Monday, September 27, 2010

Burning books is a long-held Religious Tradition

The images and act of book-burning is etched in our psyches as being a formative part of National Socialist Germany - when copies of anything from Albert Einstein, Sigmund Freud to H.G Wells went-up in flames.

Yet, the sordid history of book burning pre-dates 1930’s Germany by centuries and still goes-on all too frequently even today.

Catholics in particular love nothing better than to destroy the writings of anyone that upsets their narrow sensibilities.

In their hey-day The Spanish Inquisition relished burning Korans & any other Islamic text they could lay their hands on.

Virtually the entire writings of the Mayan Civilization were destroyed with perverted pleasure by The Catholic Church.

For good measure nearly every Cathar text that could be found by The Catholic Church were also destroyed as well.

This fruit-loop pastor Terry Jones would have to build a bonfire the size of the state of Florida to come close to the Catholic Churches suppression of free-thought and alternative beliefs through-out the ages.

It was only four years ago Catholics in Rome and Manila decided Dan Browns ‘Da Vinci Code’ deserved being BBQed.

Whist doubtlessly top-of-the-pyre for destroying writings that threatened their self-appointed place in the world, The Catholic Church is not alone amongst religious zealotry when it comes to book-burning.

The evil texts of Harry Potter and Superman Comics have gone up in flames lit by evangelists.

In the 1980’s orthodox Jews in Jesuleum incinerated New Testaments by the score.

More copies of Salman Rusdies ‘Satanic Verses’ were probably destroyed than read.

The Taliban also did what the Taliban does best.

God evidently loves a good book burning!

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