The Burning Times Revisited
Feature, By dreadcircus, 14th July, 2008
http://www.samesame.com.au/features/2711/The-Burning-Times-Revisited.htmWe're putting religion under the microscope this month on Same Same, in honour of the Pope's visit to Australia. This week Jade Starr wades through the history books, only to discover that the more things change, the more they stay the same.
There is no denying that the Catholic Church is still a very powerful organisation. They have stood the test of time in the battle to be the most believed and worshipped religion regardless of any criticism. It is also documented heavily that they played a hand in the destruction of those who opposed the Catholic doctrine throughout the centuries, which explains the lack of criticism. Those who did not follow the Catholic ideals were deemed to be witches or heretics and were then persecuted from the late 1400s to early 1700s. It has been estimated that up to nine million people lost their lives during 'The Burning Times' but due to a lack of evidence the exact number is accepted as closer to 50,000 to 1 million. Many of these people, predominantly women, endured unfair trials and were subsequently incarcerated or burned alive at the stake for their so-called crimes against God. Not only were Pagan people segregated, tortured and murdered but they were also robbed of their rituals and practices, which are even now still used in modern Catholicism.
