The more wisdom you
have, the more control and power you have over your life.
Those who control the
ink, control what people think.
In the 1400’s – the printing press was invented by Johannes
Gutenberg (there is evidence pointing to a similar but cruder device created by
the Chinese more than 200 years prior to Gutenberg’s press).
The Gutenberg printing press was a monumental invention.
Knowledge was now available to all common people as well as
wealthy people. Prior to the printing press, only the wealthy had access to
books – so the people below the wealthy relied on those who could read to give
them information. With the arrival of the printing press – books could be mass produced.
Information was more accessible. If you wanted control over your life, you
learned to read and then you sought out books and knowledge.
The classes below the wealthy no longer needed to depend on
the “elite” for information. Superior status began to shift from the elite. Which
did not make the elite very happy.
The printing press began to liberate those who had been
dependent on the upper class, but it also threatened the power of political,
educational, and religious figures.
The average “Joe” and “Jane” citizen began to gain
confidence in their own personal power, their own worth, their own voice.
Once the printing press was established, Kings (and Queens)
often outlawed Bibles or created their own version of the Bible (King James
created his version) because rulers were convinced, and had convinced the
people, that God had handpicked the King bloodline.
King Henry the Eighth, however, took it way too far. He ruled from 1509 – 1542 but he the longer he
ruled, the more the power went to his head. He began to tell the people that he
wasn’t a ruler sent from God, he
began to tell people he was above God.
Some people believed (because if you didn’t believe him, you would be killed).
But when they read smuggled copies of the Bible, they realized King Henry had
been lying to them in order to control them. And the people were pissed.
If the King found people who had copies of the Bible, they
would be imprisoned and often sentenced to death; it was considered treason.
Many of those who left the their country for the “the New
World” in the 1600’s (it would later become America) did so in order to escape religious
persecution. They battled rough seas, left the only home they knew, all in the
name of freedom to believe and live independently of those in power. Those who
fled the Kings rule are the reason the first amendment of the Bill of Rights
guarantees that Americans have the right to practice whatever religion they
choose and Government shall make no laws interfering or prohibiting the right
of people to practice their faith. In its positive form, religion, for many
people, gives them explanation, gives them a purpose and meaning to life. For
many, religion gives people a sense of shared belonging and status in a
community.
In its negative form, it can be used as a tool to oppress
and disempower. In some areas of the
world religion is used as an excuse to kill, conquest, and control.
Though the printing press was a game changer and gave more
people the chance to empower themselves – it wasn’t long before exploiters
learned how to manipulate the written word to embolden a few with power and
create fear in many.
