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Politics : Evolution -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: 2MAR$ who wrote (24346)	4/8/2012 2:38:20 AM
From: average joe	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 69300

The pagans were not about to give up their holidays. Most of the world incorporated all their heathen, savage and pagan holidays and festivals into the mix. The S. American Indian had been conditioned to accept Christianity from their Spanish task masters. It was the Spanish Catholic clerics who fought the civil authority to have the Indian accepted as human. And of course now the average Mexican is a mix of Spanish, Indio and Black. It was a different case for the N. American Indian where their whole identity including language, clothing and food was stolen by the church in cahoots with the state. In Mexico right now they don't just observe Easter day it is a full week of family and church celebrations and parades. Mexican Catholicism would not have prospered without Juan and the Virgin of Guadalupe. en.wikipedia.org In Talpa de Allende pilgrims are walking some on their knees to the church all the way from Guadalajara and over the hills and mountains from Puerto Vallarta through El Mosco, Zapotan, San Sebastian and Mascota - some walking ten days and some on crutches. This pilgrimage is an affirmation of family and faith and culture. en.wikipedia.org Catholicism is a Roman/Latin thing and it fits well with Italians and Spaniards but not too well with the Irish and as you see by all the Protestant splinter groups in Europe it was a bad mix.

To: 2MAR$ who wrote (24346)	4/8/2012 1:39:27 PM
From: Solon	1 Recommendation Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 69300

Constantine was politically astute. The Christians were a dangerous lot who violently opposed all efforts at integration. It is uncertain what he really believed . He allowed freedom of religion (which meant nothing to the Christians who did not believe in it and would not tolerate it) and he did appoint many Christians to positions of power (and this is really the turning point for Christianity). Constantine got baptized just before he died. Shortly after this, as Christian power continued to grow by accretion and they controlled the State...the Christians made all other religions illegal and their practice punishable and they began to destroy their temples and persecute all other faiths. Did a non-Christian EVER hold a position of power once Christians had consolidated their power base and were in complete control of the State! NO! However, these other religions did not give up without a fight, either! It was necessary for Christianity (as it invented itself) to incorporate many of the beliefs and practices of these other faiths into her corpus with suitable modifications to complement the Christian dogma which was a work in progress much more so than it is today. It was Christian intolerance and complete resistance to any compromise with other opinions or beliefs which was the secret to their dominance. Those who resisted were simply tortured and killed. If Hell did not scare them into OBEDIENCE (Obedience being the central tenet of Christianity!)--the earthly sword and the drawing and quartering and the burning alive certainly did! Men like Bruno were few and far between as they must always be--but they are the true saviours of humankind. And when others celebrate mythology--I celebrate the courage (and the capacity for suffering for Truth)...of these VERY real people whom have saved our species!