Date: Sat, 20 Jun 2009 15:34:51 -0700 (PDT) From: Gilbert Lawrence <[email protected]>
Not long ago, a poster from Holland wrote to me privately requesting information on the inquisition in Goa. I asked the poster if she had researched the atrocities of the Dutch in its colonies; of which we only know only a little, when we read about Fr. Joseph Vaz in Ceylon. She declined to continue the dialog. I guess this is the modern day version of the Dutch-Portuguese animosity, which still is alive. Mario observes: More likely, the poster from Holland sensed that she would be unable to carry on a rational dialog withh someone who asks whether one has "researched" the Dutch Inquisition when asked about the Portuguese Inquisition. Gilbert wrote: I am also most intrigued by the veneration given to Dellon's writings. Yet if Dr. Charles Dellon TODAY committed the same offense in USA, he would permanently loose his medical license (for having a sexual relation with his patient), and be literally sued for all he is worth. Mario observes: The answer certainly lies in the fact that a) Dr. Dellon did not commit his offense TODAY in the USA, and b) Dellon's "venerated" writings were about his personal observations and experiences and the Inquisition, not some medical opinions that would lose objectivity because of a sexual relationship with a patient. By some accounts Dellon was considered an awesome describer of things he had personally observed and experienced, including the Portuguese Inquisition. See the following excerpt from the book, "Distant Lands and Diverse Cultures", Page 164: http://books.google.com/books?id=phdWSnCIMwwC&pg=PA163&lpg=PA163&dq=Dr.+Charles+Dellon&source=bl&ots=dL-uZqq9dj&sig=0GRJ9ZmdTgQmZS0H7J8BP40uZ7o&hl=en&ei=wcw_SpDCIY_EMfKwtLAO&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=9 Date: Sat, 20 Jun 2009 20:03:16 -0700 (PDT) From: Gilbert Lawrence <[email protected]> Some claim the Inquisition is past history for which current Christians are not responsible. They, need to browse the web for the hate-Christian web sites. Many of the anti-Christian riots last year across several states in India did not occur in a vacuum. More Christians likely were killed for their religion in those episodes (without charges and trial) last year than individuals killed for their religion in the over 350 years of Inquisition. http://www.cbcisite.com/cbcinews2821.htm Mario responds: I would like Gilbert to disprove the claim that the Inquisition is past history for which current Christians are not responsible. I looked in vain in for any evidence that the Inquisition had anything to do with Christians being attacked in India the last couple of years, or to support Gilbert's assertion, "More Christians likely were killed for their religion in those episodes (without charges and trial) last year than individuals killed for their religion in the over 350 years of Inquisition." Then I noticed the adjective "likely" and began to realize that this was just another trademark Gilbert straw man. Is this is the standard by which the Inquisition should be discussed, or obfuscated, as we have seen in this forum? The web site Gilbert has cited has this paragraph, "While the Orissa Government has acknowledged only 32 riot related deaths, he said an affidavit containing names of 75 killed have already been submitted to the Supreme Court by the Christian organisations."
