The government is shit, we all know that, full of arseholes, but for a very large majority of people, this is a very good place to live in. The same is true of most rich world countries. Compared to … (View Post)

The debate in Christianity goes back at least as far as the 8th century Eastern Empire (and has always existed in Islam). Are art, architecture, music, literature the allies of religion, or its most … (View Post)

The Papacy was a corrupt toad. But, that was not in general, true of the English monasteries. They were the welfare state of the day. When they went, so did most charity. Tudor legislation against be… (View Post)

The debate in Christianity goes back at least as far as the 8th century Eastern Empire (and has always existed in Islam). Are art, architecture, music, literature the allies of religion, or its most … (View Post)

One of the worst sins for a historian is presentism - the belief that people who lived in past societies shared our own outlook and beliefs. Some behaviours are almost universal - almost everyone lov… (View Post)