I was even more assured that God exists. Same information, different response.

To each his own.
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👍👍

Everyone has their own experiences and own opinions on this one. Discussions of religion can be great if all people involved can discuss and not argue and listen and not preach. I personally believe that there is so much we don't understand that for any of us to concretely say ANYTHING one way or the other would just prove us to be a fool later. I can't prove there is or isn't any higher power, neither can anyone else.... Since we know so very little, there's no way to say what the truth is.... It is inside of each person...
 
Ummm...not to concerned with the religious tangent the thread took, but I wanted to reassure the original poster that medical schools do not frown upon humanities students. I was a literature major and have an advanced degree in art history and got nothing but appreciation and interest in my background. One interviewer even said they were glad I had actually had experience and studied more than traditional premed courses because it made the interview more enjoyable.

As everyone else has said, just be successful with your postbacc (go for that 4.0! It will raise your already commendable GPA too since they'll count as additional undergrad classes for AMCAS), get a good score on the MCAT, and try to get more recent research experience-they won't care about high school.

Good luck!
 
SBB2016 said:
👍👍

Everyone has their own experiences and own opinions on this one. Discussions of religion can be great if all people involved can discuss and not argue and listen and not preach. I personally believe that there is so much we don't understand that for any of us to concretely say ANYTHING one way or the other would just prove us to be a fool later. I can't prove there is or isn't any higher power, neither can anyone else.... Since we know so very little, there's no way to say what the truth is.... It is inside of each person...
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I'm down with SBB, and with MCATguy. We're tight like that. Not trying to stir anything up, but while we are having a civil discussion on religion, well, I have to bring up a very reasonable retort to this dubious line of logic. Is the fact that you can't disprove something really enough of a reason to believe in it? Agnosticism is kind of a cop out. To say, well, I can't prove 100% certain that atoms exist cause I've never seen one, so I'm not going to say anything one way or another" is silly right? Same with the tooth fairy. Can you prove that she does or does not exist? No, and leaving a lot of room for doubt is not really reasonable. For there to be a reasonable amount of doubt, there has to be a reasonable amount of proof.

Only in so much as nothing in nature is "provable" does your argument hold water. Do you believe in a higher power as much as you believe that hemoglobin has an iron atom at it's center? Some things are more provable than others, that's why I'm down with science.
 
0919mmk said:
I'm down with SBB, and with MCATguy. We're tight like that. Not trying to stir anything up, but while we are having a civil discussion on religion, well, I have to bring up a very reasonable retort to this dubious line of logic. Is the fact that you can't disprove something really enough of a reason to believe in it? Agnosticism is kind of a cop out. To say, well, I can't prove 100% certain that atoms exist cause I've never seen one, so I'm not going to say anything one way or another" is silly right? Same with the tooth fairy. Can you prove that she does or does not exist? No, and leaving a lot of room for doubt is not really reasonable. For there to be a reasonable amount of doubt, there has to be a reasonable amount of proof.

Only in so much as nothing in nature is "provable" does your argument hold water. Do you believe in a higher power as much as you believe that hemoglobin has an iron atom at it's center? Some things are more provable than others, that's why I'm down with science.
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It's not that this argument will "stir" anything up. It's just that these arguments are so...tired. Neither you, nor any other poster in this thread, has said one word of original thought (no offense). That's why when things start going this direction, there is something of a collective sigh. If any of you could resolve any of these disagreements, you would be earning your $ going toe-to-toe with Christopher Hitchens or Shmuley Boteach on the debate circuit, or running a think tank. If we know, unambiguously, that nothing will be resolved form this debate, why have it? No minds are going to be changed in this thread.
 
Pons Asinorum said:
It's not that this argument will "stir" anything up. It's just that these arguments are so...tired. Neither you, nor any other poster in this thread, has said one word of original thought (no offense). That's why when things start going this direction, there is something of a collective sigh. If any of you could resolve any of these disagreements, you would be earning your $ going toe-to-toe with Christopher Hitchens or Shmuley Boteach on the debate circuit, or running a think tank. If we know, unambiguously, that nothing will be resolved form this debate, why have it? No minds are going to be changed in this thread.
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Just for fun really. I enjoy these debates, and it doesn't cost anyone anything right? Not really trying to win, just exchange ideas.
 
0919mmk said:
Just for fun really. I enjoy these debates, and it doesn't cost anyone anything right? Not really trying to win, just exchange ideas.
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I just want to manage the expectations for this thread; this flavor of thread tends to cause some folks to get their toes stepped upon. I love these debates, but the possibility of having them without someone taking it as more than a rhetorical or academic pas de deux is slim. Just the nature of this particular beast. Everyone, by all means go at it, but ELS speaks from experience when he warns above about taking this thread there.
 
thomasfx10 said:
I graduated from a Christian college and if anything taking science classes has strengthen my faith. There is way too many unanswered questions. I don't care if the Earth is 5 thousand or 5 billion years old as long as I know there was intelligent design behind in AKA (God)
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👍
/agree
 
Pons Asinorum said:
I just want to manage the expectations for this thread; this flavor of thread tends to cause some folks to get their toes stepped upon. I love these debates, but the possibility of having them without someone taking it as more than a rhetorical or academic pas de deux is slim. Just the nature of this particular beast. Everyone, by all means go at it, but ELS speaks from experience when he warns above about taking this thread there.
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Fair enough - viewpoint comprehended. Close it up before it spirals downwards 🙂
 
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Really this whole thing is about whether the OP can apply to med school as a theologian, the answer is most certainly... To the rest, I have my own proof for what I believe, and it is my truth that I follow... to each their own as long as they show the same respect 😉
 
SBB2016 said:
Really this whole thing is about whether the OP can apply to med school as a theologian, the answer is most certainly... To the rest, I have my own proof for what I believe, and it is my truth that I follow... to each their own as long as they show the same respect 😉
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Ok, I can't stand it. I knew that you all would get to me. I tried and tried to resist.

Let me tell the story of how science challenged and changed (but did not destroy) my faith.

I was raised, and remain, an evangelical pentecostal of the most conservative stripe. That means all of the things that you think it means. King James Version only, wife in a dress and long hair, healing revivals, shouting, dancing, speaking in tongues etc. (Please don't jump on this. This is for background information only, not for debate. I know its unpopular and I know it is not the only way that God can be approached. But it is what I was raised and it is the only worship that my wife and I feel comfortable with. If God doesn't like it, he'll have to let us know. There's nothing humans can do about it).

One of the most important modern issues to Pentecostals is a 7 24-hour-day creation. When I went to Bible school 30 years ago the very first subject in the very first class was how to harmonize a 7-day creation interpretation of Genesis 1 with known scientific fact. There are 4 possible approaches, gap/ideal-time/flood/eon-day (I won't waste your time with them, you can google them if you wish), I chose one that I could live (ideal time) with and that is what I believed for the next 3 decades. I wasn't totally satisfied with this theory, but it seemed like the best that we could do and I left the rest up to God to explain to me sometime.

I got my explanation two years ago I took my first biology course, and all possible young-earth theories were clearly destroyed. We evangelicals are taught, very strongly, in a logical and reasonable God and this logical and reasonable God makes it impossible to reject the evidence that evolution is a historical fact.

So I had a choice. I could either reject scripture, reject logic, or harmonize the two. My biology teacher pointed me to the solution for my dilemma when he mentioned the name of Francis Collins. I got this evangelical scientist's book (he was the head of the Human Genome Project and now heads the NIH) and devoured it. It turns out that he and I share a great respect for the ideas of CS Lewis.

After I went back and re-read Genesis 1, I realized that the chapter does not require anything like the strict 24*7 hour creation at all. It's a summary chapter, giving us a quick 23 billion year, 7 paragraph summary of how we got here. Genesis 2 then begins the real subject of the Bible, which is the creation and the inspiration of the eternal soul and its imagination.

After a little investigation, I was surprised to find out that evangelicals did not have a problem with evolution when it was first proposed. It wasn't until the failed politician-turned-preacher William Jennings Bryan and showboating lawyer Clarence Darrow both saw an opportunity to make themselves look big to their separate audiences, and so conducted the Scopes Monkey show-trial, that the whole conflict got started.

William Jennings Bryan is at fault for this, as he is for a lot of things wrong with American Politics. He wasn't even a Bible-believer until he lost enough elections that he realized his only path to popularity was to make himself a sudden defender of the faith. So he put on holy robes and got people to fight with one another - like politicians have done since the beginning of time.

So, my faith is now more firmly based. I no longer have that niggling little doubt in the back of my mind that this may not really fit very well with the physical world. Instead everything fits together like a good puzzle. The eternal God, who doesn't have to get in a hurry, took billions of years to bring to fruition upon the earth a creature who was what he was looking for. He then breathed into this ape the breath of life and "man became a living soul" capable of being creative and imaginative, just like God. Man chose to use this imagination for evil and violence, so God redeemed him from his own evil choices and will one day choose his elect from among man.

I'm much happier with this. It solves the problem of pain and natural evil (for without pain and misfortune there can be no evolution) it takes care of contradictions with science and my theology and historical fact fit together better.
 
EdLongshanks said:
I was raised, and remain, an evangelical pentecostal of the most conservative stripe.
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This explains your moniker. Wasn't the real reason that he persecuted William Wallace because he refused to wear a skirt.😀
 
jd221b said:
This explains your moniker. Wasn't the real reason that he persecuted William Wallace because he refused to wear a skirt.😀
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No, it's because his Longshank's son wore one.

BTW, does anyone know how Longshank's son was killed? Those guys in the middle ages were a little bit literal minded.
 
SBB2016 said:
Edward II was murdered, but how is a matter of conjecture. However, the reason it came to pass is that he was (likely) gay and it was not tolerated by the Church....

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edward_II_of_England#Death
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As far as what I have read (including the link above) the church wasn't much involved. It looks like his wife and the whole country got tired of his many "favorites" who appeared to be willing to do to the country what they were doing to the king. Britain had several homosexual kings (William Rufus and Richard the Lionheart, for example) so it wasn't merely his licentiousness with men that got him in trouble. He promoted his favorites and let them steal from and abuse the nobility, and the nobility only liked corruption when it began at their level and moved downward.

Wikipedia discounts the popular story that he was killed by insertion of a hot poker in a certain well-used orifice. The story may not be factual but it has a certain poetic justice, which is why it was accepted for so long and remains in many history books.
 
Agreed... but there are many things in history books that aren't true... like you grew up thinking Columbus was a great guy, not a murdering lunatic hanged by his own men for treason. Marie Antoinette didn't say 'let them eat cake', I'm sure there are many more...
 
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