The Inquisition – Part 6
I have, so far in this series, attempted to set the Inquisition record straight. Now I will offer a Christian response to the indictment of Christianity by atheists and other non-Christians over the Inquisition?
First, is to reiterate the now obvious. The myth of The Inquisition must be separated from the true historical accounts of the inquisitorial tribunals. The “religious” crimes of the Inquisition have been greatly exaggerated. Of course, it is tragic when any innocent life is taken or any person is unjustly harmed by those who proclaim the name of Christ. But an accurate description of the actual inquisitions placed within its historical context at least helps put things in perspective. Compared to the fates of the accused in secular courts of the day, those in the hands of the inquisitions often fared much better.
Second, those who point to the Inquisition as a proof that religion is harmful, evil, and responsible for much that is bad in the world need to reexamine their history. The fact is that the most heinous crimes against humanity have come, not from religious believers, but from atheist regimes. Dennis Prager has stated:
There has been plenty of evil committed by believers in G-d, but the widespread cruelties and the sheer number of innocents murdered by secular regimes — specifically Nazi, Fascist and Communist regimes — dwarfs the evil done in the name of religion.
It is estimated that at least 26.3 million Chinese were killed during the regime of Mao Zedong between 1949 -1965. Some estimates are much higher, reaching to 61.7 million. It is estimated that the secular government of the USSR under Lenin, Stalin, and Khrushchev killed over 66 million people. In Cambodia, in less than four years, more than one third of the eight million Khmers were killed. The few thousand killed during the Inquisition pales in comparison. This, again, does not excuse any wrongdoing by Christians, but does help put their actions into a larger perspective with the crimes against humanity committed by atheist governments and institutions.
In my next (and last) post in this series, I’ll have a few more comments in my response to the atheists’ indictment of Christianity over the Inquisition.