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THE DARK SIDE OF CHRISTIANISM

Hello! I am first sergent Grigorescu Filip and it give me greate pleasure to talk to you about the

dark side of Christianity The Inquisition.

During my speech I am going to focus on three main points. These are:

- first - I will do a short introduction in the ancient origins of inquisition;

- second - I will speak about the Spanish Inquiaition;

- and third I will enumerate few methods of torture.

First point of my speech is about ancient origins of inquisition. The concepts of inquisition and

iquisitorial procedure lie deep in the roots (radacini) of European history. Inquisition were used during

the decline of the Roman Empire until the Spanish Inquisitions decline in the early 1800s. An

inquisition can run by both civil and church authorities in order to get rid non belivers from a nation or

religion.The word inquisition (came from the Latin: iquisitio) is the act of inquiring. It was used in law

before the Medieval Inquisition, to refer a common low procedure of inquiring into a matter,

investigating, usually through interrogation and by use the force. Thrugh time the inquisition was

gradually asociated with judging heresty against Christianity.

When Constantine The Emperors of Roman Empire adopted Christianity, in 313, he hopped

that the new religion would help to unify the Empire but, ehen the Christians Church had complete

control over government, human life and spirit, we can see from the Inquisition just how sick these

people was and what far they had gone for accepting their religion.

The second point in my speech refers to the Spanish Inquisition. Although the Inquisition

existed in all colonies, the Spanish Inquisition was one of the most deadly inquisition in history. It was

used for both political and religious reason. Spanish was a nation state that was born out of religious

struggle (lupta) between numerous different belief sistem including Chatolicism, Islam, Protestantism

and Iudaism. Following the Crusades and the Reconquest of Spain by the Christinas Spaniards, the liders

of Spain nedeed a way to unify the country into a strong nation.

Ferdinand and Isabella chose Catholicism to unite Spain and in 1478 asked permission of the

pope to begin the Spanish Inquisition to purify the people of Spain. In 1483, Thomas de Torquemada

become the inquisitor general for most of Spain and for fiftteen years he was responsible for the

execution of thousands of Spaniards.

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The inquisitorial process consisted of a series af hearings in which, both the denouncers and the

defendant gave testemony. A defense counsel was assigned to the defendant for encouraging him or her

to speak the truth.

The result of the trial could be the following:

- the defendant could be aquitted but in practice aquittals were very rare;

- the process could be suspended in whitch the defendant went free, although undersuspicion and with the thread that his process could be continuated at any time;

- the defendant could be penanced considered guilty he hat to abjure (se lepada, renega)

publicly his crimes and was condamned (exile, jail or galley);

- the defendant could be reconcilied in addition to the public ceremony in which the

condemned was reconcilied with the Catholic Church, more sever punishment existed

among long sentences to jail or galley confiscation of all propriety also physical

punishment such as wipping.

- the most serious punishment was relaxation that implied burning at the stake this

penalty was frequently applied. Execution was public. If the condemned repented he was

garroted before his body was given to the flames, if not, he was burned alive.

On third point I would like to draw your attention to the methods of obtaining the defendant

testemony. Although many defendants were not guilty they were condemned because of theirs

testemony. The inquisitors used the torture instruments to make the defendant to tell the truth. Certain

devices were employed to inflict the maximum pain, indisputable evidence of the sick Christians mind.

Girls as young as nine and boys as young as ten were tried for witchcraft. Childred much younger were

tortured to extract testemony against their parents. Children were then flogged while they watched their

parents burn.

These are just a few instruments:

- The boots;

- The burning feet;

- The strappado;

- Heretics fork;

- Ripping the flesh;

- Skull Crusher;

- The rack;

- The weel;

- The wather torture;

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- The Iron Miden or Virgin Mary.

Summary of my point:

First I told you about the concept af Inquisitions, then the second I spoke about The Spanish

Inquisitions and third I enumerated a few instrument used for torture.

In conclusion, the inquisition was a campain of torture, mutilation, mass murder and destruction

of human life perpetrated by christians. The church increased in power until it had the total control over

human life. Torture was always a means to obtain the confession of the accused not a punishment itself.

It was applied without distinctions of sex or age.

The Spanish Inquisitions reign of terror was abolished by king Bonaparte in 1834 but it was not

close until January of 1968 when the the files of the office of Inquisition at the Vatican were closed.