Month: May 2019

10 Monks Orchard…cont

More from the introduction of the book I am working on:

“You should also know that the Holy Roman Empire in 1500, of which Luther belonged, was comprised primarily of a hodgepodge of small, some large, Duchies, Kingdoms, Archbishoprics, Dioceses and Free City states. All Catholic. Some small city states of Northern Italy, the Lowlands and Austria / Hungary were also part of this empire. This myriad of states were held together surreptitiously by the strong arm rulers of Spain such as Charles V and the Habsburgs. A real piece of work that Charles but he was in many aspects religiously fair minded and wise but his successor, Phillip II, in 1556, proved to be the embodiment of hell itself but in an earthly reality. Just ask my Dutch friends. It took them 80 years of war to rid their nation state of the Spanish religious yoke and unique reign of terror imposed by Phillip. As luck would have it, especially for the Dutch, Phillip had a very long life for the times and an equally long reign of terror of 42 years. I say unique because only the Spanish with divine heavenly grace and papal intervention could dream up something called the “Inquisition.”

“Phillip II arose near the beginning of this conflict known as the 80 Years War and made it known to all of the Dutch people, including William “The Silent,” who was the founding father of this new republic, this nation of hard working souls, that the Catholic Church and Rome would not stand for Dutch insolence, Calvinism, or the audacity and challenge they and their new found religious beliefs presented to the integrity and holiness of the Roman Catholic faith.  Such a lack of respect for God and the Holy See, God’s representative on earth, could not go unpunished. Indeed, and this shows the absolute arrogance of Spain and the papacy in that the entire Dutch population was found guilty of heresy and sentenced to death by burning at the stake. I would have loved to see how they were going to carry out that edict.

“The Spanish Inquisition arose in the late 1400s by Ferdinand and Isabella, primarily in Spain. It came to the fore in Europe in the early 1500s to address the religious reformation and anti catholic, anti papal and anti liturgical fervour that was evident in Spain but also beginning to take hold over much of Europe. This religious terrorist organization was responsible for a least a few thousand deaths and was omnipresent in the form of the Inquisition of the Netherlands. Heresy, heretical thought was a prime motivator of this religious tool but other forms of sinful activity were subjected to this unique form of justice. Sodomy being one of them. Interestingly, 19% of all sodomites brought under this code of religious discipline were clergy. We had a good chuckle over that one.

“Thousands of deaths permeated from this inquisition as it spread across our lands like some form of ecclesiastical virus. It was also cause for consternation among us working folk with its promise of eternal damnation in hell or purgatory. Or worse! This held sway over us, although like France and England the peasant and working classes of the Holy Roman Empire were slowly evolving. Almost ungovernable in what you would know as Germany today. But in my day every one of those little Kingdoms and regions had their own Prince, King, Queen, Duke or Duchess held together with the threat and the guilt penitent riddled proclamations of God through his papal representative on earth within the hierarchical tenets of the Holy Catholic Church. And I can tell you with certainty that those tenets were brutally harsh.

“Brutally harsh? Now that was an understatement. Even Luther chastised us peasant classes whereas, as his reformation was beginning to take hold in Germany, some 100,000 of us clashed with our noble overseers only to lose by the end of the sword, the rack or the stake. Luther even had a dislike for the Jews and vilified them in one of his treatises or pamphlets. Yes, his anti-Semitic stance became a black mark on his incredible legacy. But his reforms transformed all aspects of life in Germany. For all of the classes. Not just for the noblemen and women or rulers. Indeed, one of Luther’s protectors, Frederic The Wise, Elector of Saxony and one of the founders of Wittenberg University, saw the potential and notoriety that Luther would bring to his university. Frederick the Wise was very wise indeed and a medieval entrepreneur without equal because for every indiscretion that the Catholic Church undertook to fleece the flock, Frederic saw an opportunity. In Martin Luther, Frederic saw the entrepreneurial potential of this man as a reformation magnet to his University at Wittenberg and as another way and means to replenish his own personal coffers. Consider this: Frederic collected many relics in his castle church; his inventory of 1518 listed 17,443 items, including a thumb from St. Anne, a twig from Moses’ burning bush, hay of the holy manger, and milk from the Virgin Mary. Money was paid in order to venerate these relics and thus escape years in purgatory. A diligent and pious person who rendered appropriate devotion to each of these relics could merit 1,902,202 years worth of penance (an earthly equivalent of time otherwise spent in Purgatory, removed by indulgences). Two years later, the collection exceeded 19,000 pieces.[1] Frederic the Wise was a happy man. And we were fools. But why not? Good on Frederic for it was the Church’s arrogance that a man could be saved solely by indulgences even if he was deemed to have had sex figuratively with the Virgin Mary. Evan a poor peasant such as me saw the humour in that one.

“This may all seem laughable, incredulous to you but for the times this was extremely serious business. For one’s salvation or damnation was held in the cards by the Holy Catholic Church by way of the Holy Roman Emperor, France and even my own abode, England as well as Wales and Ireland. The Scots in those early pre reformation days did not matter to us in the least.

[1] Wikipedia: Frederic the Wise of Saxony

We became religious zombies.

Sad! Delores O’Riordan died too young. From Alcohol intoxication. Substance abuse is killing too many.

Play this loud.

Have a great Navy day.

 

SJ……….………………………………..Out

10 Monks Orchard

Some more from a book I am working on:

“The papacy could no longer depend upon the superstitions and ignorance of the peasantry and the emerging middle class to maintain their hold over them or their hold over religious men such as Martin Luther, John Calvin, John Knox and others. As the bible and Jesus Christ had once said: “the seed had been sewn.” There was no turning back.

“And what a papacy it was. Rotten to the core, for centuries these so called religious men, exploited and mined Christ’s rock for every conceivable treasure trove that this religious order had to offer. Rich beyond belief, the Catholic Church became the world’s first International Conglomeration. The Church of Rome, the world’s first multinational corporation with its hierarchical levels of pious minions throughout the various kingdoms, lands, territories and new found lands controlled everything.  Baptism…necessary to get into heaven in the first place…pay. Marriage…pay, work,,,pay, worship…pay, death…pay. And pay and pay we did. Perhaps this is how the expression “Death and Taxes” came about. The papacy owned the land and the buildings and all of the rent controls. Worshippers were expected to donate to the church for all services rendered. We could ill afford to do so. But it was a Catholic world and the Catholic way to salvation. We knew of no other.

“And what about some of these popes in this time of religious and cultural upheaval and rebirth? Alexander VI? Corrupt, licentious, perverted, murderer. His reign of terror in Rome began in 1491 ending with his death in 1503. It is said, although I cannot be sure of this, that he had 12 bastard children. We also know what he thought of his faith: “Almighty God! How long will this superstitious sect of Christians, and this upstart invention, endure?” His weapon of choice to deal with his enemies was poison, and sometimes the stake, as in burning. The rack was also a desirable tool in his papal church of horrors. But it wasn’t all doom and gloom for us. We did have our sense of humour to deal with religious reprobates and degenerates such as Alexander VI. When he died “his passing was greeted with celebrations in the streets of Rome and around the known world. The papal doctor was sent gifts and was congratulated for failing to keep the pope alive.”

“Then came Julius II, “The Warrior Pope.” Another non believing, corrupt pope. Only he spent most of his time outside of Rome engaged in war with many of his enemies, primarily with France over the papal states of Italy. He had many children, chided the catholic faith and Christianity and was a purveyor of unnatural sexual acts. We finally saw the end of him in 1513. Pope Julius unknowingly summarized some of the attitude that was beginning to surface at the time with respect to Christian orthodoxy:  “Christians are the unstable, unlettered, superstitious masses”[1] and we can clearly understand why he is dismissed as an embarrassment…His only saving grace was his contribution to the Renaissance in Rome through his commissions with Michelangelo and Raphael. I can also tell you with no less certainty that Martin Luther’s pilgrimage to Rome in 1510 occurred when Julius was the pope. He was not impressed with what he saw. Cynicism ruled the day and it disgusted him.

“But the worst was still to come. Some would say he was the catalyst to the Lutheran, Protestant movement that we know and that you know as the Reformation. Pope Leo X: a corrupt, a sexual pervert, indulgent fraud, a liturgical shyster. It has been noted that this new pope accepted the pagan enjoyment of life and was “exceedingly devoted to the flesh, especially those pleasures, which cannot, with decency, be mentioned.”[2] Pope Leo X’s parties and orgies were well known throughout the city of Rome and beyond. He managed in just a few short years to deplete the papal treasury almost to the point of papal bankruptcy. He needed money and the only sure fire way for the papacy to get the funds needed to finish the Basilica of St Peters, as well as many other Renaissance initiatives throughout the city, was through that well known but sure-fire Catholic methodology for raising money…indulgences.

“And they were good at it.

“The Catholic Church even had its own “holy jingle” in marketing these indulgences. First came the movement in the papal states in northern Italy but then a real focus emerged in the Holy Roman Empire regions of Germany.  Johann Tetzel, a Dominican Friar and a marketing genius for these times came up with this little marketing gem to promote these indulgences on behalf of the Pope: “As soon as the gold in the casket rings, the rescued soul to heaven springs.” ingenious, and our peasantry loved it. The money poured in. But when Tetzel took his entourage to Germany, a different outcome emerged. Incensed with this affront to Christianity and God himself with the sale of these indulgences, Martin Luther, that insignificant and tortured monk, rose to challenge and discredit Tetzel, the Roman Catholic Church and the absolute corruption of the papacy.

“No one can buy their way into heaven or out of Purgatory” Luther proclaimed.

“Especially for dead relatives.” he added.

Perhaps he was right and we should have known better but as peasants and working class we were extremely superstitious, uneducated and naïve. We believed everything we were told. Consequently, the money poured into the Vatican coffers. But unbeknownst to Pope Leo X and the Church, and our ruling classes, these indulgences would ignite a religious firestorm that would have far reaching consequences on our entire way of life. It would go down as one of the most important events of our limited history. I know that it had a profound impact on mine.

[1] Diderot’s Encyclopédie, 1759

[2] Istoria d’Italia, 1832 ed., lib. xvi, ch. v, p. 254.

Have a great Navy day.

SJ……….………………………..Out

10 Monks Orchard…cont

From my next book: 10 Monks Orchard:

“In my country, England, Henry VI gave way to Edward IV formally ending the 100 years war in 1475. Henry VII, from the House of Tudor, would reign supreme over us as he emerged victorious from that English civil war that was known as the War of the Roses – a conflict between two major houses of England – Lancaster and York. I am not entirely cognizant of the whys and wherefores of this conflict only to say that the House of Lancaster won out and Henry VII reigned over his kingdom, our land, us, with fortitude, resolve and without challenge. There will be another one, a bloody civil in England, as all civil wars are bloody affairs I can tell you, but later as you shall see. Yet these conflicts were important in some respects due to the naturally defined evolutionary growth that occurred over a span of a hundred plus years in weapons, tactics, discipline, loyalties and untold cruelty. Unintentionally, the consequences of such a long and protracted conflict as the 100 Years War saw the emergence of a new, hard working and imaginative middle class of merchants and skilled tradesmen. This was a new working order or middle class that relied upon innovative thought, imaginative discourse and a new work ethic.  The age of chivalry, knighted knights of armour and feudalism was over. It was as if a humanistic approach to our meagre existence was beginning to take shape. And out of a religious and territorial war no less!

“Interestingly, what came about out of the wake of this 100 year conflict between France and my country England was an awakening of thought and essence, not in a spiritual context but more of a secular nature. It would emerge out of the Papal States, and ironically, the city of Rome. For this era would prove to be an age of enlightenment; a renaissance of spirit; a new life-force; and an exciting but equally dangerous time for one’s personal well being. But we did not know that at the time. For life was cheap and for the holy Catholic Church, intolerant. From cradle to grave the local clergy of the Roman Catholic Church was omnipresent, controlling every aspect of our lives. For these priests with their black robes and thick black cloaks of heavenly woven fabric represented to us a fearful existence. They were anything but a beacon of light. More-so a dark and impervious lead mark to death and damnation for anyone that considered a break from the centuries old traditions of the Catholic Church. Work and pray, worship and pay, submit your tithe, sacrifice with good deeds, were the hallmarks of salvation. Anything else was heresy.

“The Italian led Renaissance was truly enlightenment after centuries of intellectual darkness.  Humanism: Raphael, Leonardo Da Vinci, Copernicus, Michelangelo, the printing press, philosophical rediscovery, was making huge inroads in art, culture, architecture and politics. Classical philosophy was rediscovered. The Greek philosopher Protagoras came to light with his “Man is the measurement of all things,” which in reality was a manifestation of everything that was beginning to take hold in this day and age.. This renewal of thought and new age thinking would have a profound impact on all of Europe. It would have a huge impact on us working and peasant classes as well as the nobility and rulers.

“But equally important, especially to the great unwashed hordes like myself, was the beginning of a religious reformation or liturgical reform of the Catholic faith itself. This would have a significant and profound impact on the lives and well being of all of Europe. Protestantism would soon take hold: slowly and gradually but with a surety; at first snaking and winding its way across the land until its revolutionary doctrine began to reverberate through the various kingdoms of Catholic Europe. The new religious awakening of Luther and Calvin would bring the Catholic hierarchy to their knees and shake Catholic liturgy and doctrine to its very core. The foundation of Catholicism was beginning to crack.

Who would have thought? Salvation being a gift from God based on individual faith and not on some nefarious righteousness or a bevy of good deeds that one had to achieve through personal sacrifice, confession, atonement, absolution and penance. And only from the third party intervention of a priest no doubt. No, salvation lay between God and the individual himself. It was time, or so men like Luther thought, to rid oneself of the middle man. Trappings such as the Church, priests, religious icons, the Virgin Mary and all of the saints were distractions and were anathema to one’s personal salvation and personal dialogue with God himself through his son Jesus Christ. The only true word was the word of God. The only true laws were those laws found in the Holy Bible. All other church laws, canon law, that fell under the yoke of Catholic Christendom were man’s law and not God’s law and therefore irrelevant to man’s salvation and rebirth in Christianity. This notion of salvation was unbelievable to someone like me.

“As you can imagine this new religious orthodoxy did not go over well with the Catholic Church. That some unknown, obscure, fanatical and spiritually troubled German monk by the name of Martin Luther would inscribe and nail to a church’s door in Wittenberg a list of some 95 Theses or talking points that were meant for religious liturgical and theological debate. It would spark a debate of course but one that no one ever expected or anticipated, least of all Luther. These Theses represented a radical departure from traditional theological ideas of faith and worship. A departure and divorce from accepted religious doctrine that would radiate and resonate like some theological poison, a liturgical plague or a spiritual Black Death, throughout the papacy’s areas of influence. An area of influence that was considerable as it encompassed much of the known world. But the time of reform had come. The Renaissance made sure of that even if it played to a secular crowd. The invention of the printing press about 1439 [1] brought the revolutionary word of God to the masses. At least to those who could read.  Gutenberg’s invention became the internet of our day. Martin Luther, the German monk who started it all, became an international star.

[1] 1439 – Gutenberg’s First Moveable Type. By 1450 presses were in operation

https://youtu.be/7Gx1Pv02w3Q

Have a great Navy Day

 

SJ……….………………….Out

10 Monks Orchard

Have just started a new book titled: 10 Monks Orchard. Here is an excerpt:

“As I look back in time and down upon these lands I can see that life was extremely chaotic. It was a confused existence in many respects but also prosperous. My land, my home, my neighbour’s home, my kingdoms, their kingdoms resembled a puzzled myriad of nation and city states with their own set of laws and civic conventions.  Yet for me and for thousands, no millions like me, farming was our only way of life. This agrarian calling provided for us all; satisfying all of our wants and all of our needs. Our nobles, our rulers, those that rose above us all, provided for our security, as long as we were obedient to that higher God and carried the sword or “long bow” as needed and as required to defend our land, our King, our country, dear God almighty and the Holy Roman Catholic Church. For our horizons were limited, as defined only by our line of sight. What was over the next hilltop or dale, or across a mountain moraine was of no concern or consequence to us, to me or to those around me. I am telling you this as I want you to know how this story evolved.

Our borders were difficult to define, sometime non existent, impossible to nail down. They were almost “Shengan-like” where the Anglo’s ruled parts of France, and the Franco’s had a claim on England. Whereas mighty Spain, rich beyond belief, ruled just about everything else with religious fanaticism and cruelty: especially that hodgepodge of tiny kingdoms and serfdoms known as the Holy Roman Empire. I believe you call this region Germany today. And as I reminisce about these tumultuous times, I can only look back and down over these lands with amazement. That all of these small Germanic duchies and kingdoms of Prussia, Bavaria, Saxony, Austria, Moravia, Hungary, the Low Countries and a host of other small and insignificant nation and city states owed their existence, their freedoms and their security to distant Spain. For Spain, through the Hapsburgs, ruled the Holy Roman Empire with cruel religious impunity.

The Holy Roman Empire was both an oxymoron and a paradox. It was an empire that was holy in name only for it was really under the controlled and violent wrath of the Holy Roman Catholic Church. A church that ruled over the entire western world’s peasant and ruling classes with arrogance and the threat of eternal damnation for the slightest ecclesiastical infraction.

But for all of its arrogance this church also felt that it had a direct two way path with God Almighty himself. A duplex! And for Spain, the richest country in the whole wide known world, was God’s nation on earth. Yes, it was felt by many of us that if God were alive on earth He would live in Spain. For Spain’s power base throughout Europe and her wealth increased exponentially as she open up a whole New World Order with the re-discovery of the Americas in 1492 – with all the potential in riches, seemingly limitless treasures and new territories that that discovery entailed.  But the rediscovery of the America’s and other lands was to become a cruel Spanish and Portuguese exploitation of the highest order. And for what you may ask? Well, for the glory of God the highest and on earth a peace of it to men of goodwill, usually the men of the cloth, whose riches and debauched lifestyle were beyond belief.  Nevertheless, it kept us, the peasantry and ruling class, in line.

Under the spell of their God given rights, the arrogance of Spain and Portugal knew no bounds. Even the Catholic Pope in Rome, that righteous pervert and symbol of medieval debauchery, with his strong arm “Papal Bulls,” recognized the power of Spain and her stranglehold on European Catholic nations and monarchs. In 1493 Pope Alexander VI, a papal reprobate, announced to the known Catholic world through his papal dictation, “Bulls” and papal decrees, which were under-written by the heavenly direction and approval of God himself, ratified the Treaty of Tordesillas thereby giving one half of the known world to Spanish influences and governances while the other half fell to Portuguese control in recognition of that nation’s seafaring exploits, bravado, religious fanaticism and inquisitive Franciscan cruelty. But to me and to those like minded as I, the arrogance of this papal decree or “Bull” would ensure that Catholicism and papal control would remain dominant worldwide. For us this was pure unadulterated papal bull-shyte. Of course nations such as England, my home, and France ignored such foolishness.

It may seem odd to you but absolutism and the Divine Rights of Kings and Queens ruled the day. This made absolute sense to us just as the allegory of creating the world in seven days was also logical for we were but ignorant, superstitious rabble; the great unwashed as the noble and ruling classes referred. The noble classes held sway over all of us on behalf of the ruling class – the Kings, the Queens, the Duchies and Dukes. We were their providers of food and tithe from whatever sources or wares that we could muster and trade for. For taxes, then as they are now, proved to be the anathema of everything we stood for or worked hard to achieve. Yet these ruling classes and the Catholic hierarchical hierarchy were dependent upon our ignorance and superstitious fears to levy taxation as they saw fit such that they could continue their religious wars and reigns of terror. That was our existence for we were that horde of the great ignorant masses that were trapped unknowingly under the yoke and threat of Catholicism. And it was under this yoke that many wars erupted among these nations that were in geographical and homogeneous turmoil with their cultural and nationalistic growing pains. Believe it or not, 100 years of war had just concluded, unofficially, in 1453 whereby a small demure Catholic icon by the name of Joan of Arc had rejuvenated the French Army with a major victory at Orleans in 1429, which ultimately expelled the English out of France for good. Or so I was told. 100 years of war! Can you believe it? And in typical Catholic fashion Joan was burned at the stake for her efforts. There is no telling what punishment she would have received if she had lost. Maybe worse!

Have a great Navy Day

 

SJ……….……………….Out

This Takes the Cake

The move to take down the statue of BC pioneer and Judge Matthew Begbie got me to thinking about an earlier post I made. Here it is again.

Robert Lee, an Asian sports commentator was pulled by ESPN from calling a University of Virginia football telecast because his name could potentially trigger violence. Say what? How can you confuse this guy:

Robert Lee opts out of broadcasting University of Virginia football game over threat of Twitter backlash.

 

With this guy? Huh?

Image result for robert e lee

 

 

 

Confederate General Robert E Lee

 

Oh, it must have been the headphones or the grey suit that confused people.

On another note the University of Virginia has decided to be proactive and has banned Sara Lee cakes from all of its cafeterias.


Image result for Sara lee cake

On another, another note they have also changed their dress code in that Levi’s will no longer be considered acceptable dress while on campus. That’s okay, one overweight student remarked. “I am so sick of being fat shamed to death, especially when trying to get into a pair of them. It’s those Sara Lee cakes that are doing it to me so this latest ban is a win, win situation for me!”….Yikes!

“Leave It to Beaver” reruns have also been banned from all school residences.

This just in. Mayor of Windsor upset with Trump Tweets. Well, step in line Mayor. Trump responded: “Who is a Windsor anyhow? Isn’t that a tie knot?”

From the “X” Files comes this:

Canada being Canada: after awarding a known and convicted terrorist $10.5M dollars for hurt feelings this latest announcement will surely get your Canadian cockles up:

Seems now that Canadians have the opportunity to indicate “X” as a gender on their passports. I would have thought a “G” spot would have been more appropriate.

Yeah, this is surely going to help those who comprise less than 1% of the population of getting into Saudi Arabia or many of the other tin-pot dictatorships around the world. “But I’m Canadian” one tourist was heard to say at Saudi customs. “You can’t expel me!”

“Where or who is a Canada?” The Saudi official responded. The smug Canadian tourist was indignant.

Meanwhile thousands of illegals flooding into Canada. Services swamped.

Canadian government is at a loss as to what to do.

I think is has more to do with these confusing signs, someone was heard to say. What on earth is a “Douane” anyway?

“Smoking weed may change how you walk????”  Really? I don’t even have to respond to that one. It stands on its own two feet and merit!

“I don’t think there’ll be a bad line on the leafs,” Connor Brown said. No Connor, you can’t point out a single defining statement for a line because the whole team sucks.

Argo’s suck. And who throws a challenge flag out with 70 seconds to play, and being ahead by three possessions? Calgary of course. C’mon Dickenson, you’re not that good.

Hurricane Harvey was caused by Climate Change and failing that it’s Trump’s fault, and failing that its cultural misappropriation. What? Yes, why on earth would a country like the USA embrace a tropical storm that originated in the Sahara and morphed off the coast of Africa. That storm triggers white supremacy and slavery! The practice must stop…now.

Heard in passing by a Millennial after the total eclipse of the sun:

“Hey man, if we can stop climate change then preventing a solar eclipse from ever happening again should be a walk in the dark…man.”

“Yeah dude. Pass the joint will ya?”

The world is going mad. Political correctness will be the end of us.

The Eagle’s “Take it Easy.” has been banned in many southern states as it conjures up bad memories of Keopectate.

https://youtu.be/00ySZOPPDD4

Have a great Navy weekend.

Read ya Monday

SJ……….……….. Out.