You think people under the Catholic Church lived better lives?

[Gwendoline]

[Anonymous]

Caste System , Feudalism , Black Death , Lords & Peasants , and ‘Devine Rights To Kings’

All this under The Catholic Church. They had powerful influence at the time.

Not to mention them torturing people to convert to the Church’s teachings against their will.

I am not going to bash The Church, because that isn’t the point.

The point is to showcase how their religion was meant to control.

Caste System : You live your pathetic sh-t shoveling , lonesome , lives of disease and hardship living in the slums and you MIGHT be reincarnated as a ‘Lord’ once you do enough hard work.(Yesterday I thought we are still living The Caste System in America)

Only flaw was once people were sent to Jerusalem to fight in The Crusades, they started to see a world that was outside The Caste System where everyone can own a nice home , don’t have to work tirelessly to the bone for nothing , and wear decent clothing as they ventured to foreign lands.
Once logic and reason also free thought entered their minds, the church and their teachings / influence seemed obsolete.

Again: Not to say The Catholic Church of today is bad , just the a—holes of the past that manipulated the masses.

[Gwendoline]

Feudalism existed from france in the west all the way to Japan in the east. The black death and previous plagues like Justinian's and Antinone's was due to global trade from east to West.
People weren't sent to fight in the crusades, for most it was an opportunity for great wealth. For instance the Norman's took part in the crusades. They carried on the traditions of their pagan viking ancestors. Previous to the crusades the Norman's had fought in Spain against the muslims, scilly against thd muslims, Italy against the byzantines and other vikings (varangian guard/Harold haddrada), even the papal armies before fighting in the holy land and setting up a kingdom there. Not to mention the 1066 conquest of England, later conquest of Wales, conquest of Ireland, conquest of Scotland and wars in france.

[Opinion Owner]

@gwendoline You mean to tell me Feudalism is natural to human kind? That’s it?
I would say Catholic Church and The Monarchy took advantage of a system and restricted education to keep those they deemed ‘uncivilized’ in line to exploit and take in the fruits of the labor.

The Crusades were fought for “if you go to Jerusalem, you get to go to Heaven regardless if you r-pe, murder, or whatever just as long as you claim Jerusalem for Catholic Church”.

I would implore you to look at a history book because you knew the antisemitism in the Lutherian 95 theses, but don’t understand this basic thing? You understand Catholic Church assisting Jews during Holocaust but don’t understand this? Hard to believe.

[Gwendoline]

Throughout civilisation we've always had some form of feudalism. Even today you could say we have feudalism 2.0.

The crusades were a response to Muslim invasion of Christian lands. It was spearheaded by the Norman's who had previously b4 the crusades fought and taken territory from muslims in Spain and scilly and then fought in the crusades establishing a rich crusades state, this was independent of William the conqueror of Normandy and England. And the Frank's who gained wealth, titles and lands as well as a frankish king in the holy land. The crusaders went because of the great wealth they could capture or plunder and when that was less of a possibility and with defeats the crusades stopped.
The Catholic Church certainly motivated knightscand soldiers to fight the muslims in their own back yard after all they were being invaded and their coasts raided. If you look at it, Christianity had been in the middle east, Asia minor and north Africa but by the time of the 1st crusades after invasion after invasion that had all changed. Spain had been lost and the muslims invaded as far as france in the west, they had attacked Rome and Italy multiple times and the Eastern Roman empire had diminished and constantinople had been laid seige to multiple times.

[Opinion Owner]

@gwendoline I would advise you to look up the definition of Feudalism

[Gwendoline]

Maybe you should rather than look up the definition bit instead read up on the subject.

[Opinion Owner]

I was taught the subject in school, clearly your education failed you.
You read up on it, took you 8 days which took me few moments to say definition.
I’m not going to time travel and alter history just for you to be right.

[strateguy632]

First under catholic pope , starting from pope innocent who was not innocent! In picture

Innocent added torture, source in first link

Besides the catholic problem, the peasants in general, suffered , got beaten, and were slaves, and could not own anything, just work like "animal for food and a crowded room." Add a catholic boss and the threat of inquisition and torture for questioning the faith... That is the cause for many catholic and muslim "believers" caused by various threats #jizya tax , sword and inquisition. About catholic see:

Britanicca

and see Jizya tax

In contrast protestant spread by evidence... to me.

[Paige90]

No - I am not Catholic but have some Catholic friends and their beliefs are bizarre plus they worship Mary and think she was without sin.

[Gwendoline]

They don't worship Mary but venerate her as an example

[strateguy632]

As if "pray to" is not "worship". If not, then just "pray to zues" it is not "worship" is it?

[Paige90]

Yes they do!

[Paige90]

Do you think she was sinless?

[Jennz6]

@paige90
Everyone has some sin

[Paige90]

@Jennz6 I agree but Catholics think she never sinned

[Jennz6]

@paige90
Jesus Christ died for our sins

[FreyaRed]

I don't think living in medieval times was so easy as it 's today.

[Lynx122]

Nah don't think so. Health care alone would already put me off. And also the hierarchy. It wasn't like today where you're allowed to have education and thoughts of your own. You only existed to fulfill the will of god. That was whatever the people in charge thought it was. So you weren't allowed to question anything and you didn't even know enough about the world to do it anyway. I'm sure there was some joy in their life too. Community, food, love, sex, family, a basic purpose. But I don't know even if it has some mental challenges I enjoy the freedom of today finding my way in this complex world. And also I'm disabled so I'm not forced to work everyday.

[Med_guy1978]

I respect Roman Catholic Christians but I don't have an overall general respect for the hierarchy and clergy. I stress, it's a generalisation. I think we are all living in modern slavery whereas we shouldn't have to work more than 20 hours per week. It's all possible but then there would be no control. Just look back at the US in 1776 and what the constitution stood for, no income tax, everyone had the right to land (somewhere to Live), etc... If Rome truly persued these standards and promoted them, then I agree with them.

[Maybe_Maybe_not]

Objectively speaking. There are tools to determine general population's "happiness", if we assume that happiness is correlated with social rights. Since I believe there was less social rights during middle age then... Inequality-adjusted Human Development Index

Subjectively speaking. Precisely that, happiness is subjective, so I cannot technically ask or answer for so many people on earth. Even less so when I have to ask dead people lol

[SotiCoto]

No. Not only does it not have anything to do with "the Catholic Church" in particular, but it is more about how much work actually needs to be done in a given space of time. At least back in medieval times, people didn't work for employers. People were moreorless the property of their liege lords and had to grow crops, tend animals and / or produce goods that would be taken from them. The worked about as much as was necessary and reasonable in order to live.
Oh, and lest we forget, they couldn't really work after dark either because keeping lights on at night was a luxury few could afford.
So yeah, they had more time off... but they weren't "given" it. They just couldn't work then.

[genericname85]

people used to "only" work 150 days in wage based labour. this figure forgets that people had to generate their own heat (gather wood) and farm to have food on the table in their "free time". which wasn't "payed" work but it wasn't exactly a holiday either.

and i think that the catholic church made peoples lifes much worse. i mean it's called "the dark ages" for a reason. sure there's some humanitarian aid stuff that the church invented and that's cool and all but overall the progress we could have had without the wide spread delusion would be far more beneficial to us today.

[Grond21]

On average, given it was the Catholic Church that invented both the hospital system as well as the university system, I think you have to say yes

[NathanDavis]

depends... for some "peoples" the Catholic Church meant that 90% of them were brutally murdered, and the surviving ones had to endure 300 years of slavery...

[Gwendoline]

Nothing to do with the Catholic Church. More to do with Hispanics.

[NathanDavis]

Hispanics are Hispanics precisely because of the Catholic Church...

[Summeroflove]

People lived 300 years?

[NathanDavis]

@Summeroflove if you believe the bible... it does say that some of them did, and that it is the word and will of god

how often do you question the word of god yourself?

[Anonymous]

You CAN'T really put that on the Catholic church. That's was more the fuedalistic system. There's a reason we call it the DARK ages.

I'm not catholic, and while I would be critical of the Catholic church we do have to remember God's word is perfect. But it is only as good at the time as the mortal that is preaching it.

[Gwendoline]

It was called the dark ages because the western roman empire collapsed due to depopulation, famine, disease, economic turmoil and invasion. The church is only thing that kept knowledge in western Europe.

[Opinion Owner]

Yeah, like I said. "You can't really put it on the Catholic Church."

[slatyb]

Ask the women of the Magdalene laundries in Ireland. Ask the native children and parents separated in Canada. Ask the South American natives enslaved by the Spanish and Portuguese. Ask the people executed for heresy.

[Danzigdawson]

[Gwendoline]

It became dark with all those invading pagans yes

[Danzigdawson]

Extreme religious obscurantism, dominion of christianity over all aspects of life, rigid feudal hierarchy, neverending wars in the name of kings and christianity. Those are the reasons... It's not that hard to understand.

[Bricealan]

@gwendoline Idle hands are the devils workshop! Leaves too much vacation time for the boys to get into the girls pants? !

[Gwendoline]

Time spent bettering yourself

[Bricealan]

I agree but that much vacation?

[Cubus]

First of all, it depended on a country. In my country at some point, peasants needed to work 10 days a week (yes, you read it correctly).

[SoJust]

Yes, but this is not only valid for Catholics, this is valid for all clergy. All clergy live beautiful and magnificent lives. I am a former Catholic, but now I am a non-denominational Christian, I am just a follower of Jesus.

[OneViewpoint]

No, I believe life under the Catholic Church was living a lie with very limited free choice. I don't see that as better than what I have now.

[exitseven]

Having rich parents would be a better way to do it.

[Sunrising]

But school teachers and politicians work less than that, or seem to.

[DJB72]

Harder but simpler. In an agrarian society "holiday" has a different meaning. Animals still need to eat. Weeds still grow.

[loveslongnails]

How long has the Catholic Church been feeding you propaganda?

[Gwendoline]

B4 the whole "prodestant work ethic" and time keeping you made an agreement to do a job for x amount, how quickly it took you didn't matter as long as it was done leaving you free to do your own or other work, you weren't tied to a clock 12 hours 6 days per week 314 days per year. The latest thing if working from home has brought some of this back.

[loveslongnails]

You're in a Catholic cult.

[Staximus]

I'm pretty sure medieval peasants worked 7 days a week

[AngryCarl2]

Probably, but only because of the holidays. Not because of their screwy religion.

[Anonymous]

Yea but they worked really hard! Plus they had to go to church on the holidays.

[seeyounexttuesday]

And the American revolution was started because 3% tax rate was outrageous.

[Pterodon]

Nope because they didn’t live biblical lives they lived Catholic lives

[Dongie]

The Bible says work 6 days and rest the 7th.

[Jennz6]

I’m not sure

[LiamJHayden]

It would depend when and where.

[shortster]

Bankers have the same amount of holidays.

[Anonymous]

all christians generally live a better life anyway

[Hispanic-Cool-Guy]

The opposite. Demonic institution p. o. s.

[Anonymous]

You mean being complete two faced hypocrites