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Welcome to Call to Decision
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April 4, 2006 Comments by Darryl Eberhart, Editor of “Tackling the Tough Topics” Concerning torture and ecclesiastical tyranny, and Concerning the outstanding movie “King Arthur – Director’s Cut” My main reasons for writing this article are:
Per Webster’s New World Dictionary, Second College Edition (1974), “Arthur” is: “1. A masculine name. 2. A legendary king of Britain who led the knights of the Round Table: such a king is supposed to have lived in the 6th century.” GENERAL INFORMATION
ABOUT THE MOVIE “KING ARTHUR” First, here is some information concerning the movie “King Arthur – Director’s Cut”: The back cover of the DVD of this movie that I purchased states the following: “Now, from the producer of [the movie] ‘Pearl Harbor’ and the director of ‘Training Day’…experience the extended unrated director’s cut of this hard-hitting action epic! Prepare for more thrills, more adventure and more intensity, as the heroic true story behind one of history’s greatest legends explodes onto the screen! It is the valiant tale of Arthur (Clive Owen) and his bond of brotherhood with Lancelot (Ioan Gruffudd), and the loyalty of the Knights of the Round Table as they fight for freedom and those they love. Also starring Keira Knightly as Guinevere, this never-before-seen ‘King Arthur’ is a longer, grittier and more explicit motion picture – don’t miss it!” “King Arthur – Director’s Cut” is a 139-minute (2 hour and 19 minute) color film that was released in 2004. The back cover states: “Touchstone Pictures and Jerry Bruckheimer Films present an Antoine Fuqua Film ‘King Arthur’.” The DVD version of the movie is produced by Touchstone Home Entertainment. ((Ed. WARNING to parents: This movie contains scenes of intense battle violence, and one scene of mild (per Hollywood standards) sexuality.)) At the beginning of the movie the following statement is given: “Historians
agree that the classical 15th century tale of King Arthur and
his Knights rose from a real hero who lived a 1000 years earlier in a
period called the Dark Ages. Recently discovered archeological evidence sheds light on his
true identity.” The “stage is set” at the beginning of this movie with a brief opening scene of Roman Legions fighting Sarmatian troops. (Sarmatia is an ancient region of Eastern Europe – and an enemy of Rome in the 4th century.) The movie explains that the Romans defeated the Sarmatians; however, the Romans were so impressed with the fighting ability of the captured Sarmatian cavalrymen that they spared their lives. The “condition” for sparing the lives of these excellent cavalry fighters was that they would provide “knights” to serve in the Roman Army. Lancelot and other knights who served in Britain under Roman officer Artorius (later to become King Arthur) were such Sarmatians who had been brought into the Roman Army. Another early scene (in this extended version of the movie) that helps set the stage for the rest of the movie finds young Artorius (who had lost his father at a young age) talking with a kind, intelligent Roman named Pelagius. Pelagius, who is preparing to depart for Rome, sees some young Sarmatians arriving. He tells young Artorius (who is half Roman – his dad, and half Briton – his mother) that he someday may lead such men into battle, just as his (Artorius’) father had. We find out later in the movie that Pelagius had greatly influenced young Artorius with his teachings on free will and equality. We also find out later in the movie that when Pelagius arrived in Rome, he taught about free will and equality. His teachings (which offended Bishop Germanius and other Catholic prelates) got him excommunicated and executed by Rome. SELECTED EXCERPTS OF
GREAT DIALOGUE IN “KING ARTHUR” Now let’s take a look at some of the great dialogue (by David Franzoni) in this movie along with some of my “editorial comments” (all “emphasis”, unless otherwise noted, is mine): (Roman Catholic Bishop Naius Germanius and his entourage had come under attack by Britons, and had been rescued by Roman officer Artorius (Arthur) and his knights. Bishop Germanius has been given Arthur’s quarters to rest in. Horton (secretary and servant of Bishop Germanius) and the bishop are having a conversation in Arthur’s quarters): Horton: “[It
was] very kind of Arthur to give up his room.
But of course, it is to be expected.” (Jols, who works for Arthur, is sent to bring Bishop Germanius to the Knights’ Fortress Hall. The bishop has just broken the disk honoring Pelagius that Arthur had made as a child.) Horton (addressing Jols): “When my master [i.e., Roman Catholic Bishop Germanius] meets with your knights, he must be seated last, and he must be seated at the head of the table.” Jols: “Your master [i.e., the Bishop] can plonk [i.e., plunk] his holy ass wherever he chooses.” ((Ed. Comment to all the preceding dialogue: Why is it that many high-level Church officials expect to be treated like “little gods”? Why do some people treat them like “little gods”?)) (As Jols is leading Horton and Bishop Germanius into the Knights’ Fortress Hall, the following conversation occurs): Horton (upon seeing a “round” table): “A round table? What sort of evil is this?” Jols: “Arthur says for men to be men they must first of all be equal.” ((Ed. Comment to the preceding dialogue: Many popes and cardinals have lived like kings and princes while many of their Roman Catholic “faithful” adherents lived as paupers and serfs!)) (Arthur and Bishop Germanius are conversing in the Knights’ Fortress Hall): Arthur (addressing the Bishop): “His [i.e., Pelagius’] teachings on free will and equality have been a great influence. I look forward to our reunion in Rome.” (Bishop Germanius does not tell Arthur that Pelagius has been executed because he offended Germanius and other Catholic prelates in Rome with his teachings on free will and equality.) ((Ed. Comments to the preceding: (1) The Roman Catholic Church’s hierarchy has never hesitated to murder any individuals, or even entire population groups (such as the Albigensian Christians in southern France in the early 13th century), that dared to disagree with papal authority or with Roman Catholic doctrines. (2) This early meeting between Bishop Germanius and Arthur and his knights sets the tone for the rest of the movie. Arthur’s knights, who were expecting to be discharged the next day from their long tour of duty (15 years) in Britain with the Roman Army, will within hours be asked to go on what appears to be a suicide mission deep inside “enemy territory” to rescue the Pope’s favorite godchild, Alecto (along with his Roman family). The bishop refuses to give the knights their well-earned discharge papers until after the completion of this new mission. This, of course, extends their service commitment, as well as placing their lives in great jeopardy.)) (The meeting of Bishop Germanius and Arthur and his knights continues): Bishop Germanius: “Because of this [i.e., the barbarians closing in on the gates of Rome], Rome and the ‘holy father’ [i.e., the pope] have decided to remove ourselves from indefensible outposts, such as Britain. What will become of Britain is not our concern anymore.” ((Ed. Comment to the preceding: This offends the surviving Sarmatian knights serving under Arthur, since they feel that they have been fighting all those long, hard years for nothing. What is so sad is that such events have occurred frequently in history – i.e., that Church and State leaders have frequently had no problems at all in sacrificing individuals or entire population groups for what they perceive is “ the greater good” (i.e., good for them, not for the people).)) (Arthur and his knights reach the estate of Roman nobleman Marius Honorius, whose son Alecto is the main object of this rescue mission. Arthur finds the village elder (the local leader of Marius’ serfs) chained to a support, having been severely whipped for questioning Marius’ decision to export so much of the food produced by the serfs that it left almost nothing for them to eat. Arthur frees the elder, and then is asked the following by Ganis, one of the serfs): Ganis: “You’re from Rome. [NOTE: Though Arthur is a Roman officer, but he has never been to Rome.] Is it true that Marius is a spokesman for God, and that it is a sin to defy him?” Arthur (first addressing Ganis, and then all the village people standing around): “I’ll tell you now. Marius is not of God. And you…all of you…were free from your first breath.” ((Ed. Comments to the preceding dialogue: (1) Marius Honorius had been given his estate by the pope. He has a small unit of Roman soldiers assigned to protect his estate. Marius also has some Catholic monks living on the estate who have been torturing some of the local people in a dungeon below ground. Marius has been running his estate like a “little god”, with absolute power over the lives of his “serfs”. (2) The serfdom depicted here in this movie is typical of the “fruit” produced by the horrible doctrine of the “divine right of kings and popes” that has been taught for centuries by the Roman Catholic Church. In other words, one must obey the authorities, both State and Church, without ever daring to question their authority – or any of their abuses! The Roman Catholic Church still believes in the “divine right” of its popes!))
(Everyone at Marius’ estate is now making preparation to leave for the safety of Hadrian’s Wall to the south, since an invading army of Saxons is advancing towards the estate from the north. Arthur sees several Catholic monks – with several Roman soldiers looking on – walling up an entranceway. His suspicions are aroused. He has one of his knights break down the stones, and then he and several of his knights go down into the dungeon. When they arrive at the torture chambers, which are run by these Catholic monks, the following conversation takes place): Arthur: “What is
this?” Monk #1: “You
cannot go in there. No one
goes in there. This place
is forbidden.” Monk #2 (challenging the knights): “Who are these defilers of the Lord’s Temple?” Lancelot (to monk #2): “Out of my way!” (The knights see several dead bodies inside the torture chambers.) Lancelot (to Arthur): “The work of your God? Is this how he answers your prayers?” Arthur (to one of his knights): “See if there’s any still alive!” Monk #1 (to Lancelot, who is trying to open one of the cells): “How dare you set foot in this holy place!” (Monk #1 is trying to hinder Lancelot from further search of the torture chambers – Lancelot turns and thrusts his sword into this monk’s belly.) Monk #2: “That [referring to monk #1] was a man of God!” Lancelot (addressing monk #2): “Not my god!” (The knights then bring to the surface a boy whose arm had been broken, and Guinevere, who had been tortured by the Catholic monks. The Roman nobleman, Marius Honorius, then runs over to challenge the actions of Arthur and his knights): Marius (addressing
Arthur and his knights): “Stop what you’re doing!” Arthur (turning to Marius): “What is this madness?” [Referring to the torture chambers and their victims] Marius: “They’re all pagans here! …They refuse to do the task God has set for them! They must die as an example.” Arthur (to Marius): “You mean they refused to be your serfs!” Marius (addressing Arthur): “You are a Roman. You understand. And you are a Christian.” [The implication being: You ought to therefore understand that it’s my right according to the Roman Catholic Church and the Roman State to treat these people thusly.] Marius (turning to his wife who is kneeling nearby): “You! You kept her [i.e., Guinevere] alive!” (Marius then slaps his wife.) (Arthur then punches Marius Honorius in the face, knocking him to the ground.) Marius (addressing Arthur): “When we get to the wall you will be punished for this heresy.” Arthur (holding his sword to Marius’ throat): “Perhaps I should kill you now and seal my fate.” Monk #2 (addressing Arthur): “It is God’s wish that these sinners be sacrificed. Only then can their souls be saved.” (The monks say they’re willing to stay in order to sacrifice the “sinners”.) (Arthur tells his knights to wall up the evil Catholic monks in the same place where they had intended to “sacrifice” their poor victims, i.e., “these sinners”.) Monk #2: “Don’t you see it is the will of God that these sinners be sacrificed?” ((Ed. Comments to the preceding dialogue: (1) Watching the above scene from this movie reminded me so much of what I had read about the horrible Inquisition – and of the horrible tortures devised and used by the Roman Catholic Church to break the bodies (and spirits) of individuals. (Even women were horribly tortured!) (2) “It is the will of God” has been the excuse (or “justification”) often given throughout the centuries by wicked Roman Catholic popes, prelates, priests, monks, friars, etc., for their use of the most heinous types of torture against innocent human beings created in God’s image! (3) Did you know that even in the early 1800s Napoleon Bonaparte’s troops found underground Roman Catholic torture chambers in Europe with horribly mutilated innocent victims? Did you know that the Roman Catholic Church STILL maintains an office of Inquisition, albeit under the more benign name of the “Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith”?)) Guinevere (speaking
later to Arthur in the wagon as he examines her dislocated fingers): “They
[i.e., the Catholic monks] tortured me…with machines…to
make me tell them things that…that I didn’t know to begin
with.” ((Ed. Comment to the preceding: The Roman Catholic Church has brutally tortured thousands upon thousands of innocent human beings, created in God’s image, over the centuries. She still maintains her “right” to use “force” whenever and wherever she decides to do so. A Roman Catholic militia (the Ustashi), with the blessing of the Catholic Croatian Fascist State and the Roman Catholic hierarchy, and frequently led by Catholic priests, monks, and friars, brutally tortured thousands of Serb Orthodox Christian men, women, children, and elderly as recently as the 1940s during World War II. The Roman Catholic Ustashi militia brutally exterminated from 600,000 to one million innocent Serb Orthodox Christian men, women, elderly, and children during that time period!)) ((Ed. Note: Hint to Hollywood: Why don’t you make some movies about the Inquisition, and about the Vatican’s holocaust in Croatia in the 1940s?)) (Marius – the Roman nobleman who, along with his family, is being rescued by Arthur and his knights – attempts, with his Roman soldier guard unit, to carry out an internal takeover of the fleeing convoy of people. He is slain in this attempt. The following conversation takes place between Alecto, son of Marius, and Arthur as he expresses his sympathy over Marius’ death): Alecto: “My father [i.e., Marius Honorius, the Roman nobleman] lost his way. He used to say the Church is there to help us stay on our path. It didn’t help those he made suffer.” Arthur: “The path he [i.e., Marius] chose was beyond the reach of the Church, Alecto.” Alecto: “But not of Rome. What my father believed, so Rome believes.” Arthur: “What – that some men are born to be slaves? No, that isn’t true.” Alecto: “It is so! He told me so.” Arthur: “Pelagius, a man as close to me as any, is there [i.e., in Rome] now, teaching that all men are free, equal. And that each of us has the right to choose his own destiny.” Alecto: Teach? How? They killed Pelagius a year past. [Roman Catholic Bishop] Germanius and the others were damned by his teachings. They had him excommunicated and killed. The Rome you talk of doesn’t exist, except in your dreams.” ((Ed. Comments to the preceding dialogue: (1) The Roman Catholic Church has murdered countless millions for the same “crimes” for which Pelagius was executed, i.e., opposing tyranny, oppression, and serfdom; challenging totalitarian States supported by the Roman Catholic Church; opposing the monopolistic ecclesiastical authority of the Roman Catholic Church and the primacy of the papacy; etc. The Roman Catholic Church also tortured and murdered thousands who disagreed with her doctrines (such as transubstantiation), or who wanted to read the Holy Bible in their own native languages. (2) This dialogue reminds me of the fate of the Dominican Girolamo Savonarola (1452-1498), who was excommunicated and then executed through the efforts of his own Church (i.e., the Roman Catholic Church) in 1498. Savonarola’s preaching had led to a great reformation in the city of Florence, Italy. One of his “crimes” had been the denunciation of the very corrupt papal court of Pope Alexander VI. Indeed, this is one of the benchmarks of the Roman Catholic Church: if the Church has the power and/or influence to silence her critics by murdering them – even if they are correctly and righteously criticizing gross evil and wicked abuses within the Roman Catholic Church – then she will do so, and do so with great vigor!)) ((Final Comments to the outstanding dialogue from this movie: Some readers may say that these conversations never really took place in history, nor did some of the scenes depicted in the movie. To which I firmly reply: True – the exact words used in these dialogues may never have occurred in exactly the same sequence portrayed in the movie; however, you can be sure that similar conversations have been held throughout history! And some of the scenes in this movie may not have occurred exactly in history as they were portrayed in this movie; however, you can be sure that such events as generally portrayed in this movie have taken place in history! My study of European history – and of Church history – show me that this movie rings so very true in its description of these times! And this movie is based upon solid history!)) FINAL THOUGHTS Some would accuse me of “being hard” on the hierarchy of the Roman Catholic Church. I have indeed written much in the last year or so about its propensity for “holy” crusades, torture & Inquisition, mass murder & religious genocide, intolerance, etc., throughout history – and also of such “crimes against mankind” that occurred in the quite recent past (historically speaking), such as its vicious religious genocide in Croatia during World War II. (The “price” of the Vatican’s holocaust in Croatia was the slaughter of 600,000 to one million innocent Serb Orthodox Christians!) Such “crimes against mankind” need to be exposed, because the Roman Catholic Church still reserves to herself the “right” to use FORCE wherever and whenever she so determines that there is a “need” to do so! The hierarchical system of the Roman Catholic Church (which bears NO resemblance to early Christianity) lends itself well to ecclesiastical tyranny; claims to infallibility and the “right” to use force; perpetuation of its monopolistic, totalitarian papacy at any cost, to include the outright murder of its enemies (real or perceived); and to mass murder via religious and/or State-sponsored genocide (using the State which it controls as its tool for mass murder); etc. My special thanks to all involved in making the two outstanding movies – my two “very favorite movies” in the world – “King Arthur – Director’s Cut” and “Kingdom of Heaven”, especially to those who wrote the great dialogue in both these movies that exposes the dark, ugly side of “institutional religious fanaticism, cruelty, and barbarism”. If you would like to learn more about torture, Inquisition, and religious genocide, then please visit the following Internet web sites: www.calltodecision.com (please click on the “Tackling the Tough Topics” ‘box’ in the left-hand column of the home page) and www.tacklingthetoughtopics.net and then please read the following newsletters:
Please buy a VHS or DVD copy of the movie “King Arthur – Director’s Cut” – or rent a copy – and pay close attention to those scenes that correctly depict the Roman Catholic Church’s use of torture on innocent people, and its callous lack of concern for the lives of human beings. CLOSING QUOTES: “POWER tends to corrupt, and ABSOLUTE POWER corrupts absolutely.” John E. E. Dalberg Acton (1843-1902; English historian)
“And of all plagues with
which mankind are cursed,
Ecclesiastic tyranny is the worst.”
– Daniel DeFoe (1660-1731; English writer)
“Men and women become accomplices
to those evils they fail to oppose.” (Author unknown to this editor)
“All that is necessary
for evil to triumph is for good men to do nothing.” Edmund Burke (1729-1797; British orator, author, and statesman)
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