For people who want to gauge hoiw they feel about these ideas and at the same time see a very good movie, Carl Dreyer's The Passion of Joan of Arc is an outstanding study in interrogation, pressure on a woman who knows she might die, and final willing sacrifice at the stake. It was made in 1928 so it's a silent movie (reissued on dvd), but the camera work and acting are extraordinary - the facials of the cleric judges ringing Jeanne are wonderful, and the final pyre scene is very impressive and a great climax to the film.