Should Christians apoligise for destroying ancient civilizations such as the Aztecs and Incas?

Question

And forcing them to "convert", whether they wanted to do so or not?

It seems to me that Christians have got a lot of explaining to do.

batgirl2good, it's spelt with an "s" where I come from. We're not all American, you know.

Answer 1

The christians most certainly do owe the Aztec and Incas an apology. Cortes wrote to the King and Queen of Spain that he was only able to dispatch 22000 per day. Now thats christian love for you. The Aztecs were a very advanced civilisation. You only have to look at what is left, today, of their roads and houses and the general layout of their cities. Their economy was based on agriculture. They were peace loving people who had no weapons to defend themselves. Their downfall was the fact that they used gold much as Europeans used iron. And we all know the christian higherarchy`s views on who should be rich. Perhaps while apologising they will give back the TONs of gold that they stole. As most modern christian sects broke away from the catholics sinse that date non can claim innocents!!!

Answer 2

Well, obviously all the Christians are saying that they can't be held accountable for the actions of people in the past who claimed to be Christian, but "weren't really following Christ."

I have a couple problems with this line - first, I'm sorry, but even "Jesus" said "By their fruits shall ye know them," and if you look at the entire history of Christianity, it is by all accounts a heaping pile of rotten apples. The Dark Ages, the Crusades, the Inquisition, the Witch-Hunt, etc etc. The standard refrain of the modern Christian when confronted with the facts is "Those people weren't following Christ." Well, they thought they were! They had at least as much conviction as their modern critics, and exactly as much proof (none) that they were correct.

Besides, I disagree that you can just completely disregard the history of an organization you voluntarily associate yourself with. If morality means anything, then Christians SHOULD feel ashamed of the fact that their religion was responsible for so much senseless bloodshed and destruction. There's nothing they can do about it, but they ought to feel that moral pang anyway when confronted with the facts.

P.S. - I see many people are also trying the "That was the Catholics" tack. Well, like it or not, the obvious truth is that all branches of Christianity really are offshoots of Catholicism. You can say "The Catholics got away from Scripture," but after all, the Catholics are the ones who selected and edited the entire Biblical canon! We have Matthew, Mark, Luke and John because that's what the early Church, the "Catholic" Church, thought worthy of the cut. By the time Luther got his hands on it, the Catholic Church had exercised a complete monopoly over Christianity for centuries; all his revisions were still revisions of Catholic Christianity.

Answer 3

why apologise for things long past? the current generation didn't do it, so the apology would be meaningless. As you know there is a certain group pushing for an apology for a long past (and quite shameful) episode of history - but they aren't after an apology, they are after compensation, which they see as flowing from an admission of guilt. Anyway do you know any aztecs and incas that could be apologised to?

Answer 4

Hmm, tough one. Had the Christians not wiped some of these cultures off the map how do we know they wouldn't have turned into some awful powerful cults ten times worse than Christianity?

I say, better the devil you know. Christianity is quite stable these days which is more than can be said for some other popular religions.

Answer 5

What did I have to do with it? Nothing. That was thousands of years ago.
However, if it will make you feel better, I apologiZe...with a Z.
as everyone involved has been dead for many, many years, I guess i will apologize to you, since you seem to think you're in control of the world or something, dude.

How can I explain something when I was not there to see it all?

It seems to me as if you are being belligerent.

And, as someone else said,

" The Aztecs and Incas systematically raided the villages of smaller South American cultures, raped their women, and kidnapped their children for sacrificial use in their blood cult. Should Christians apologize for rescuing these villages from such a menace?"

I apologize for the Crusades. I apologize for slavery. I apologize for global warming. I apologize for your not knowing how to spell "apologize." I aplogize for computer viruses. I apologize for your having a bad day. I apologize for poor service at restaurants. I apologize for diseases like cancer.

Does that cover it all?

Answer 6

Should the Christian missionaries apologize for the wrath they inflicted on the native Hawaiians and native Americans? Of course, but they're all dead so the question is moot. Current day Christians are not at fault directly for those mistakes made by their ancestors.

Answer 7

Yes

Answer 8

no the spanish or portugese should but the church can appologise aswell for all the stuff it has done and not recognised and batgirl it was less than 500 years ago not a few millenia

Answer 9

The Catholic church was responsible, in large part, for the eradication and/or subjection of many native tribes.

Just because a person, or group, claim to be Christian - it does not mean that they are.

Answer 10

The Aztecs and Incas systematically raided the villages of smaller South American cultures, raped their women, and kidnapped their children for sacrificial use in their blood cult. Should Christians apologize for rescuing these villages from such a menace?