The Inquisition: Heretical Teachings Among The Catholic Church

Free thought is dangerous to the church and empire of this period because the entire belief system of the community is based upon church elites deciphering ancient texts, of which they are to retell to the common people. This way, the clergymen have the right to alter or omit pieces they don’t want shared with the public. This also establishes a higher status above the common people, who are told they could never dream of understanding the texts on their own; “ The records of the holy inquisition are full of histories we dare not give to the world, because they are beyond the belief of

When the plague began its reign of terror, everyone turned to the church for answers and a cure. When the church couldn’t produce, people became skeptical. Then to add on top of that, “perhaps a third of the Catholic clergy died. ”(source 2; paragraph 3). And with the catholic leadership depleted and their inability to control the plague, many began to question the power and authenticity of the church.

The Inquisition started because the Catholic Church was worried that the devil was stealing people’s souls. To fight the devil the church founded a new court. The Inquisition, were those priests whose job it was to find and punish anyone who was against the church or working with the devil. They called people who worked against the church a heretic and any action against the church was heresy. The inquisition could place people under arrest and torture them until they confessed to heresy; even if u weren’t and heresy but they suspected that you were they still torture you. But, if you confess right away before torture, will be punished, but you can redeem yourself. If you didn’t confess you were torture until you did.

1. "So now they and their church found it necessary to deny any other sect its freedom, lest their

The Spanish Inquisition was a court system established in 1478 that tried and sentenced heretics. Victims of these trials were predominantly “conversos”, Jewish people that had converted to Catholicism. The Spanish Inquisition was not formally abolished until 1834 by Queen Isabella II. Although the severity of the Inquisition is most likely exaggerated, it still remains a dark point in the history of the Catholic Church.

During the Medieval period, avid church goers and clergymen had many fears regarding heresy, one of which was the spread of doubt within the faith. In a time when only churchmen could read and write, it was their teachings of the

Ferdinand and Isabella began a political and religious reform program to improve their central administrations, while utilizing the conquest ideology to speed up reforms (von Sivers, Desnoyers, and Stow 466). One of the political reforms to recruit all urban militias and judges, to inspect the military and judicial powers of the aristocracy (von Sivers, Desnoyers, and Stow 466). The religious reforms were meant to improve religious education for the clergy and strictly enforce Christian ideologies to the populace (von Sivers, Desnoyers, and Stow 466). A body of clergymen known as the Spanish Inquisition were appointed to find and punish any individuals whose beliefs contradicted Christian theology (von Sivers, Desnoyers, and Stow 466). Ultimately,

What was the Spanish Inquisition? The Spanish Inquisition persecuted and discriminated against minorities in the Iberia Peninsula who opposed to the practice and ideologies of the Catholic Church. Between 1480 to 1834, the Spanish Inquisition was placed under the authority of the royal power in Spain; the Inquisition was created in order to

The word “inquisition” means to examine. Inquisitors would “examine” suspected Heretics, people whose ideas do not match those of the Roman Catholic Church, and punish them accordingly. This included torture and burning. The great inquisition movement that took place in Spain, or Hispania as it was called before Spain united. It was called The Spanish Inquisition. It took place for approximately five hundred years, from the late 15th century to mid 19th century. Many ironic elements were involved in the history of the Inquisition. The Spanish Inquisition lasted longer than any other preceding it, and was the most cruel, bloodthirsty, and festive of all. The objective of the inquisition, in its early state, was to

This they were determined to bring about through persuasion, if not, by force. Spain under Isabella and Ferdinand was ripe for the Inquisition; that was why the cruel institution was embraced so heartily and continued to survive until the nineteenth century” (J. Plaidy, The Spanish Inquisition, 1967, p.86). What led to the horror of its fame was the Inquisition’s growth in acquisitive, cultural, and opinionated motives, supporting the original intent of purification. Those of the Jewish faith were not the only ill-treated race. Any type of heresy was intolerable and punished, first spiritually and then secularly (A. Hamilton. Heresy and Mysticism in Sixteenth-Century Spain: The Alumbrados.1992). The concentration of the church began to target the Protestants and Lutherans of surrounding countries to unify the Catholic church (Britannica, 1994).

The Enlightenment during the eighteenth century challenged each of the traditional values of the Catholic Church in that age (“Faith & Reason: The Role of the Roman Catholic Church During the Enlightenment”). Europeans were undergoing a constant change; unfortunately Europe’s religious organizations were not keeping up to par with these continuous changes. During that time period, the most prominent and conservative institution of Europe, the Roman Catholic Church, was completely forced into a direct conflict that at the time did not seem to have an end (“Faith & Reason: The Role of the Roman Catholic Church During the Enlightenment”). The Church was under attack by non-believers. The rest of the community who did not agree with Catholic beliefs were out to get them, they wanted to prove that nothing is “real” if it could not be proven through science. Nevertheless, the Church did not cease their fight. They continuously insisted that they were merely a source of truth through God. They also confidently claimed that all those who lived with disbelief were to be damned in their afterlife (Catholicism History). It was very apparent that the rest of the world was not having it and they did not care what the consequences were for not believing; they refused to be Bible huggers, basically. They were questioned left and right on their intentions and still, to this day are not supported

However, the Spanish inquisition did not only care about what was public. What were personal beliefs could also be considered as heretical. During Marina Gonzalez’s trial it was noted that she could have committed acts without anyone knowing about it. It was not only the public act but the suspicion of the act that helped to condemn her.4 Record’s also speak of harming one’s conscience. The inquisitors always thought someone was lying if they did not confess, they were then warned about the damage to their conscience in this act. De Arguello’s Instructions affirm that the church was policing thoughts as well.5 Because it was almost impossible to prove what someone was thinking it is not surprising that the inquisitors never believed any denials

was then and is still today the church was faced with II New Age Teaching" which became

This is owing to the reality that the Catholic priest used the name of Jesus, the Son of God, to conduct mass killings of those they considered heretic in the continent of Europe. It is important to note that the unfairness of this inquisition, just like any other, was the fact that the definition of the heretics in Rome was not clear and could be anybody including Protestant reformers, black magic practitioners, witches, Jews and those who disagreed with the official policies established by the Roman catholic. Killing or revenging on one’s enemy is evidently a contradiction of the Roman Catholic teaching and the teachings of the Lord Jesus Christ. Particularly, according to the Bible, Jesus himself claims that he did not come to destroy the lives of human beings rather than save them from eternal death. True to his word, there was no instance that he punished who ever disagreed with him. The monstrosities carried out through the period of Roman Inquisition are a clear indication of the existence of Satanism in the ancient Roman Catholic Church. It is important to appreciate the fact that by the time the Roman Inquisition was abolished in 1834, it had already claimed the lives of thousands of people and ruined the lives of many through

Preceding the Spanish Inquisition was the Medieval Inquisition, which served to spark the Spanish Inquisition. For the Medieval people, religion was very important; they did not see religion as solely conducted within church, but religion was additionally embedded in politics, integrated into their identity, along with their daily life. Then heresy, a belief or opinion contrary to orthodox religious (especially Christian) doctrine, came into view, and spread through Europe. The lack of religious conformity was an affront to many during this highly critical era. The Medieval Inquisition started in 1184 when a pope named Pope Lucius III transmitted a list of suspected heresies to Europe’s bishops. Pope Lucius III wanted the the bishops to determine if those accused were guilty or not guilty of being heretics. “Most people accused of heresy by the Medieval Inquisition were either acquitted or their sentence suspended.” Therefore, those