Poor Moe Q. McGlutch Loved Control Too Much

Tyrants since the beginning of time have attempted to limit people’s knowledge. From Mao Zedong’s book burnings to Caligula banning The Odyssey for its themes of freedom, restriction of knowledge in the form of restricting books and reading has always been an important tool for those who have power and want to keep it as it is.

In Renaissance-era Europe, the Catholic Church played the role of that kind of organization. It’s difficult for us to comprehend the sort of system of religion that encompassed Europe during the Renaissance. But imagine, for a minute, being unable to read the scriptures for yourself. You aren’t one of the lucky ones who have been educated. If you want to know what God says, the way He wants you to live your life, you have to rely on your bishop to tell you. And you haven’t got any way to check for yourself, you just have to trust that what he says is right. In addition, everyone around you believes exactly what you do-- including the leaders of your country.

That’s a lot of control for anyone to have. And of course, people are reluctant to relinquish control-- think of your parents, especially with their oldest child. It was hard for them to make the change, when they left the house, from parenting a child to being the parent of an adult, wasn’t it? (Although maybe that was just my family haha.)

I don’t want to suggest, of course, that the Catholic Church is evil. It isn’t-- although like any large organization, including the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, evil people can reside in it. But the Catholic Church during the Renaissance wasn’t evil, no. They had power, yes, and they wanted to keep it, but it goes even deeper than that, since religion is so very complex. They thought that people were leaving the true church, you know? I mean, I’m sure you know people who have left our church. Isn’t it upsetting, to think they are, through their own choices, going to be less happy than they could be, if only they would listen to you?

In 1525, the Catholic Church in England burned 6,000 copies of the Bible that had been translated into English, and it was decreed that the Bible should only be in Latin. Less than ten years later, the entire country left the Catholic Church under the direction of Henry VIII.

At the end of it all, I suppose, nothing gold can stay. If you have control, you can’t keep it forever. Maybe it’s better for us to let people do what they will do and stop trying to control them. Maybe that way, what we love will be willing to return to us.