Were there underground Christians during the Catholic church's monopoly on power from the 300's to the 1500's

Question

And did they suffer persecution for it from the RC church?

Answer 1

yes and yes.
That is an unusual question, it shows that you are one that thinks outside the box. Good for you!

Answer 2

Actually, the idea of "underground Christians," was a myth. There is nothing in the histories to even begin to suggest it. You do have heresies pop up from time to time, but they do not seem to have any specific common thread to them. Futher, they were not underground. Historians recently did an extensive reconstruction of the Inquisition and found that almost everything we believe about it is myth. Very little has any basis in fact. Like the idea of Catholics worshipping Mary, the myth of the Inquisition came late out of the Reformation.

In fact, criminals in particular would blaspheme to save themselves because by blaspheming they would be transferred from the King's jurisdiction to the Church's jurisdiction. It was very rare for someone under the Church's custody to be harmed. Literally 10's of thousands were saved from death by the Church insisting on taking juridiction. Heresy was a charge kings and princes made in order to eliminate the opposition. Historians have found that the general opinion of the time the Inquisition ran was that the Inquisition was the only professional justice system around.

I will give you an example. In Germany, during this period, the penalty for stealing a loaf of bread with death by plowing. You were buried up to the waist in a field and a plow was driven through your body. The penalty for misweighing bread by a baker, drowning. If you go to Rotenburg ob Taub you can still see the dunking cages for miscreant bakers. Also think of Vlad the Impaler (Dracula) and you will see how cruel those in power were. In one part of Italy, a revolt was handled by nailing horseshoes into the feet of every male in the city. The inquisition only asked that if you committed a crime then you repent and if possible make restitution. It was rare for someone not to repent. If they did, they were transfered back to the civil authorities.

Heresies grew because the Church rarely did anything forceful to stop them. Kings however opposed having any dissent and these were often good scapegoats for grumbling about misrule. Just as the Salem witches were good scapegoats.

Finally, it is a strong misread of history to believe the Church held a monopoly on power. It simply ignores all the other actors. The Church became the only cross-jurisdictional authority and powerful people worked hard to control it, but it certainly never did nor does it now possess a monopoly on power. Even papal authority is far more limited than Protestants understand today. The Pope has very little authority within the Catholic Church and most beliefs about the papacy are about things I am sure the current Pope would just shake his head over.

Local mobs and prices were generally far more dangerous than the institutional Church, but there are also certainly cases where the Church held the dual role of religious oversight and civil governance. You get a mixed bag with that group because it is hard to distinguish bishop and prince when they are in fact the same person.

Answer 3

There were other forms of Christianity throughout history. The Orthodox church rejects the position of the Pope. Earlier, the Gnostics had quite a following.

Today, it seems the Roman Catholic church is experiencing a fair amount of persecution from other self-stylized Christians. They seem to think (in the fashion they blame the Roman Catholics of being) they are the sole recipients of the truth.

Such is life: Christianity, past, present and future is filled with individual groups claiming that they alone are right... and even if you believe in the same God, if you fail to do so "their" way, you're doomed.

I point this out often, and I'll do so again. There is NOT ONE Christian denomination that isn't CONDEMNED by at least one other. It is physically impossible to be a Christian and decried as not christian by at least one other Christian church.

That said, how can one have ANY confidence in being a Christian and being saved?

Answer 4

There were also many other churches, primarily the Orthodox Church. The Roman Catholic Church was never a sole denomination of Christianity at anytime.

Answer 5

Yes and yes. It still goes on in South America.

Answer 6

YOU'RE BORING NOW. SHUT UP

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