From: rja.carnegie@gmail.com   
      
   On 13/10/2025 19:30, William Hyde wrote:   
   > For once, Jewish morale broke and tens of thousands converted.   
   > Conversions prior to this time, even under threat of violence, had been   
   > rare.   
   >   
   > Now, while many of these conversions were or became sincere, at least in   
   > the second generation, only an idiot or a religious fanatic would expect   
   > them all to have been sincere, or even most of them. The Swedish king   
   > Gustavus Adolphus laughed at the idea that a forced conversion would be   
   > sincere, but the Spanish were not that enlightened.   
   >   
   > So their monstrously evil treatment by the inquisition was not in fact a   
   > punishment for sin, but the continuation of earlier persecution by a   
   > more formal process.   
   >   
   > The more so as these people, freed from the restrictions under which   
   > they had suffered, easily out-competed the old Christians, taking   
   > leading roles in commerce, government, and even the church. Plus   
   > marrying into many old wealthy families.  Naturally this caused   
   > resentment, and when the secret of their continuing Jewish faith got   
   > out, as was inevitable, a special, "Spanish" inquisition was the answer.   
   >   
   > Nor did those sincere converts escape.  After a few generations of the   
   > inquisition, having any Jewish ancestry, however remote, brought you to   
   > the inquisition's attention.  You were a "New Christian", and even the   
   > slightest accusation of an infraction (like turning down a piece of pork   
   > at dinner, or bathing on a Friday) could bring you to their dungeons.   
      
   "These people" sounds like a preface to a   
   racist bit.   
      
   And in my opinion, religious practice under   
   coercion is to be considered genuine, from   
   the point of view of gods at least, although   
   of course it's likely to continue only as   
   long as coercion continues, unless the gods   
   live up to expectations.  Gods themselves are   
   portrayed as using force to compel worship,   
   with terrible punishment for heterodoxy.   
   All of which is what religion usually is.   
      
   And since human nature also is what it is,   
   if a god doesn't want people to be bullied into   
   the god's preferred form of worship, then the   
   god should clearly say this.   
      
   Which apparently the Christian god did say,   
   about Jews, as mentioned in this conversation -   
   after all, Jesus is Jewish.  Albeit irregular   
   in his observance.   
      
   But some humans thought they knew better.   
      
   Anyway, the book does involve some Spanish   
   history.  And I think most or all of the chapter   
   titles, as well as the book title, are phrases   
   from "Monty Python".   
      
   --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05   
    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)