Throughout the history of Europe, the logic in a war has always been to kill the enemy in the field of battle. In the Mexica Empire, the reasoning of war, was to capture the enemy in the battlefield and then sacrifice them. When Hernán Cortés arrived in Mexico it was at the height of their imperial expansion, therefore, war was happening on all the borders of the empire. The destiny of a warrior was to be sacrificed. The warrior understands that if he is captured their fate is to be sacrificed. Why? Their destiny was to accompany the sun every morning. For them this cosmology was so real, so palpable, that the sun was not going to rise up if they didn’t sacrifice.
The Mexica cosmology was as real for them, as it was Jesus Christ of Nazareth for Hernán Cortés, or for King Carlos I of Spain believing he was chosen to bring the Universal Catholic Empire. There is a theorem formulated by sociologists William Isaac Thomas and Dorothy Swaine Thomas. People call it the Thomas and Thomas theorem. They say a belief is real in its consequences. In other words, my action is real because is based on what I believe, therefore it is real in it’s consequences.
The Aztec believe the world was going to end if they didn’t sacrifice people. The consequences of their believes were real, in the same way the conquistadors believed in Jesus Christ. During the fall of Tenochtitlan, when Cuauhtémoc was captured he said to Hernán Cortés " You who have captured me, take out the dagger that you carry in your belt and take out my heart so that I can fulfill my destiny". Mr. Cortés said no and forgave him.
In the last vidchat, Dr. Farrell touched the topic of dispensationalism. I submit, that in all cases, be it the Mexica Empire, American Baptist eschatology, Zionist Greater Israel, etc. In all of them the fulfillment is the deception. There is a believe system with a template of action and they are acting on it. Note also, there is a grand abstraction behind them. They are all acting their believes and creating chaos. For me killing children in Gaza is no different than Aztecs doing ritual sacrifice. Is making people sick. Goat and chicken sacrifices in restored temples is not Christian is a-n-t-i-c-h-r-i-s-t. Is not in the tradition, is not in the course of performance. We worship the Holy Trinity taught to me by the Padres when I was a child.
I read Saint Gregory the Great Epistle number 30 to Alexandria and Epistle number 33 to Emperor Mauricius Augustus. In history there are no what if? But as I read those letters, started thinking of all the problems that could have been avoided, if the Bishop of Rome simply remained the Bishop of Rome. Right now I’m studying the Spanish Empire and the history of 16th century San Juan Bautista. Most of those conflicts were caused by problems with the protestants. In that century, I counted five Dutch and British invasions. Including a sword duel between Spanish Capt. Amézqueta and a Dutch officer in 1625. We could have avoided all that conflict. There was a time when the English were our brothers in the faith. For example, when Spain finally expelled the Muslims from Granada England celebrated sounding the bells at their churches.
I can’t be a conservative and the proof is in Saint Gregory the Great Epistles. In my opinion, conservatives are only good for conserving the revolution.
