Theology

The Spanish Inquisition
JMSmith put up a post a few days ago that has ignited a firestorm of comments. Okay, maybe not a firestorm, but my pithy little comment has been overwhelmed by the dozen or so wordier responses. Anyway, these guys (they sound like guys) are tossing around some weird words:

• Converso - A converso was a Jew who converted to Catholicism in Spain or Portugal, particularly during the 14th and 15th centuries, or one of his or her descendants. The majority of Spain's Jews converted to Christianity as a result of the pogroms in 1391.
• Samizdat - the clandestine copying and distribution of literature banned by the state, especially formerly in the communist countries of eastern Europe.
• Optimismus ist feigheit (German) - Optimism is cowardice (English) - “The danger has become so great for everyone, every class, every people that it is pitiful to lie to yourself. Time cannot be stopped; there is no wise repentance, no wise renunciation. Only dreamers believe in ways out. Optimism is cowardice." - Oswald Spengler (1880 - 1936) was a German historian. . . . Spengler's model of history postulates that any culture is a superorganism with a limited and predictable lifespan  [and ours is due to collapse].
• Bonald - Louis de Bonald (1754 - 1840) was a French counter-revolutionary philosopher and politician. Big supporter of the Catholic church and a virulent anti-Semite.