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Cullen Murphy

God's Jury

God's Jury

The Inquisition and the Making of the Modern World

Summary

For centuries states have used their power to censor, watch, manipulate and punish. God's Jury argues that the Inquisition - the Catholic body that existed for over 700 years - is not a medieval oddity, but is intrinsically bound up with the creation of our modern world.

From Vatican archives to Guantánamo and the Third Reich, Cullen Murphy shows how the Inquisition's techniques - record-keeping, bureaucracy and a terrifying sense of certainty - are now standard operating procedure, and that the battle between private conscience and outside forces is the central contest of the modern era.