Seattle Chesterton Society Meeting, October 15!

Dear Friends of the Seattle G. K. Chesterton Society,

It is with pleasure that we invite you to the first lecture of the season, coming up this Thursday, October 15, at 7:30 pm in Room 201 Beegle Hall, on the campus of Seattle Pacific University. The evening’s speaker is Dr. Alberto Ferreiro, professor of history at SPU:

The Spanish Inquisition: Myths and Facts
Dr. Alberto Ferreiro
Department of History, Seattle Pacific University

Perhaps no other event in Spanish History has so haunted, and continues to haunt, not only the Spanish people, but the Catholic Church. Unquestionably, “inquisitions” in general, and he Spanish Inquisition in particular, were historical realities. The purpose of this vening’s lecture is to challenge, not the reality of the Spanish Inquisition, but the ccumulation of propaganda concerning the Inquisition, beginning with the English, that came to be called “the Black Legend.”

The Black Legend undoubtedly ranks as one of the most successful smear campaigns in history, affecting perceptions even to this day. The Black Legend asks us to believe that the Spanish carried out a persecution that resulted in the deaths of hundreds of thousands of Jews, Muslims, heretics, and anyone else who stood in the way of the Church; that they took this campaign of terror also to the Americas, where the number of alleged victims reached even to the millions; and that this was a uniquely Spanish campaign, unequaled anywhere else in Europe. The truth is that most of what is popularly believed about the Spanish Inquisition is based upon ignorance, fantasy, and willful distortion. This aim of this evening’s lecture is to put the Spanish Inquisition in context, in order to separate the myth from the reality.

Alberto Ferreiro is Professor of European History at Seattle Pacific University, and has authored many publications on the history of Christianity in the Iberian Peninsula.

For this lecture, we were unable to book our usual venue in Otto Miller Hall. Please note that the lecture will take place in Room 201, Beegle Hall. This building is near the corner of 3rd Ave W. and W. Dravus St. Beegle Hall is building number 5 on this campus map. There is a large visitor lot nearby.

The national Chesterton conference this August came off splendidly! The principals of the Seattle Chesterton Society, as well as Dale Ahlquist and the principals of the American Chesterton Society, wish to express our appreciation to the many of you who were able to attend this most memorable event.

We look forward to seeing you at this Thursday’s lecture!

Yours faithfully,

The Seattle G. K. Chesterton Society