RE: Were other European religions better than Christianity?
December 23, 2011 at 1:47 am
(This post was last modified: December 23, 2011 at 1:58 am by The Grand Nudger.)
I sure hope not, I'd hate to have to crush that myth again. 
I've actually been trying to find a way to express this competently, so here's a go at it.
Europe has a bloody history, going all the way back to the stone age. There were quite a few cultures (and with them a variety of beliefs) that came and went over a very long period of time. In any layer of the strata we care to look we find evidence of violence. Those that worshipped matriarchal gods were every bit as warlike and expansionist as those who believed in patriarchal gods. Those that believed in two gods, one god(some even no gods, in the way that we would understand gods), all crafted weapons and built forts. They settled differences with their neighbors, and even their own gods by violent means. Christianity rose in Europe in the middle ages, and contrary to popular belief they weren't pitch black. Europe had a huge explosion in population due to some novel new agricultural techniques, the ultimate effect of which was that these conflicts over differences became gradually larger. The armies of any given god or tribe or faith was no longer a warband, but a proper army. Given the increasing population and all of the tension that this would have produced, and their access to incrementally better weapons and logistics the bloody history of christian Europe seems like a continuation of the bloody history of pagan Europe on a grander scale. The found themselves capable of engaging in larger conflicts than they had been able to manage before, and so that's what they did.
I've actually been trying to find a way to express this competently, so here's a go at it.Europe has a bloody history, going all the way back to the stone age. There were quite a few cultures (and with them a variety of beliefs) that came and went over a very long period of time. In any layer of the strata we care to look we find evidence of violence. Those that worshipped matriarchal gods were every bit as warlike and expansionist as those who believed in patriarchal gods. Those that believed in two gods, one god(some even no gods, in the way that we would understand gods), all crafted weapons and built forts. They settled differences with their neighbors, and even their own gods by violent means. Christianity rose in Europe in the middle ages, and contrary to popular belief they weren't pitch black. Europe had a huge explosion in population due to some novel new agricultural techniques, the ultimate effect of which was that these conflicts over differences became gradually larger. The armies of any given god or tribe or faith was no longer a warband, but a proper army. Given the increasing population and all of the tension that this would have produced, and their access to incrementally better weapons and logistics the bloody history of christian Europe seems like a continuation of the bloody history of pagan Europe on a grander scale. The found themselves capable of engaging in larger conflicts than they had been able to manage before, and so that's what they did.
I am the Infantry. I am my country’s strength in war, her deterrent in peace. I am the heart of the fight… wherever, whenever. I carry America’s faith and honor against her enemies. I am the Queen of Battle. I am what my country expects me to be, the best trained Soldier in the world. In the race for victory, I am swift, determined, and courageous, armed with a fierce will to win. Never will I fail my country’s trust. Always I fight on…through the foe, to the objective, to triumph overall. If necessary, I will fight to my death. By my steadfast courage, I have won more than 200 years of freedom. I yield not to weakness, to hunger, to cowardice, to fatigue, to superior odds, For I am mentally tough, physically strong, and morally straight. I forsake not, my country, my mission, my comrades, my sacred duty. I am relentless. I am always there, now and forever. I AM THE INFANTRY! FOLLOW ME!
