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To: geraldmcg

You’ve got your facts wrong. Originally, Eric Thompson thought Maya civilization was some kind of war-free idyll, but then epigraphers like Yuri Knorosov and David Stuart (the youngest recipient of the Macarthur Genius grant btw) figured out the writing, and we learned that the Maya were as warlike as any other civilization (surprise, surprise).

When the Spaniards arrived, they brought massacre and enslavement. Christianity was an afterthought. (Literally: the priests only came after the original conquistadors had been there a few decades.)

Your post implies that the Maya (and their descendants) are somehow more violent than other people, but that’s not supported by any evidence. In fact, there’s no evidence that any civilization has been more peaceful or more bellicose than any other.


29 posted on 02/10/2011 10:12:50 AM PST by vkladchik
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To: vkladchik

Your right, the priests would have come after the conquistadors paved the way. The priests made the Mayans burn their historic books and offered Christianity as an alternative. I did not say anywhere in the text that the Mayans were more violent than any other people group. Only that the template of Christianity offered a more civil way of life. Not to say that violence has not occurred in the name of Christianity. Usually where Christianity is allowed to thrive, a more peaceful society results.


30 posted on 02/10/2011 11:01:11 AM PST by geraldmcg
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To: vkladchik
In fact, there’s no evidence that any civilization has been more peaceful or more bellicose than any other.

You gotta be on drugs.

31 posted on 02/13/2011 9:42:42 PM PST by little jeremiah (Courage is not simply one of the virtues, but the form of every virtue at the testing point. CSLewis)
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