Jesuit Conspiracy Theories

[Hermai]

This whole topic just came to my attention. Evidently some believe that the Jesuit order have infiltrated various systems of power, from governments to the Vatican, from colleges to political parties. Anyone have any information on Jesuits and their 'Black Pope?'

[Hermai]

Jesuit conspiracy theories found fertile soil in Imperial Germany, where anti-Jesuits saw the order as a sinister and extremely powerful organization characterized by strict internal discipline, utter unscrupulousness in choice of methods, and undeviating commitment to the creation of a universal empire ruled by the Papacy. Citing historian Friedrich Heyer's metaphor of the specter of Jesuitism [Jesuitengespenst] and similar imagery from other authors, Róisín Healey writes: "The Jesuit of anti-Jesuit discourse had what might be called an uncanny quality: he was both subhuman and superhuman. Jesuits were allegedly so extreme in their submission to their order that they became like machines and, in their determination to achieve their goals, drew on powers unavailable to other men, through witchcraft. The peculiar location of the Jesuit, at the boundaries of humanity, unsettled the producers and consumers of anti-Jesuit discourse. In this sense, the Jesuit specter haunted imperial Germany." Healy observes that "Feeling themselves haunted by the Jesuits, anti-Jesuits revealed themselves to be less rational than they believed." Their discourse, with its "skewed" perception of reality, "resembled, in certain respects, the 'paranoid style' of politics identified by the American historian, Richard Hofstadter".

Anti-Jesuitism played an important part in the Kulturkampf, culminating in the Jesuit Law of 1872, endorsed by Otto von Bismarck, which required Jesuits to dissolve their houses in Germany, forbade members from exercising most of their religious functions, and allowed the authorities to deny residency to individual members of the order. Some of the law's provisions were removed in 1904, but it was only repealed in 1917.

In the 1930s, Jesuit conspiracy theories were made use of by the National Socialist Party with the goal of reducing the influence of the Jesuits, who ran secondary schools and engaged in youth work. A propaganda pamphlet, "The Jesuit: The Obscurantist without a Homeland" by Hubert Hermanns, warned against the Jesuits' "dark power" and "mysterious intentions". Declared "public vermin" [Volksschädlinge] by the Nazis, Jesuits were persecuted, interned, and sometimes murdered.

A notable source of modern conspiracy theories involving the Jesuits is Vatican Assassins by Eric Jon Phelps. It is said to allege Newt Gingrich is "one of the ten most dangerous, Jesuitical politicians of the Pope’s ‘Holy Roman’ Fourteenth Amendment, Cartel-Corporate-Fascist, Socialist-Communist American Empire" and that the Jesuits played a role in the Assassination of John F. Kennedy. Skeptic Bob Blaskiewicz also claims that Phelps told him the alleged "Grey aliens" are not aliens but creations of Jesuit science.

[Podo]

Eh, a Christian is a Christian is a Christian. Even if it was true, so what? They're not gunna be any better or worse than the current stranglehold Christianity has on the Western world.

[jaylemurph]

14 minutes ago, Invisig0th said:

This whole topic just came to my attention. Evidently some believe that the Jesuit order have infiltrated various systems of power, from governments to the Vatican, from colleges to political parties. Anyone have any information on Jesuits and their 'Black Pope?'

Poor Jesuits. All they want to do is get people to think properly and they get this ****.

The Jesuits have been associated with conspiracies since Ignatius Loyola got the go-ahead from the Pope to start a new Order. So far as I know, there's no evil conspiracy they're a part of, other than introducing millions of poor students to good education in poor lands.

I'm sure some raving conspiridiot will swoop in with damning evidence of how they're responsible for everything from static cling to AIDS, though.

--Jaylemurph

[Hermai]

2 minutes ago, jaylemurph said:

Poor Jesuits. All they want to do is get people to think properly and they get this ****.

The Jesuits have been associated with conspiracies since Ignatius Loyola got the go-ahead from the Pope to start a new Order. So far as I know, there's no evil conspiracy they're a part of, other than introducing millions of poor students to good education in poor lands.

I'm sure some raving conspiridiot will swoop in with damning evidence of how they're responsible for everything from static cling to AIDS, though.

--Jaylemurph

For what it's worth, I'm the product of Jesuit education myself. Again, just recently learned of this theory.

[ChrLzs]

4 hours ago, Invisig0th said:

Jesuit conspiracy theories....

Even when you have 'only' quoted the Wiki... it is bad manners to not cite your sources.  Those were not your words.

[GlitterRose]

The guy's church is a hate organization. 

You shouldn't spread his vileness. 

[GlitterRose]

1 hour ago, ChrLzs said:

Even when you have 'only' quoted the Wiki... it is bad manners to not cite your sources.  Those were not your words.

He cites anything, and people will find out who Phelps is.

[Only_]

6 hours ago, Podo said:

han the current stranglehold Christianity has on the Western world.

Christianity is our strenght.

[Aquila King]

2 minutes ago, Clockwork_Spirit said:

Christianity is our strenght.

Yep. Totally. Cause the advancement of science is what led to the thousand-year dark ages in the west. Not Christianity.

[jmccr8]

2 minutes ago, Clockwork_Spirit said:

Christianity is our strenght.

Hi Clockwork

How do you figure and what Christians as there are several sects and denomations in disagreement not to mention all those others that reject the churches and cherry pick what they like out of the bible and because they say hey Christ was a cool dude I'm a Christian. There is not a common view of Christianity.

jmccr8

[Rlyeh]

7 minutes ago, Clockwork_Spirit said:

Christianity is our strenght.

Christianity has lost a lot of it's strength. Gone are the days of burning heretics.

[Only_]

11 minutes ago, Aquila King said:

Yep. Totally. Cause the advancement of science is what led to the thousand-year dark ages in the west. Not Christianity.

Christianity and science go hand in hand. After all, many of the great minds in the West were either christians or theists.

Edited May 9, 2018 by Clockwork_Spirit

[Only_]

9 minutes ago, jmccr8 said:

Hi Clockwork

How do you figure and what Christians as there are several sects and denomations in disagreement not to mention all those others that reject the churches and cherry pick what they like out of the bible and because they say hey Christ was a cool dude I'm a Christian. There is not a common view of Christianity.

jmccr8

But we are all united in Christ Jesus, as Paul said.

Edited May 9, 2018 by Clockwork_Spirit

[Rlyeh]

3 minutes ago, Clockwork_Spirit said:

Christianity and science go hand in hand. After all, many of the great minds in the West were either christians or theists.

Christianity and science goes together like oil and water.

[GlitterRose]

This isn't about Christianity. This is about a hate monger.

Phelps is a white supremacist. His "church" is a hate organization. 

[jmccr8]

22 minutes ago, Clockwork_Spirit said:

But we are all united in Christ Jesus, as Paul said.

Hi Clockwork

I don't know what or if Paul said but I did grow up in a community of left and right footed bog trotters, and punching the crap out of each other on Saturday night was right up there with fighting with guys that wore their pants tucked into their boots or over top of them. Religion is a competition market there is no we in competition.

jmccr8

Edited May 9, 2018 by jmccr8
Auto corrupt

[Podo]

2 hours ago, Clockwork_Spirit said:

Christianity is our strenght.

Christianity might be our strenght, but the scientific process and secular ideals are our strength 

[Aquila King]

2 hours ago, Clockwork_Spirit said:

Christianity and science go hand in hand. After all, many of the great minds in the West were either christians or theists.

...then deists, and then finally atheists. Funny how the more prominent science became, the less religious scientists ended up.

[Only_]

9 minutes ago, Aquila King said:

...then deists, and then finally atheists. Funny how the more prominent science became, the less religious scientists ended up.

That's a myth propagated by New atheists.

Here's a more accurate picture:

 

Edited May 9, 2018 by Clockwork_Spirit

[Rlyeh]

43 minutes ago, Clockwork_Spirit said:

That's a myth propagated by New atheists.

Here's a more accurate picture:

 

Francis S. Collins likes to propagate his own myths, like that of an absolute moral law that can only come from God. Because God has never ever changed moral practices. Ever.

[Truthseeker007]

4 hours ago, Clockwork_Spirit said:

But we are all united in Christ Jesus, as Paul said.

Maybe inside a Christians box that they live in. If you happen to do any research on the matter the Jesus of the Bible didn't even exist and religion is straight up mind control. Not to mention the churches of the world stealing poor grannies money.

[freetoroam]

5 hours ago, Clockwork_Spirit said:

Christianity is my strenght.

There, corrected it for you.

You can not speak for all as  there are millions who do not see Christianity as their strength.

It is a belief...and if it helps you, fine. But do not try to say it   helps us all, that is completely wrong. 

Peace ( not in a religious term )

Edited May 9, 2018 by freetoroam

[eight bits]

Drifting back on topic,

I live in northern New England, where the British and French fought for control. Both sides converted Native Americans to their religion. On the French Catholic side, much of that work was done by Jesuits. Consistent with French policy, the Native Americans were armed and recruited to fight the British, with some Jesuits serving as enthusiastic direct combatants, fighting alongside their converts.

Meanwhile, ink-stained Jesuits were writing their reports, rich with history, anthropology and the business of running a field mission, a key resource for us today who study our past. Thus, the Jesuits' legacy hereabouts is a heady mix of piety, scholarship and battlefield derring-do.

There's no question that Jesuits could and did run clandestine operations in Europe. Edmund Campion, a Jesuit, pursued English  Catholic interests under the nose of Elizabeth I. While there was a public face to his activity (a publishing operation), his supporting infrastructure was underground. That Campion is a sympathetic character (a brave man, and arguably a martyr to freedom of religion, not just to Catholicism) doesn't change that he violated the secular law as part of a literal Jesuit conspiracy (but not the trumped-up charges for which he was executed with special cruelty).

Putting to one side that the current Pope is a Jesuit, the Society is organized with a strict hierarchical command and control structure. The members are highly educated, disciplined, and mission-oriented. Most pursue unglamorous missions throughout their careers, but some of them are known to have done remarkable things, with support from headquarters, that in a secular context might be assigned to the operations and intelligence arms of a secret service.

That said, the truth is never so fabulous that a conspiracy theorist can't cook up something even better. There is a lot of anti-Catholic bigotry in the world, and the Jesuits are a lightning rod for that. As you research the subject, there's plenty to find out, just be careful of your sources.

[Aquila King]

10 hours ago, Clockwork_Spirit said:

That's a myth propagated by New atheists.

Here's a more accurate picture:

Statistically speaking, atheism is highest amongst scientists today then it ever has been, so I'm not sure what you're getting at here...