Let's play a game! You will need to use your own imagination, so I'm afraid this blog will only work for about 10% of the readers out there... but still here goes!

Imagine YOU are a proper God-fearing peasant, living around 15th century Europe...

As a well brought up peasant, you just KNOW that God rules everything, He rules justly, wisely and unconditionally. (You've been told this all your life, and really EVERYONE around you agrees, so it must be true!)

GOD loves YOU and he has this great Book, HE has his cathedrals, churches, armies and castles in a built-up power structure to PROTECT us poor ignorant sinners against the continuing attacks by the Devil and his Evil legions...

GOD gives us a good life on the straight and narrow path of HIS truth.
He watches us and controls our minds and bodies every moment of the day and night... for our own good.. out of love.

God has personally created (for us) the Good Pope and all the Good Kings, Queens and Nobility as better, wiser and more noble versions of us weak untrustworthy dumb peasants (aka "commoners")  that populate the entire world. (that is: the world ruled by this God)

You know and accept that the Nobility or "Ruling Class" are like super GOD / Angel people with a divine spark in them... so of course they are always right.

The Nobility and Clergy have been born to rule us and protect us as wise shepherds ruling sheep so it is ordained by the Lord GOD's will, for our own good...out of love

Around the 15th century is a modern exciting time!
A cutting edge scientific book has just recently been mass-published on the very first printing technology!
It explains and defines and PROVES the nature of reality and the place of GOD, humans, angels and demons within it.
This amazing book is filled with the very latest, most modern scientific theorems and case studies about the very essence of life on this planet.

These divinely inspired theorems and rules have been put into unmutable laws which are upheld by tireless servants of the Lord for the good of all.

This book is called the “Malleus Maleficarum" or "HexenHammer" written in Germany by professional inquisitors who have looked into the eyes of Evil every day of their lives (quite possibly in a mirror)...
It will grow up to be the Main and ONLY modern international book of Law that  protects the entire "Gentile" Christian world from the Evil and corruption of Satan and his minions...
"The Malleus" proves without a shadow of a doubt, that all things of a wild Nature as well as ALL other religions and philosophies worldwide are corrupt and are "works of the Devil" that only mean harm to good people.
It shows what needs to be destroyed and must be torn out root and branch to preserve God's peace. (in quite some detail actually...especially the tearing and cutting parts)
It is of course the handbook of the inquisition and it's wonderfully respectable  judges as ordered by Good Pope "Innocentus" (for the good of all)

It's an instant best seller and will be used exclusively by law courts for almost 3 centuries.

To your simple peasant eyes these things might sometimes seem incomprehensible and worrying.
But God proscribes these Laws personally, to protect us,  so it must be all right!
...right?

Harsh measures have to be taken under the benevolent and wise guidance of the Pope, Bishops, Kings, Nobility and their dedicated policeforce to protect all the people of the world from eternal damnation. Because they love us so much...

And anyway, You realise it's OK, because only evil people that wish it upon themselves will get hurt.
They tell YOU that all the "victims" are just stupid people, evil sinners who deny God's existence and disgusting witches who will mislead and harm you and your family if you let them!

Remember their code:
The end always justifies the means!!

Eternal paradise for all believers
vs.
theft, torture, rape, murder, corruption and convenient lies

If YOU truly BELIEVE about the concept of an ALL SEEING ALL POWERFUL GOD who loves you and who REALLY wants to have you visit him in Heaven FOREVER!

and

IF YOU TRULY BELIEVE that his counterpart the EVIL corrupting DEVIL exists and hates you and wants to stick forks in your bum FOREVER!

And

IF YOU TRULY BELIEVE your government and the "RULING" class are there to help you live a happy and contented life…

…then everything is fine and hunky dory!

You are a happy hardworking 15th century Christian peasant until your inevitable death.

Enjoy your (indentured) life span :-)

BUT

Now imagine being a Nature-worshipping free spirit, living in that same15th century Europe!
A "green" person that believes Life is Freedom!, the world is a cool place, Heaven is right here, right now and it is beautifull!
Say you believe all things natural live in the subtle interconnectedness of  things, birds, beasts, bugs, plants and monkeys... overseen and guided by an all encompassing LIVING natural planet and her inbuilt processes.
(without the intervention of one of the many made up storybook figures people call gods)

If you would look at the world around you:

You would see an enforced belief system in an impossibly vague foreign fairy story about camels and crap, using rods on children, burning bushes and the glory of working yourself to death as a slave without rights.

You would see this ridiculous story being used by a corrupt bunch of powermad psychopaths to justify their rapacious greed.
You would see them for the bandit chiefs with delusions of grandeur that they are.

Cruel masters with a holy mission, enslaving entire populations by the sword, by Fear, by threats, by Lies and (most importantly) by superior technology aquired through stolen wealth.

You will see entire populations subdued by first beating the crap out of them,
then killing or imprisoning their true leaders
and then keeping them scared of physical torture in this world
as well as eternal torture in the next...

And these leaders will convince everybody that they are doing this,
not to get even richer and even more powerful than they already are…

No...

They have the barefaced nerve to say it is for YOUR own good!...
They are stealing from you and imprisoning you and brainwashing your people
out of love

You would see a world ruled and despoiled by selfish megalomaniacs grabbing as much money and power as they can by ANY means while pretending to do it for the best of the community.

And if any young people are brave enough to try to rebel against these self appointed "Nobility" and "Clergy",
they are branded "Enemy of the State" or "Satan's henchmen" who will bring Harm and Death to the proper god fearing citizens!

People to be shamed and betrayed by their own family and neighbours.
People to be imprisoned , tortured or killed to preserve the herd mentality
People the Slave Masters have the right to "bring to justice" ...
"for their own good"
... out of love...

Imagine living there... in that medieval world ... without escape...
A head filled with knowledge about Life and Death,
but not being able to talk to anyone about it!
because really EVERYBODY believes in this fictional delusion.

(because if everybody believes it, it must be true right?)

BRRRRRRR!!
pretty scary thought eh?

OK now imagine being me,
and living right now...
AAAAaaaaaaargh!!!!

;-)

Keep smiling, keep thinking, and if you wanna know how society really works:
always follow the money

Greenthingz and History from TERRA OMNIA!
Shaman Steve Sic (the nature hermit)

ps: funfact
All the “Noble” ruling families mentioned here are still in power in the 21st century!
Talk about timetravel!
Although nowadays , with the way modern language morphs to suit the zeitgeist of any given time, they are more commonly known under the collective noun:
“Major Shareholders”… different word, same privileges**

**pps:  Privilege means “private Law”