THE INQUISITION (Part 2)

 

In our last article, we dealt with a little history about the Inquisition and pointed out the inconsistencies, the cruelty and the corruption of the Catholic Church – who actually bred and established the environment that gave rise to the Inquisition.  And this is how they did it – the Catholic Church claims to be the “guardian of souls” and they also claim that they were commissioned by Jesus Christ to “root out heresy,” thus, leading up to one of history’s greatest tragedies. 

I left off addressing an article written by Catholic Answers, which can be found here:

https://www.catholic.com/tract/the-inquisition

The author of that article goes on to ask, “What’s the point?” That is, what is it that Fundamentalists [Protestants] think that the existence of the Inquisition proves?  Does it prove that “Catholics are sinners”?  That “people in positions of authority have used poor judgment”?  Does it prove “that otherwise good Catholics, afire with zeal, sometimes lose their balance”?  And the answer is that all these things could be true (for Catholics and Protestants) even without the Inquisition ever occurring.   

And that’s true, but the problem here is not just about the average Catholic in the pew.  It’s not simply about an authority occasionally using “poor judgment.”  It is about corrupt and power-hungry leaders in the Catholic hierarchy wanting control over the people and not letting the truths of Scripture dictate doctrine and behavior. 

It is possible that some who were punished in those days may have been actual heretics, but I believe the Inquisition was more about suppressing the voices of the faithful common people who questioned the authority of the Church or pointed to the Bible as the ultimate authority (2 Timothy 3:16-17).  This has always made the Catholic Church quite nervous.

Twisting the Scriptures

Toward the end of the article, the author points out that:

“… it is easy to see how those who led the Inquisitions could think their actions were justified.”  And he goes on to point to certain Old Testament passages that encourage the killing of certain offenders in order to purge the evil from their midst (Deuteronomy 17:2-5; 13:6-11; 13:12-18).  

All right then, if Catholic Answers wants to be consistent and continue with this line of thinking, they also need to push for the stoning to death of all gay Church members, gay priests, gay bishops, gay cardinals, etc. (Leviticus 18:22; 20:13).  After all, this is also part of the law in the Old Testament, right?

But of course they would never do that because they know it would be wrong to do today.  They know that we are living under a different and better covenant (Hebrews 8:6) than that of the Old Testament law because Jesus ushered in a system of grace. 

Although homosexuality is wrong, there is no reason today to put gay people to death (or sexually promiscuous straight people, for that matter) unless there are other crimes involved.

Furthermore, Catholic Answers knows very well that the Inquisition occurred under the New Testament period.  So, why would they try to apply a strictly Old Testament law in this case to support it?  I believe that they are just desperate to justify their involvement in the Inquisition.  But, remember, God does not sleep and justice will be done.

Furthermore, the author of this article tries to also use a New Testament verse as a reason to justify the Inquisition:

“But them that are without, God judgeth.  Therefore put away from among yourselves that wicked person.” (1 Corinthians 5:13)

But this New Testament passage is obviously not about civilly punishing someone, or putting him to death using the law of the land, as was done in the Inquisition.  Note the context of this passage: “… not to company with fornicators” (v. 9); “… with such an one not to eat” (v. 11).  This context is about not fellowshipping with certain people.  It does not equate to Inquisition tactics.   So we can clearly see that this argument is another good example of Catholics twisting Scripture.    

The author also brings out the fact that some Protestant Reformers also made use of their own Inquisition-type justice.  And this is equally wrong, no matter who’s doing it.  I would certainly not defend Protestants if they did the same evils that the Catholic Church did.

In light of all this, a sensible person might say that this particular article by Catholic Answers is misguided.  But remember, this article is accepted by, and in line with, the teachings of the Church, because it contains the Catholic seals of approval (the Nihil Obstat and the Imprimatur).  So, if the article is wrong, so is the Church. 

Another Catholic’s Lack of Remorse

One other article by Catholic Answers, written by popular author and speaker Jimmy Akin, once again focused on the Old Testament principle that heresy is a serious sin.  Indeed it is.  But everybody already knows that.  This is not new information. 

Akin states that “Anti-Catholics regularly bash the Church with the Inquisition” to show “how evil the Church truly is.”  He states that Catholics should reply by pointing to the “Mosaic Inquisition.” 

He then refers to Deuteronomy 17:2-7 and Deuteronomy 13:1-11 which speak of the evils of idolatry and Israel’s obligation to investigate the accusations and to purge this evil from their midst.

But, like I said, we already know that idolatry and heresy are horrible sins.  But that’s not the point.  The point is that when we’re talking about heresy, how do we deal with that issue TODAY, in the Christian/New Testament era of grace?  Do we put offenders back on the medieval rack or burn them alive?  Or is there some other, more biblical, avenue that Christians should take?

But notice that in Jimmy Akin’s article, there is not one word about what we should do about heresy today, and absolutely no hint of remorse for what the Catholic Church has done in the past.  Instead of defending the Inquisition, he, like many other Catholics, is simply trying to justify those horrible things that were done to (supposed) heretics.  Notice that there is far more focus on trying to cover for Mother Church for the evils she has done, than on any concern for the multitude of innocent victims she destroyed.  Akin’s “Mosaic Inquisition” argument is just a disgusting diversion from the real topic and more twisting of Sacred Scripture.  It doesn’t relieve the Catholic Church’s guilt.  See Akin’s article here:

https://www.catholic.com/magazine/print-edition/nobody-expects-the-mosaic-inquisition

The Pope Apologizes for the Church’s Sins

According to an article in The Guardian (March 13, 2000), Pope John Paul II, as leader of the Catholic Church, had apologized for “2,000 years of violence, persecution and blunders.”  He also sought forgiveness for “sins committed against Jews, heretics, women, Gypsies and Native peoples.”

But if the Inquisition was ever a good thing, then why apologize for “sins against heretics”?  Doesn’t this also prove that the Inquisition was wrong, after all?  Otherwise, there’d be no need for an apology.  But, practically speaking, Pope John Paul II’s “apology” amounts to “too little… too late.”  See his apology here:

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2000/mar/13/catholicism.religion

“Physician, Heal Thyself”

It is interesting that the Catholic Church was so greatly focused on the sin of heresy.  And they were willing to kill those who committed such a sin.

But what about the multitude of wicked sins that existed WITHIN the hierarchy of the Church itself during this very same time?  The Inquisition lasted from roughly the early 1200’s up until about the middle of the 1500’s.  During that time there was much sin, corruption and heresy that was happening within the Catholic Church in very high places.  Just to name a few:

Pope Leo X made Johann Tetzel an inquisitor (an officer in the Inquisition) in 1509.  Tetzel then duped the poor by selling indulgences and tricking the people into believing they could get family members out of Purgatory earlier than “scheduled.”  By the way, the lavish St. Peter’s Basilica (Catholic Church) was mainly funded by the already-burdened poor, who felt obligated to pay for the indulgences because they anguished over the eternal fate of their beloved relatives.  Note that Pope Leo apparently agreed with Tetzel’s tactics and the doctrine of indulgences.

Simony in the Catholic Church was also a major problem for many, many years.  Simony is the buying and selling of a church office – yes, even the papacy (the “Vicar of Christ’s” office) was bought and sold a number of times like a piece of common merchandise!  This is a wonderful example of the Catholic Church’s version of “apostolic succession,” which still claims a “lawful and unbroken chain of successors.”  Indeed!

The papacy was also infested with fornication, adultery, corruption and extreme greed for material goods and power.

And all this was happening, not only during this same Inquisition period, but throughout much of the Catholic Church’s history.

Jesus gave us an example of this type of hypocrisy:

“And why beholdest thou the mote that is in thy brother's eye, but considerest not the beam that is in thine own eye?  Or how wilt thou say to thy brother, Let me pull out the mote out of thine eye; and, behold, a beam is in thine own eye?  Thou hypocrite, first cast out the beam out of thine own eye; and then shalt thou see clearly to cast out the mote out of thy brother's eye.” (Matthew 7:3-5)

There was so much wickedness and corruption that was going on within the Catholic leadership (including the papacy) that it would be hard for most Catholics to believe.  So, Catholic Church, before you started burning people at the stake for “heresy,” why didn’t you get your act together first?

Conclusion

The first Catholic Answers article mentioned above claims that the Inquisition is “a handy stick for Catholic-bashing, simply because most Catholics seem at a loss for a sensible reply.”  But there is a reason for that.  And it is because there IS no sensible reply – the Inquisition’s method of dealing with heresy was absolutely unbiblical and demonically inspired.  There is no excuse for it.  The Catholic Church needs to quit whining and playing the martyr (no pun intended) when people complain about the Inquisition.  The blame directed at the Church is deserved, and you Catholic apologists need to stop defending it!

The Inquisition was an opportunistic power grab and a convenient way to rid the Church of her detractors which was disguised as an attempt to “cleanse” the Church.  In my opinion, the Inquisition was an exercise in absolute control, an example of man trying to take the place of God. 

Even if they would show genuine repentance for the past, the Catholic Church should still be concerned about the heresy that yet remains within her own borders today.  If any biblical church sees heresy in others, they should then reach out to those heretics by preaching the Word of God to them (like Jesus did – Matthew 4:23) and reasoning with them (like the apostles did – Acts 17:2).  If you preach the gospel to them and they are still unrepentant, apply Matthew 18:15-17 and let God deal with their hearts. 

There is, and was, no godly justification for the Inquisition, so Catholics need to stop pretending that it was a necessary event, and they need to stop pretending that the Catholic Church is the “guardian of souls.”  A closer look at Scripture will prove otherwise.