In the beginning of my quest to find a shocking facts about history, I thought of a film I saw recently, A Man for All Seasons. The film tells the story of Sir Thomas More, the english catholic statesman who was beheaded by Henry the VIII for refusing to accept the king as the Supreme Head of the Church of England. Sir Thomas also wrote the classic polemic Utopia which gave the world the idea of a perfect society. The film is very well made, and potrays More as man who refuses to back down on his religious conciese, even though he knows the consequences.
Unfortunately, as with so many "historic" films the movie leaves the truth on the cutting room floor. While it is true that Thomas More was killed by Henry the VII for his beliefs, he was also a catholic fanatic who campigned against religious freedom in England. Among other offenses, he prevented Lutherern books from entering England, had people burned at the stake, and placed protestents and other heretics on the torture rack. It seems the film thought these facts would take sympathy away from our martyred friend.
I like historic films. Not because they are arcurate depictions of the past but because they make me do real research and remind me time and time again that people will create false impressions of history if you let them.
By the way, this sadist and killer was made a Saint in 1935. Read into that what you will.
History can tell you so much as to what religion originated from and what it means to an everyday living. This tells me that history shows one's belifes was a fight for many ages.
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