In fear we pray?

I sometimes wonder if it was the church that also was responsible for some of the punishments inflicted on we children, principally our family. In particular I refer to the somewhat heavy-handed methods and severe manipulations of pain infliction, and its effect on its victims by the church. Take a moment to examine the worst side of the history of the catholic church. Well, lets narrow it down a little to at least a couple of hundred years, I doubt we would have time to look at the entire worst side of the Catholic church.

And do not think I am saying ‘they’ are the only ones. Every religious group has it’s periods of religious fear domination and zealous punishment of ‘wrongdoers or at least those who asked too many questions or possibly disagreed on one or two points of doctrine, or at least asked the wrong person to ‘pass the wine/water/blood. it’s just some of them seemed to have excelled at it and prolonged it for longer than others. I always remember the classic Monty Python Episode ‘The Spanish Inquisition” They used the line, “Our Chief weapon is surprise, surprise and fear!” I can assure you, surprise was generally how my father worked, and the fear? The fear lingered. Probably to this day, even though he has since departed this life.

It would have been wonderful when at any time of being questioned prior to receiving a serious punishment, the walls had parted and ah-la Monty Python, Cardinal Ximinez of Spain and two flanking cardinals had entered to announce “Nobody expects the Spanish Inquisition!” I doubt my father would have found it as funny as my brothers and I would have. Although when the skit was created we were a little older than the incident I was relating. Hind sight of history is a wonderful way of playing with memories. But like the actual inquisition, which took place across the faith beginning in 1231AD (France) and not officially dissolved until 1820AD (South Americas), although not constantly in action (so the church would argue), it instilled in the faithful (but more so in the not-so-faithful) the certain live threatening fear to ensure appropriate behaviour.

There must have been entire communities driven on the fear these periods threatened. What alliances and betrayals must have occurred between friends, enemies and the church, all to draw attention away from ones self. To think that this could impel a person to create a different version of events to protect them self, rather than be included in the fearsome interrogation that would follow. (Actually this is starting to sound exactly as what happened on the incident with my brother and the split head- Started April 1^st 2012 blog). I can only be thrilled that our parents were not allowed to use some of the created devices to administer their punishments.

(Continued tomorrow)