[Mb-civic] The Renaissance vs The Inquisition: Being Fair To Organized Religion

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The Renaissance vs The Inquisition:  Being Fair To Organized Religion


Richard wrote:

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BUT ALSO IN FAIRNESS TO ORGANIZED RELIGION IT DID GIVE US SOME OF OUR 
GREATEST ART
THE RENAISSANCE
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Let's just brief it:



Renaissance

The humanistic revival of classical art, architecture, literature, and 
learning that originated in Italy in the 14th century and later spread 
throughout Europe.

The period of this revival, roughly the 14th through the 16th century, 
marking the transition from medieval to modern times.

(CheeseNote:  That's about 200 Years.)



The Inquisition:

n 1: a former tribunal of the Roman Catholic Church (1232-1820) created to 
discover and suppress heresy

(CheeseNote:  That's about 600 Years.)



A partial brief look at **some** "Past Failures" of just one branch of 
"Organized Religion", in their own words:



Past failures

"The Church is also criticized by some for its failure to admit past 
mistakes. Many claim that they have not taken sufficient responsibility for 
their alleged (but strongly denied) "complacency" in the Holocaust, for 
their persecution of Galileo Galilei, or for their actions during the 
Inquisition."


CheeseNote:  Let's hit "The Holocaust" first:

Holocaust (Greek for "a completely (holos) burnt (kaustos) sacrificial 
offering") was introduced in the late 20th century to refer to the attempt 
of Nazi-ruled Germany to exterminate those groups of people it found 
"undesirable".


http://www.ess.uwe.ac.uk/genocide/appropriation11.htm

Recent books, including the best selling "Hitler's Pope" and a soon to be 
released Argentine government report, firmly link Vatican organizations to 
the Fascist Croatian state and subsequent disappearance of its treasury 
following the Nazi defeat.

The Fascist Croatian state is credited with murdering over 700,000 Serbians 
between 1941 and its demise in 1945.

The suit seeks to recover a percentage of the Croatian hoard estimated to 
have been worth as much as 180 million dollars in 1945.

The Serbs were brutally liquidated in a state sponsored killing spree aimed 
at cleansing Croatia of adherents to Eastern Orthodox Christianity and the 
foundation of an ethnically pure, Roman Catholic state.


CheeseNote:  Who knows what else went on during that period.  On to "Galileo":

Galileo Galilei (February 15, 1564 - January 8, 1642), was a Tuscan 
astronomer, philosopher, and physicist who is closely associated with the 
Scientific Revolution. He has been referred to as the "father of modern 
astronomy" (a title to which Kepler has perhaps a stronger claim), as the 
"father of modern physics", and as "father of science". His experimental 
work is widely considered complementary to the writings of Bacon in 
establishing the modern scientific method. Galileo was born in Pisa and his 
career coincided with that of Kepler. The work of Galileo is considered to 
be a significant break from that of Aristotle; in particular, Galileo 
placed emphasis on quantity, rather than quality.

http://www.peacelink.de/keyword/Galileo_Galilei.php#Church_controversy

In 1992, 359 years after the Galileo trial, Pope John Paul II issued an 
apology, lifting the edict of Inquisition against Galileo: "Galileo sensed 
in his scientific research the presence of the Creator who, stirring in the 
depths of his spirit, stimulated him, anticipating and assisting his 
intuitions." After the release of this report, the Pope said further that 
"... Galileo, a sincere believer, showed himself to be more perceptive in 
this regard [the relation of scientific and Biblical truths] than the 
theologians who opposed him."

CheeseNote:  They made mince-meat out of one of the most intelligent minds 
of the time.  Not much has changed today.  On to "The Inquisition":

The first Inquisitions, known as the Medieval Inquisition, was established 
in 1184 in response to the Catharist heresy in southern France and faded in 
power with the successful suppression of that group.

In 1231, Pope Gregory IX published a decree which called for life 
imprisonment with salutary penance for the heretic who had confessed and 
repented and capital punishment for those who persisted. The secular 
authorities were to carry out the execution. Pope Gregory relieved the 
bishops and archbishops of this obligation, and made it the duty of the 
Dominican Order, though many inquisitors were members of other orders or of 
the secular clergy. By the end of the decade the Inquisition had become a 
general institution in all lands under the purview of the Pope. By the end 
of the 13th century the Inquisition in each region had a bureaucracy to 
help in its function.

The judge, or inquisitor, could bring suit against anyone. The accused had 
to testify against himself/herself and did not have the right to face and 
question his/her accuser. It was acceptable to take testimony from 
criminals, persons of bad reputation, excommunicated people, and heretics. 
The accused did not have right to counsel, and blood relationship did not 
exempt one from the duty to testify against the accused. Sentences could 
not be appealed and inquisitors sometimes interrogated entire populations 
in their jurisdiction.

CheeseNote:  Sound familiar...??  Hmmm...??   No...???   Think 
harder....!   Go ahead...!!    Think.......!!!!     If you dare.

Although there was no tradition of torture in Christian canon law, this 
method came into use by the middle of the 13th century.

CheeseNote:  I hope you're thinking by now...

Penalties went from visits to churches, pilgrimages, and wearing the cross 
of infamy to imprisonment (usually for life but the sentences were often 
commuted) and (if the accused would not abjure) death. Death was by burning 
at the stake, and it was carried out by the secular authorities. Death or 
life imprisonment was always accompanied by the confiscation of all the 
accused's property.

The Church taught that all true authority comes from God alone, a doctrine 
that was supported by secular authorities, as it usually buttressed their 
own power. Therefore, the state was interested in preserving God as the 
foundation of that authority.

Thus, when it appeared that an attack was made upon any aspect of the 
Divine foundation of secular authority (or at least the interpretation of a 
Divine foundation), the state would intervene. In the interest of justice 
the Church felt the need to provide well educated adjudicators.

Abuses by local Inquisitions early on led to reform and regulation by Rome, 
and in the 14th century intervention by secular authorities became common.

The Inquisition succeeded in spreading as far as Venice, Germany and 
Scandinavia. In northern Europe the Inquisition was considerably more 
benign: in the Scandinavian countries it had hardly any impact (although 
northern Europe had its own institutions such as the "witchhunt").The 
Inquisition was never instituted in England, but Christopher Columbus 
carried it with him to the New World. At the end of the 15th century, under 
Ferdinand and Isabella of Castile, the Spanish inquisition became 
independent of Rome. In its dealings with converted Moslems and Jews and 
also illuminists, the Spanish Inquisition with its notorious "autos de fé " 
represents a dark chapter in the history of the Inquisition.

Pope Paul III established, in 1542, a permanent congregation staffed with 
cardinals and other officials, whose task it was to maintain and defend the 
integrity of the faith and to examine and proscribe errors and false 
doctrines. This body, the Congregation of the Holy Office, now called the 
Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, part of the Roman Curia, became 
the supervisory body of local Inquisitions. The Pope himself holds the 
title of prefect but never exercises this office. Instead, he appoints one 
of the cardinals to preside over the meetings.

The Holy Office also has an international group of consultants, experienced 
scholars of theology and canon law, who advise it on specific questions. In 
1616 these consultants gave their assessment of the propositions that the 
Sun is immobile and at the center of the universe and that the Earth moves 
around it, judging both to be "foolish and absurd in philosophy," and the 
first to be "formally heretical" and the second "at least erroneous in 
faith" in theology. This assessment led to Copernicus's De Revolutionibus 
Orbium Coelestium to be placed on the Index of Forbidden Books, until 
revised and Galileo Galilei to be admonished about his Copernicanism. It 
was this same body in 1633 that tried Galileo.

CheeseNote:  Uhhh....  LOL......  And now on to the stance of the Church on 
"Past Failures, in their own words":

The Church response is that the crimes of the Church have been exaggerated, 
and that in 2000 years of Church history there have indeed been some 
wrongdoers within the church, but that the evil that has been committed 
have too-often been exaggerated and overemphasized, at the expense of the 
good that has been done in terms of preserving learning, establishing 
education and health care, charity, scientific and technical advancement 
and providing a moral basis for western law and society. Most atheists, 
humanists and freethinkers strongly dispute these alleged accomplishments.


CheeseNote:  Briefly on to current "Abuse Scandals":

Abuse scandals

In 2002, a major scandal erupted in the U.S. Catholic Church when a wealth 
of allegations of priests sexually abusing children surfaced. Adding to the 
furor were revelations that the Church was aware of some of the abusive 
priests, and simply shuffled them from congregation to congregation instead 
of taking action. The scandal led to the resignation of Cardinal Bernard 
Law from the Boston archdiocese.

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Let's start over.

All the "Art" of all the Centuries of all of Mankind is not worth the life 
of one human being.

And "Organized Religion" (part of It) this very day has a current view that 
"it all was just taken out of proportion and exaggerated for the most part, 
the good that has been done in terms of preserving learning, establishing 
education and health care, charity, scientific and technical advancement 
and providing a moral basis for western law and society is just being 
purposefully and spitefully overshadowed by mostly things which are 
exaggerations spread by filthy athiests, humanists, and freethinkers".


I'll have to disagree with Them.

The Inquisition never ended.

It just changed a bit with the times.

It came over the ocean to here with Columbus where it is still going 
strong, and it is still going strong just about everywhere else in the world.

They just have better Publicists now.

And have added a few Corporate and Other Interested Parties' names to their 
membership.

Oh well, the Renaissance vs The Inquisition.

In all honesty, what really is fair...?

Let's dig up all the many people who were crushed, tortured, ruined, 
defamed, banned, murdered, etc, and ask them what they think of all the 
pretty pictures on the wall, all the good work Organized Religion has done 
in preserving learning, establishing education and health care, charity, 
scientific and technical advancement and providing a moral basis for 
western law and society.

Surely their opinion must be worth *something*.

If they're athiests, humanists, freethinkers, or anti-Bush, call the 
locals, have them locked them up for a while.

After they're gone, call maintenance, have them come up here and clean all 
this rot up they left on the floor.





Cheeseburger

- Where has the sparrow gone now that I need its song.