Looking for Inquisition study

[Pax_et_Caritas]

I am looking for an article and hope someone here knows where I can locate it. Several years ago some historians did a study of the actual documents of the Inquisition and found that most of what is said about it is greatly exadurated. The study revealed that it was actually extremely fair and just, much more so than todays courts.

Is anyone familiar with this study/article, and do you know where I can locate it?

Thanks,

 

[Subrosa]

Here is something PBS has been airing…

pbs.org/inquisition/

And related website…

inquisitionproductions.com/

Subrosa

 

[Rolltide]

I am looking for an article and hope someone here knows where I can locate it. Several years ago some historians did a study of the actual documents of the Inquisition and found that most of what is said about it is greatly exadurated. The study revealed that it was actually extremely fair and just, much more so than todays courts.

Is anyone familiar with this study/article, and do you know where I can locate it?

Thanks,

Just and fair? Yes, relatively, by the standards of the time. More so than today’s courts? I wouldn’t go that far. Much of this, of course, falls under the famous (and false) “Black Legend”, that the Spanish were uniquely cruel with regard to both the Inquisition and the conquest of the New World. Most reputable historians (myself included) are more than happy to confirm this.

 

[thistle]

Just and fair? Yes, relatively, by the standards of the time. More so than today’s courts? I wouldn’t go that far. Much of this, of course, falls under the famous (and false) “Black Legend”, that the Spanish were uniquely cruel with regard to both the Inquisition and the conquest of the New World. Most reputable historians (myself included) are more than happy to confirm this.

There is nothing false about the brutality and cruelty of the Spanish to the filipino people for several hundred years when this country was a colony!!

 

[Icarus210]

From my research, it was deemed necessary to weed out the “Marranos Christians”; those Jews who had “joined” the church to destroy it from the inside. A lot had become Priests and Bishops; even Cardinals.

A bit like today re the Illuminised Masonry.

 

[Goblin_Taters]

Not an article, but Henry Kamen wrote a book a number of years ago to the same effect.

 

[Rolltide]

There is nothing false about the brutality and cruelty of the Spanish to the filipino people for several hundred years when this country was a colony!!

You are absolutely correct. Note that I said uniquely cruel. Part of the Black Legend is that the Spanish were somehow far, far worse than all the other European powers. The truth is, they were all cruel in their treatment of foreign colonies. It is likely that had any other power discovered the Aztec and Inca Empires first, their treatment of them, given the times, would have been the same. Also, the scale and severity of the Spanish Inquisition is seriously exaggerated by many. I’ve heard figures of hundreds of thousands, even millions burned by the Inquisition in Spain. The truth is that something like 5,000 to 12,000 people total were executed by the Inquisition (and probably closer to the low end of that figure). Still appalling, but NOT any worse than other European powers of the time. This figure represents less than 2% of those ever brought to trial.

 

[Pax_et_Caritas]

Just and fair? Yes, relatively, by the standards of the time. More so than today’s courts? I wouldn’t go that far.

One thing I found very fair about the Inquisition is that the accused was allowed to provide a list of “enemies” before the trial. Those on the list were not allowed to testify against them.

When the inquisitor arrived on the scene, the people were given 30 day to admit to heresy, repent, and suffer no consequences, or at most a minor penance. After than the trials would begin.

Much of this, of course, falls under the famous (and false) “Black Legend”, that the Spanish were uniquely cruel with regard to both the Inquisition and the conquest of the New World. Most reputable historians (myself included) are more than happy to confirm this.

I believe the inquisitions were a very good thing. I realize that today we shudder at the thought of evil, such as heresy, being punished. We have no problem with heretics corrupting the faith of millions and leading them to hell. We are proud of the fact that we tolerate all errors and blasphemies. That, to us, is a virtue.

Personally, I would love to have another inquisition today to have the liberals put on trial, and the bad ones burned at the state. That is justice. Instead, the liberals are allowed to run wild and corrupt the faith of thousands. That is unjust. Having the heretical liberals put on trial, tortured, and, when necessary, burned at the stake would end much of the heretical madness that has invaded the Church.

But today we are more “civil”. We allow all evil and heresy to spread under the guise of “tolerance”. Such tolerance, however, leads to the loss of many souls for all eternity. Where is the justice in that?

 

[Benedictus]

One thing I found very fair about the Inquisition is that the accused was allowed to provide a list of “enemies” before the trial. Those on the list were not allowed to testify against them.

Interesting. I’d be interested in reading more about this. Do you have a reference?

 

[Greg27]

One thing I found very fair about the Inquisition is that the accused was allowed to provide a list of “enemies” before the trial. Those on the list were not allowed to testify against them.

When the inquisitor arrived on the scene, the people were given 30 day to admit to heresy, repent, and suffer no consequences, or at most a minor penance. After than the trials would begin.

I believe the inquisitions were a very good thing. I realize that today we shudder at the thought of evil, such as heresy, being punished. We have no problem with heretics corrupting the faith of millions and leading them to hell. We are proud of the fact that we tolerate all errors and blasphemies. That, to us, is a virtue.

Personally, I would love to have another inquisition today to have the liberals put on trial, and the bad ones burned at the state. That is justice. Instead, the liberals are allowed to run wild and corrupt the faith of thousands. That is unjust. Having the heretical liberals put on trial, tortured, and, when necessary, burned at the stake would end much of the heretical madness that has invaded the Church.

But today we are more “civil”. We allow all evil and heresy to spread under the guise of “tolerance”. Such tolerance, however, leads to the loss of many souls for all eternity. Where is the justice in that?

Personally, I hope someone like you never gets their hands on political or ecclesiastical power. Burning people alive, for any reason, is an act of grave and cruel medieval barbarity which if we re-instituted, would make us little better than the Muslim fanatics in places like Saudi Arabia who stone people to death.

With ideas like this around in a ‘devout’ and fanatical Catholic who seems to bay for blood, the Church doesn’t need any secular thinker like Richard Dawkins argue about the dangers of fanatical and fundamentalist religion which created dark evils like the Inquisition, the Crusades, and so on, which helped break Western Christendom up in the first place.

 

[Atreyu]

One thing I found very fair about the Inquisition is that the accused was allowed to provide a list of “enemies” before the trial. Those on the list were not allowed to testify against them.

When the inquisitor arrived on the scene, the people were given 30 day to admit to heresy, repent, and suffer no consequences, or at most a minor penance. After than the trials would begin.

I believe the inquisitions were a very good thing. I realize that today we shudder at the thought of evil, such as heresy, being punished. We have no problem with heretics corrupting the faith of millions and leading them to hell. We are proud of the fact that we tolerate all errors and blasphemies. That, to us, is a virtue.

Personally, I would love to have another inquisition today to have the liberals put on trial, and the bad ones burned at the state. That is justice. Instead, the liberals are allowed to run wild and corrupt the faith of thousands. That is unjust. Having the heretical liberals put on trial, tortured, and, when necessary, burned at the stake would end much of the heretical madness that has invaded the Church.

But today we are more “civil”. We allow all evil and heresy to spread under the guise of “tolerance”. Such tolerance, however, leads to the loss of many souls for all eternity. Where is the justice in that?

I would prefer an inquisition which ended in a person’s formal excommunication, I think… There is no need for capital punishment in today’s society.

 

[Pax_et_Caritas]

Personally, I hope someone like you never gets their hands on political or ecclesiastical power. Burning people alive, for any reason, is an act of grave and cruel medieval barbarity which if we re-instituted, would make us little better than the Muslim fanatics in places like Saudi Arabia who stone people to death.

With ideas like this around in a ‘devout’ and fanatical Catholic who seems to bay for blood, the Church doesn’t need any secular thinker like Richard Dawkins argue about the dangers of fanatical and fundamentalist religion which created dark evils like the Inquisition, the Crusades, and so on, which helped break Western Christendom up in the first place.

Now that’s the kind of reaction I expected to my post. The Inquisitions and the Crusades are a shining light in the history of the Church. The Inquisition punished heresy as it deserved to be punished, and the Crusades were a just war against the Muslims (both of these find a precedent in the Old Testament).

On judgment day, when we see millions condemned to hell for all eternity due to the heretical prelates of today who deceived them, I think you will have a different point of view. Until then, I doubt you will understand why the Church did what it did in the glorious middle ages.

You should read some literature in defense of the crusades and inquisition, rather than that written by secular (Athiest) “thinkers”.

 

[Pax_et_Caritas]

I would prefer an inquisition which ended in a person’s formal excommunication, I think… There is no need for capital punishment in today’s society.

Either way would be fine, but remember capital punishment is not only to protest society, it is also a matter of justice which God demands.

If you read Josue, chapter 7, you will see that God demands justice.

In that chapter we see a person who had committed a sin by “transgressing the covenant” (vs. 11). When this one person committed this crime, God told the Israelites “I will be no more with you, till you destroy him that is guilty of this wickedness” (vs 12). Even though the person was sorry for what he did, and confessed, nevertheless, it was not until the Jews put him to death that God was satisfied. “And Achan answered Josue, and said to him: Indeed I have sinned against the Lord the God if Israel, and thus and thus have I done… (vs 20) And all Israel stoned him: and all things that were his were consumed with fire… And the wrath of the Lord was turned away from them” (vs 25-26).

Today we have been led to believe that the only reason for capital punishment is to protect society, but that is not the case. It is also a matter of justice which is a strong deterant for similar future evils, and which provides the guilty one a chance to repent, which may indeed result from the consideration of his pending death. In that sense it is also an act of mercy.

And we should also ask ourselves, would we rather spend the remainder of our life in prison surrounded by the worst of the worst, which would probably corrupt our souls even more? Or would we rather pay for our crime with the death penalty? Personally, I would much rather be allowed to go to confession and then be put to death for a serious crime than spend it in a prison for years where my soul would probably be corrupted.

 

[Sarpedon]

Thomas Walsh’s books, (Characters of the Inquisition, Isabella of Spain) are a good resource. It has been pointed out that many of his sources were written by government officials (like Pulgar, and probably biased)), but it’s still useful. He also points out several errors (dishonesty?) in Lea, a major historian of the inquisition.

One important thing that he points out is that when the inquisition was started it had Conversos as one of its primary objectives. These were Jews who pretended to be Catholic but still practiced Judaism secretely. Thus, the fact that they were lying to the government makes their punishment seem less extreme. However, Jews who did not pretend to be Catholics had very few human rights, making their lying more understandable (if not justified).

 

[Greg27]

Now that’s the kind of reaction I expected to my post. The Inquisitions and the Crusades are a shining light in the history of the Church. The Inquisition punished heresy as it deserved to be punished, and the Crusades were a just war against the Muslims (both of these find a precedent in the Old Testament).

On judgment day, when we see millions condemned to hell for all eternity due to the heretical prelates of today who deceived them, I think you will have a different point of view. Until then, I doubt you will understand why the Church did what it did in the glorious middle ages.

You should read some literature in defense of the crusades and inquisition, rather than that written by secular (Athiest) “thinkers”.

You are entitled to that view if you wish, but in my view the glory of the Church in the medieval period were its great theologians and philosophers, like Robert Grosseteste, Thomas Aquinas, Duns Scotus, John Scotus Eriugena, Meister Eckhart, William of Ockham, Peter Abelard, Richard of St Victor, Bernard of Clairvaux, Bonaventure, etc. The Inquisitions in my view are pretty much the blackest stain on the historical record of the church from that period of time. At most, the Inquisition should have simply excommunicated people who were proved to be heretics, but never have used torture or capital punishment. I don’t care what sophisms you or others try to use to justify it today; they are grave and barbaric evils, killing in the name of religion. It is no better in motivation than the Islamist suicide bomber today who tries to kill ‘infidels’ in the name of Islam. Those who advocate the Inquisition in the manner you clearly do, are in my view the same as the Taleban or Al-Qeda who advocate murdering people who are not ‘orthodox’ enough in their religion.

 

[Lepanto]

Crisis Magazine has had a number of articles the past few years debunking many inquisition and crusades myths. Look on their website, especially for articles by Dr. Thomas Madden.

Also, another invaluable reference is the book “Triumph: The Power and the Glory of the Catholic Church” by H.W. Crocker. He absolutely demolishes our contemporary misperceptions.