"Funny stuff Vlad. Islam has many "PhDs in history" too. They deny the holocaust occurred; they deny Jews ever lived in the land of Israel. And Catholics explain that "the Inquisition wasn't that bad... we weren't as bad as the Nazis." Yeah, right."This thread has long lost any semblance to a civic, rational discussion. Instead, what we have is pure culture war, appeals to emotional argument, etc. "My tribe is always right", on both sides. But paradoxically, it is not necessarily a "bad" thing. Not all history can be "reconciled" from a secular humanist perspective. Nor should it be.
Fodder for discussion:
http://www.jewishencyclopedia.com/view.jsp?artid=148&letter=I&search=inquisition
This article seems to get at the historical heart of the matter without the breathless condemnations so prevalent nowadays.
Actually it’s not “my side is always right”, vlad, pontiac and claud pointed out that this happened, but the image of this has been exaggerated. The jurisdiction was clear, and while the executions by the state and the trials were deplorable they must be seen in light of those times and also seen for the numbers they actually were, not the distorted picture portrayed.
Also do note it is not on the same level to compare the atrocities of the 40s with that of the Inqusition. Even in sheer numbers —> 3,000 were killed over a 300 YEAR period, that’s bad, but none of those were Jews, they were converts and this was 2% of those accused and yes, they have a TRIAL. You may argue this was not as fair as a modern day trial, yet 98% were released and people actually preferred to go to the inquisition trials rather than the state ones (lesser of two evils). So, no, the two events cannot be spoken of as being anywhere on par.