What I'm doing instead of exams

So I've developed an odd little habit for exam week. There's these little illustrated books, Bible Tracts, that preach some ridiculous fundamentalist version of "Christianity." These fundie evangelicals hate Freemasons, Catholics (and by extension it would appear nearly all liturgical Christians, but they get a little ambiguous), Muslims, and Evolution. I'm pretty sure the only things they don't hate are themselves and the Jews (read this one of the Jews, it's pretty hilarious).

My point is, I find these immensely entertaining, but also extremely disturbing. Admittedly I disagree with their theology, but more particularly I have a huge problem with their bizarrely skewed version of history.

Take this one for example. It's about the supposed repression of the only true version of the Bible. Anyways, within this comic they say the Bible was placed on a list of banned books by the Synod of Toulouse. Well, yes and no. Yes, a Bible was, but amusingly it was the Bible that the Cathars (sort of swinging neo-gnostics of the Medieval ages... imagine hippies in flowery armor) used. I say amusing because by wording the comic as they do the authors associate themselves with these gnostics...

Also of note within this one is the timeline it gives of the "battle" between Protestant England an Catholicism. First, in 1534, the Anglican Church is established in England. That's all it says. It conveniently does not mention that it was the result of adultery and power-lust and really wasn't different from Catholicism anyways. 1553- Mary comes to England's throne and murders Anglicans. Sort of. Closer to the truth would be that the Anglicans just went back to Catholicism. Elizabeth probably murdered or imprisoned far more Catholics and other varieties of Protestants than her poor sister. Then, in 1605, the Gunpowder Plot occurs, and is apparently some Catholic conspiracy. Yes, Catholics did it. But they did it to get a Catholic on the throne, not on some orders from the Pope as the authors of this tripe would have you believe.

Also, I'd like to point out that William Tyndale, who is immortalized in the comic as being a Bible-translating hero, was burned at the stake by Henry VIII after he declared England independent of the Pope. That is, he was burned by, er, Protestants. Oops.

Anyways, so that's my rant for the day. If anything this is my justification for being a History major (this is my justification for the French major.) You English majors can have your search for the human condition and whatnot, that's well and good, but I think it's just as important to make sure future generations know our past as it really was.