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Catholic - Protestant Schism II
A final push over a period of about 10 years defeated the Moors, who eventually relinquished
Granada without a fight in 1492, not that long after the completion of the magnificent Alhambra.
The lack of fighting left much of Moorish Granada intact, with much remaining today. Large
numbers of Moors became Christians (and were known as Moriscos), and settled south of the
Sierra Nevada and Granada, the area now known as the Alpujarras, giving it that different
flavor it still has.
“In the same month in which their Majesties [Ferdinand and Isabella] issued the edict that all
Jews should be driven out of the kingdom and its territories, in the same month they gave me the
order to undertake with sufficient men my expedition of discovery to the Indies.” So begins
Christopher Columbus's diary. The expulsion that Columbus refers to was so cataclysmic an
event that ever since the date 1492 has been almost as important in Jewish history as in
American history. On July 30 of that year, the entire Jewish community, some 200,000 people,
were expelled from Spain. Tens of thousands of refugees died while trying to reach safety. In
some instances, Spanish ship captains charged Jewish passengers exorbitant sums, then dumped
them overboard in the middle of the ocean. In the last days before the expulsion, rumors spread
throughout Spain that the fleeing refugees had swallowed gold and diamonds, and many Jews
were knifed to death by brigands hoping to find treasures in their stomachs.
The Jews' expulsion had been the pet project of the Spanish Inquisition, headed by Father Tomas
de Torquemada. Torquemada believed that as long as the Jews remained in Spain, they would
influence the tens of thousands of recent Jewish converts to Christianity to continue practicing
Judaism. Ferdinand and Isabella rejected Torquemada's demand that the Jews be expelled until
January 1492, when the Spanish Army defeated Muslim forces in Granada, thereby restoring the
whole of Spain to Christian rule. With their most important project, the country's unification,
accomplished, the king and queen concluded that the Jews were expendable. On March 30, they
issued the expulsion decree, the order to take effect in precisely four months. The short time span
was a great boon to the rest of Spain, as the Jews were forced to liquidate their homes and
businesses at absurdly low prices. Throughout those frantic months, Dominican priests actively
encouraged Jews to convert to Christianity and thereby gain salvation both in this world and the
next.
The most fortunate of the expelled Jews succeeded in escaping to Turkey. Sultan Bajazet
welcomed them warmly. "How can you call Ferdinand of Aragon a wise king," he was fond of
asking, "the same Ferdinand who impoverished his own land and enriched ours?" Among the
most unfortunate refugees were those who fled to neighboring Portugal. In 1496, King Manuel of
Portugal concluded an agreement to marry Isabella, the daughter of Spain's monarchs. As a
condition of the marriage, the Spanish royal family insisted that Portugal expel her Jews. King
Manuel agreed, although he was reluctant to lose his affluent and accomplished Jewish
community.
In the end, only eight Portuguese Jews were actually expelled; tens of thousands of others were
forcibly converted to Christianity on pain of death. The chief rabbi, Simon Maimi, was one of
those who refused to convert. He was kept buried in earth up to his neck for seven days until he
died. In the final analysis, all of these events took place because of the relentless will of one man,
Tomas de Torquemada. The Spanish Jews who ended up in Turkey, North Africa, Italy, and
elsewhere throughout Europe and the Arab world, were known as Sephardim — Sefarad being
the Hebrew name for Spain. After the expulsion, the Sephardim imposed an informal ban
forbidding Jews from ever again living in Spain. Specifically because their earlier sojourn in
that country had been so happy, the Jews regarded the expulsion as a terrible betrayal, and have
remembered it ever since with particular bitterness. Of the dozens of expulsions directed against
Jews throughout their history, the one from Spain remains the most infamous.
“You should access or research a minimum of two historical perspectives from different
vantage points in order to get a comprehensive understanding concerning the objective
subject matter. Two different dimensions is the bare minimum however, for optimal
understanding and appreciation of a given subject you must examine the phenomenon in
tree dimension… 3-D makes it lifelike… Now that you know that 1492 represents more
than the popular history pertinent to Columbus’ voyage to prove that the world was round
and in search of spices from the east, and fortuitously discovering the “New World,” you
should have a more holistic world view. Be mindful of the broader context of Spain in 1492
beyond the Columbus component and formulate it as a calculus to embroider your world
view going forward. However the history of the world following the exploits of Columbus is
the subject at hand, in the context of the European powers of the time and the trajectory of
the Roman Catholic Church and Protestant Reformation. Without question the Western
Schism, vis-à-vis, the Catholic and Protestant dichotomy split Christianity in the west, but
there was previously a West vs. East schism in Christianity that occurred in the 4th century.
This West vs. East schism occurred at the Council of Nicaea that was convened by the
Roman Emperor Constantine in 325 AD, for the purpose of united world Christendom
under the domination of the Roman Empire. Contemporary events relative to the state of
interfaith relationships in the world have centuries old origins.”
The current flames associated with the adversarial juxtaposition that animates the religions of
Abraham, are being stoked by geo-politics from the “West,” as well from the “East” and also
includes divergent political and economic interests originating from various competing quarters.
Unfortunately, the conventional definition and application of “religious tolerance” as an
impetus for peace and interreligious dialogue has a dubious record at best of fostering respect
across religious lines. Additionally, “religious tolerance” has achieved little in generating a
disposition of non-belligerence. Apart from the various eschatological “final judgment”
prophetic scenarios that portend to purge the planet earth of profound evil going forward, those
of us who are called must take affirmative action, in terms of the first person singular and play
our respective roles… Perhaps the popular conversation should include the notion of religious
“appreciation” as the logical progression from religious “tolerance” which has over the
centuries proven inadequate to positively impact the base-line of our human nature.
The application of “appreciation” embodies humility, respect, cordiality and an atmosphere of
mutual coexistence, while contemptuousness, animosity and invidious treatment may accompany
“toleration” of others. Appreciation of other religions does not suggest or require agreement,
but the quality of appreciation is entirely consistent with the precepts of the religions of
Abraham, in particular, and religion in general. In this context the objective of “ecumenical
culture” is a befitting trajectory for the religions of Abraham going forward. Therefore, let the
conversation commence… On the other hand, we can continue to permit the Cain and Able
dynamic to eclipse our better judgment as brothers and sisters. Whether we reference the son of
Abraham as Isaac, or Ishmael, we will continue to ascribe to the destruction of our human family
which is the antithesis of our Father’s injunctions... Perhaps the heirs of Isaac and Ishmael will
also review and improve their respective internal dynamic, just in case the
Apocalyptic and Armageddon prognosticators are on to something...
“End-times eschatology remains a robust field of interest and commentary. What time is it
that we are in now? When we explore that fundamental question relative to that all
important element called time, we observe interesting findings. We in the West are familiar
with passage of time and the documentation of time according to the Julian or the
Gregorian calendars respectively. It was Roman Emperor Julius Caesar who
commissioned an Egyptian Astrologer to come up with a lunar calendar, hence the Julian
Calendar. On the other hand in 1582 the Gregorian Calendar was introduced which bares
the name of its author Pop Gregory VIII. Both the Julian and Gregorian calculations are
lunar calendars. On one hand we utilize Julius Caesar’s calendar and on the other hand we
consult Pope Gregory VII calendar. According to the Julian calendar Christmas Day
occurs on January 6, but according to the Gregorian metric Christmas Day occurs on
December 25. Both calendars promote the notion that the sun raises in the east and sets in
the west, and the popular world currently subscribes to the east to west sun rising and
setting scenario. However the fact remains that the east to west trajectory of the sun is
among the most enduring myths.”
We explore great, profound and enduring myths that helped to formulate and maintain how
things are defined and operate in this universe of phenomena. In this earthy material world of
phenomena, ideas and concepts have been formulated and crystallized that constitute the way we
see the universe, and world, and the range of human events that occur in the world every minute
of each day, from time immemorial. In this context science, religion, the king and the military
have in the past determined where and how we live today. These consequential juggernauts
continue to play a dynamic role in determining the practical, economic, social, political and
educational objective facts on the earthy ground. A great and historical example of the dynamic
between the competing juggernauts that determine our quality of life, vis-à-vis, science and
religion, was the juxtaposition and ultimate clash concerning whether the universe revolved
around planet earth, or if the earth and planets revolved around the sun. This titanic historical
clash pitted the scientifically based Copernican view that the orbital precession of the earth and
other planets; against the traditional and severely enforced view held by the Papacy and the
Roman Catholic Church, that all the referenced celestial bodies revolved around the earth.
The historical record of the ongoing dynamic between science and religion is colorful and
controversial and in relation with the other two juggernauts of human affairs and development,
in the context of the king and military, the ultimate fate of humanity remains dubious. There are
many examples of the historical dynamic among and between these self proclaimed hierarchical
masters of the destiny of all humanity, represents a colorful and rich field of research concerning
the human condition. We examine and explore this human heritage going forward, along with
other myths that continue to impact how, education, economics, politics, social development and
world affairs are conducted on the planet. Accordingly, we want to examine perhaps one of the
must popular myths operating around the world that we live in today. The fact that the sun rises
in the east, and sets in the west is without question the belief of the vast majority of people in the
world today. However, this is not a fact rather it is an optical illusion that is accepted the world
over by official and popular acclamation. This great and enduring information and tradition, is
foundation of great institutions, kingdoms and empires etc, has been based on the erroneous idea
that the sun rises in the east and sets in the west. “Well than,” one might ask, “from where does
the sun rise and in what direction does it set?” Interesting enough, the correct answer to that
perplexing of questions is that, the sun never rises or sets. The idea of a rising and setting sun is
a complete misunderstanding and falsehood. It is an optical illusion, only. This ubiquitous myth
persists because the idea is a crystallized perception based on the acceptance and internalizing
this misinformation.
“With this view in mind, we explore the esoteric perspective of things as they are, or
perhaps how we see and understand things that “are…” The portal from which we propose
to view the material world of phenomena may be articulated as “Esoteric Christianity.”
Moreover, in the exploration of esoteric Christianity, we also examine the relative dynamic
known as “human nature.”