Kanye West is a tool.

By the way: if you like this LOL, it's one I just whipped up...so why not vote for it?

Not that one expects people to let history or facts get in the way of an emotionally driven response. That said, it's worth noting that the Inquisitions for which the Church is so often lambasted were duly and properly constrained in regard to the imposition of sentences:

... during the medieval Inquisitions, the Catholic Church was forbidden to perform any sentences on heretics - that was done by the state. In fact, the worst of all the inquisitions was the Spanish Inquisition, which was set up by the ruling monarchs, and not the church.

Just so we're clear. Compare this with something like Calvin's Geneva or Luther's...wherever, where there was no distinction at all between the state and the religious overseers.

Although, this time, I've done it to myself. The opportunity has arisen to finally put into words a book idea I've had percolating in the back of my mind for some time; I would be a fool not to pursue it. Doing so will naturally limit my time online, however, but I will at least attempt to get in some Gamespotting before the week is out.

In the meantime, here's a wee bit to chew on, a little tidbit of Calvinist history for those who like to point out that the Catholic Church has much blood on her hands:

Geneva at this period experienced a moral dictatorship such as has scarcely a parallel in history. It had begun at the time of Calvin's return in 1541, but it went on perfecting itself all the time. The police or 'guardians' watched everything, even the most intimate details of men's private lives. Anyone thinking evil thoughts or doing evil things was punished with brotherly ferocity.

There was prison for those who liked dancing . . . enjoyed drinking . . . cardplayers . . . Barbers were forbidden to tonsure priests passing through the city, and jewellers prevented from fashioning chalices. Both these offences were punishable by hanging. It was regarded as a confession of blasphemy and heresy to murmur 'rest in peace' over the grave of a dear departed . . . Two small children were beaten with rods for having eaten two rounds of cake on leaving Church, and another young ragamuffin was nearly beheaded because he returned a box on the ears given him by his mother . . .

It is common knowledge that dictatorships inevitably end by seeking to regulate every single thing.

(Henri Daniel-Rops,The Protestant Reformation, vol. II, translated by Audrey Butler, Garden City, New York: Doubleday Image, 1961,180,194-196)

Just for reference, no Inquisition was ever thisharsh or brutal