Won? Again its like a game or big war. Strange…
Yes, it is a war–with the decisive battle won 1920-some years ago at a place called Golgotha. Since then, its been mopping up operations, but as CS Lewis wrote, most of us are still rebels in arms…
I
'm fully aware that nature based religions are actually quite brutal, just like nature herself. There is no mercy in nature. Not all pagan religions were or are nature based. I believe the aztecs were sacrificing prisoners of war to war gods and not nature gods, and that they felt it was an honor.
Even the Aztex “nature” gods were quite blood hungry–10 years prior to Cortez, 20,000 victims were sacrificed in the dedication of a new temple to the sun god–and that was on top of the year average of 10,000 to all the other nature and the few war gods. As you say, prisonors of war, and most of them didn’t care for the “honor”–which is why Cortez had LOTS of Indian allies.
I don’t know, its hard to know when we look back over hundreds of years and judge from our perspective rather then theirs.
Will you say the same about Stalin or Hitler in a couple of hundred years?
If you consider the conversion to christainity worth it if it stops human sacrifice then thats a little weak. That can be stopped by simply introducing the concept of human rights. Countries with modern day pagan religions (not neo-pagan or new age) have laws against murder.
Human rights, as something NOT to be violated from comes from Judaism–and was conspicuoulsy absent in the ancient world until Chrisitanity, Judaism’ s inheritor, spread that message. Moral reletivism by it’s very nature cannot support inalienable human rights. The 20th century’s genocides were all driven by moral reletivism. Not sure what “pagan” countries you are refering too, please eloborate. But remember, the practice of widow burning (Sutee) and religious murder and banditry (Thugee) was common and accepted in India until the 19th Century Brits (under quite Christian and moral absolutist motivations) stamped them out. Not to mention those intolerant Christians stamping out the slave trade…
Given time a country and society changes on its own, and thats a good thing. We don’t know what the Aztecs would have been like today had they been left alone. …When a people lose their aboriginal faith they lose the very soul of their culture. First Nations people may describe what happened to them as having the heart torn out of their chests. I’m not saying that people shouldn’t be introduced to new concepts and religions, but the word ‘introduce’ isn’t exactly what happens historically, and I’m not just referring to Christainity as all religions are guilty of this - including paganism.
You seem to be under some "Prime Directive’ philosophy–non coercison is a good thing–but ask actual converts, and consistently they feel they are much the better for leavinging beyond the dark, hungry nature gods and spirits–the fault occurs in trying to make a Aborignee “Christian” a copy of a European or American–and missionaries ARE getting better at realizing this mistake
