Recently I was home from work due to inclement weather. I got to watch a documentary on mesoamerican paganism. I was struck by how recent those civilizations were. They were contemporaries of Rome and even some European dynasties. And inevitably the comparison was made of aztec (and the other groups) and their human sacrifices and the Christian belief in Jesus' death for our sins, of course never addressing the message of the Gospel nor the Resurrection, but that's a rant for another time.
This got me thinking about how fedoras like to say that all religions have a blood sacrifice ritual. That Christianity is just as barbaric as any mesoamerican pagan religion. So then I began meditating on this idea. Pagan religions versus Christianity. And it struck me. When these pagan religions do a human sacrifice, it is to the elements. Most, if not all of their deities, are just personified aspects of creation. Sun god, moon god, venus, etc. Sacrifices to keep the rain coming and the sun rising. But when Jesus allowed himself to be killed, and didn't accept satan's temptation nor the expectations of the jews of his day, he set us free. He set it up so that we can each as individuals stand before Jesus on Judgment Day and make a choice. He set us up to go beyond any righteousness we might perceive or act on of our own volition, those without law behave as those with law, and he set us up to love. To love God, ourselves, our brethren, our neighbors, and even our enemies. He died so we might live now and eternally (in our perfected immortal physical bodies). He died to undo all the evil and rage of satan. You don't ever find that kind of character in paganism. You don't find that in the meshiach the jews are waiting for nor in the "redeemer" in islamic belief. Mercy only comes from our Father through Jesus.
Anyway, I thought those in this forum might enjoy my thoughts on this and how Jesus changed the world and the path of the future for us.
This got me thinking about how fedoras like to say that all religions have a blood sacrifice ritual. That Christianity is just as barbaric as any mesoamerican pagan religion. So then I began meditating on this idea. Pagan religions versus Christianity. And it struck me. When these pagan religions do a human sacrifice, it is to the elements. Most, if not all of their deities, are just personified aspects of creation. Sun god, moon god, venus, etc. Sacrifices to keep the rain coming and the sun rising. But when Jesus allowed himself to be killed, and didn't accept satan's temptation nor the expectations of the jews of his day, he set us free. He set it up so that we can each as individuals stand before Jesus on Judgment Day and make a choice. He set us up to go beyond any righteousness we might perceive or act on of our own volition, those without law behave as those with law, and he set us up to love. To love God, ourselves, our brethren, our neighbors, and even our enemies. He died so we might live now and eternally (in our perfected immortal physical bodies). He died to undo all the evil and rage of satan. You don't ever find that kind of character in paganism. You don't find that in the meshiach the jews are waiting for nor in the "redeemer" in islamic belief. Mercy only comes from our Father through Jesus.
Anyway, I thought those in this forum might enjoy my thoughts on this and how Jesus changed the world and the path of the future for us.
