ABSTRACT
In dealing with the Inquisition in its papal, episcopal, and Spanish variants, most of us in the Western world today would agree that the institution was oppressive and even evil. Collective fears, some of them worth describing as manifestations of some forms of pathology, however, provide us with an entry into mentalities, into culture, and into evil. At the very heart of evil, there is often the well ingrained belief that one is right and others are wrong. At the very heart of evil is the idea of difference, of orthodoxy and heterodoxy. Sexual relations with those who are different from oneself often triggered universal fears and had dire consequences. It was seen as an evil act and thus punished severely. Individuals could embrace the idea of the resurrection of the flesh at the end of time. Yet, they were not fooled. The body died. It rots and stinks quickly. The body, as Augustine of Hippo reminded us, is evil.
