The Horrors of the Inquisition and Its Modern Advocates

Last Days Watchman ^ | Julio Severo

[juliosevero]

The Horrors of the Inquisition and Its Modern Advocates

By Julio Severo

As perfidious as to commit a crime is to excuse, understate or deny it.

On October 2015 Brazilian philosopher Olavo de Carvalho said in his Brazilian Twitter, "A entidade chamada Inquisicao e uma invencao ficcional de protestantes." Translation: "The entity called the Inquisition was a fictional invention of Protestants." His original statement is here.

Other pro-Inquisition statements by him are exposed here.

If everything Olavo says about the Inquisition is correct, then Protestants are liars, because they have been saying about the horrors of the Inquisition for five centuries.

If everything Olavo says about the Inquisition is correct, then Jews are liars, because they have been saying about the horrors of the Inquisition for more than five centuries.

If everything Olavo says about the Inquisition is correct, then Pope John Paul II is a liar, because he compared the Inquisition to communism and Nazism. In fact, he asked forgiveness for the Inquisition's crimes.

Speaking to cardinals on the Inquisition in 1994, the pope said that confessing institutional sin would be a prominent part of the Jubilee year 2000. "How can we be silent about so many kinds of violence perpetrated in the name of the faith?" he asked, specifically mentioning "religious wars, courts of the Inquisition, and other violations of the rights of the human person." He compared them to "the crimes of Hitler's Nazism and Marxist Stalinism."

In the pope's place, Olavo and a few radical Catholics promoting a historical revisionist view of the Inquisition would require Protestants, Jews and Pope John Paul II to ask forgiveness for their "fictional inventions" against the Inquisition.

Communism and Islam, which committed and commit major crimes against humankind, thrive on historical revisionism. How can a Brazilian movement that calls itself conservative have this kind of dishonest existence?

The right path for Catholic conservatism in Brazil is to recognize the Inquisition's horrors and to confess institutional sin, as Pope John Paul II did. Such an admission would prevent pro-family and pro-life Catholic unity with evangelicals and Orthodoxies from breaking down because of an irrational and deranged adherence to an institution that did everything the devil loves (to kill, steal and destroy) and did nothing the Lord Jesus commanded (to love sinners and preach the Gospel).

The wrong and wicked path is to imitate communists and Islamists and advocate historical revisionism. Such revisionism has nothing to do with authentic conservatism. To excuse or understate the Inquisition's horrors has nothing to do with real Christianity and it represents an attack on Jews and Protestants. It also represents an attack on a Catholic Church that since Pope John Paul II has distanced itself from the Inquisition and sought a platform to defend life and family, not torture, killings and human rights violations.

How can a Brazilian "conservative" movement that calls itself pro-life stand strong against the horrors of the abortion industry and communism when it denies, excuses or understates the Inquisition's horrors and makes liars of its Jewish and Protestant victims?

What kind of Brazilian "conservative" movement is this, where a man calling himself its head does nothing more than claim "the Inquisition was a fictional invention" and revile evangelical and catholic conservatives disagreeing with his personal views?

Portuguese version of this article: Os horrores da Inquisicao e seus modernos defensores

Source: Last Days Watchman

Recommended Reading:

Bible Ignorance, Clergy Corruption and the Inquisition in England before the Reformation

Neocons, the Inquisition, Russophobia and Lies

Why Call Names? An Answer to Olavo de Carvalho

The Pope and the Vatican Should Be Confronted about Traditional Catholic Stances against Israel

Can a Pro-Life Activist Defend The Inquisition?

A Global Inquisition to Put Homosexuals to Death?

[Elsie]

1) I was a historian of the Church in the Middle Ages.
2) It was related to my core research for my doctoral dissertation.
3) I was astounded the more I got into researching it just how little those - mostly Protestants and Liberals - who attacked it actually knew about it. I also was astounded at how common it was for people to post online about it when they knew NOTHING about it. One thing I noticed was when you asked those same dolts what books or articles they had ever read about he inquisition they usually went silent or desperately tried to change the subject. Anti-Catholicism is synonymous with ignorance after all.

[Elsie]

Catholicism seems to be synonymous with arrogance.

[Elsie]

3) If you do the math: 400 years (x 365 days per year) divided into 9,000,000 = 61. Sixty-one people would have to have been executed EVERY SINGLE DAY FOR 365 DAYS A YEAR FOR 400 YEARS STRAIGHT to get to 9,000,000.

Time for Fast Mary??

[Elsie]

They are made up.

Mary was sinless.
Mary was Assumed into Heaven.
Mary will protect you.

[Elsie]

At least; during whatever may or may not have happened during the SI; it was done to CATHOLICS; mostly.

[Elsie]

Have you ever read any books on the inquisition?

Have you ever read any scholarly articles on the inquisition?

---

Acts 26:24
While Paul was saying this in his defense, Festus said in a loud voice, "Paul, you are out of your mind! Your great learning is driving you mad."

[Elsie]

I am fixated - on the TRUTH. I don’t think you’re familiar with Him or it.

[Elsie]

‘specially in a storm!

[Elsie]

"Try to catch the image of a band of red-robed religious oligarchy...

Heads up!

[ealgeone]

Could you post a link to your dissertation?

[Mad Dawg]

As Elsie slams it over the left-field wall.....

[vladimir998]

“Could you post a link to your dissertation?”

Nope.

[ealgeone]

Then we cannot validate your claim to knowledge regarding the inquisition.

[vladimir998]

“Then we cannot validate your claim to knowledge regarding the inquisition.”

My knowledge of the inquisition did not begin or end with my dissertation. My research into the inquisition began at least 15 years before my dissertation was completed and did not end with my dissertation. Thus, the premise of your validation is invalid. Also, there is no logical reason to believe you would have the competency to validate any claim in a field you apparently know nothing about. Note: I do not expect the anti-Catholics here to have done dissertations on topics being debated. It would just be nice if they had ever read a single reputable book on the subject or even a single scholarly article on the subject, but, as so often is the case, especially with the inquisition, again and again, the response turns out to be that the anti-Catholic has never read even a single book or even a single scholarly article on the subject. Not. Even. One.

[PeterPrinciple]

Institutional sin.

So if an institution confesses it’s sin, repents and turns toward God, it can go to heaven?

Why does it seem to be a made up word to misdirect? It is more victim hood, more manipulation.

Do a word search on it..........................

[ealgeone]

Note: I do not expect the anti-Catholics here to have done dissertations on topics being debated. It would just be nice if they had ever read a single reputable book on the subject or even a single scholarly article on the subject, but, as so often is the case, especially with the inquisition, again and again, the response turns out to be that the anti-Catholic has never read even a single book or even a single scholarly article on the subject. Not. Even. One.

Then perhaps you could at least post some of the sources you used in the thesis you claim you wrote.

Then we all can make the determination if you used legit scholarly sources or did you just use biased catholic sources.

And to your general blanket statement that non-catholics haven't read up on the Inquisition you speak on another topic of which you do not know what you claim.

[Elsie]

Thus, the premise of your validation is invalid.

[vladimir998]

“Then perhaps you could at least post some of the sources you used in the thesis you claim you wrote.”

Nope. I see no point in doing so for the following reasons:

1) It has no bearing on the fact that Protestant anti-Catholics who post about the inquisition invariably almost invariably have never read a single book or scholarly article about the inquisition.

2) I have no interest in digging out my dissertation for no other reason than to post titles you’re almost guaranteed to never have heard about let alone read. You simply have no competence that I am aware of to evaluate them. So, if I were to post this title: Gerd Schwerhoff’s Die Inquisition: Ketzerverfolgung in Mittelalter und Neuzeit, it effectively means nothing to you either way. So what exactly is the point?

“Then we all can make the determination if you used legit scholarly sources or did you just use biased catholic sources.”

No, I’ve never seen any evidence at all that you have even the slightest competence to make that judgment.

“And to your general blanket statement that non-catholics haven’t read up on the Inquisition you speak on another topic of which you do not know what you claim.”

I said “anti-Catholics”. I said nothing about “non-catholics”. If you can’t get something that simple right, why on earth would you think you’re competent to judge anything about scholarship?

[ealgeone]

Then you have nothing save arrogance.

[MHGinTN]

I did mine on the Mystery Religions. A Catholic on my committee would not let me include catholiciism ... but it belong in the category.