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198 points isaacfrond | 1 comments | | HN request time: 0.201s | source
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hopelite ◴[] No.45099153[source]
On a related note, since the Paleolithic rarely comes up on HN, something that seems to rarely come up in English language content; Menhir [1] (Long stone) or standing stones, which are spread all across Europe, some very elaborately decorated, others with sight holes cut in them, others extremely large, i.e., 30-40 feet tall before they were knocked over by the invasive meme, Christianity.

They are found from Portugal all the way to Siberia, but very little is known about them following the Christian meme eradicating the indigenous cultures through the many purges and programs from 300CE on.

There are some references that imply at least in some places they were a kind of connection to the afterlife and ancestors that would turn into birds that would perch on top of the standing stone, something that is still part of indigenous beliefs and practices in parts of Asia. It's basically the indigenous culture of the Native Europeans that middle eastern Christianity destroyed and eradicated like it destroyed and eradicated the Native Americans and so many other native people and cultures around the world.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Menhir

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Mistletoe ◴[] No.45099447[source]
I think you are seeing this a little too 2d. The reason the Christian meme spread so well is more complex than that. A codified belief system written down, the thought of a God that loves and cares about you, a path to redemption and forgiveness for sin or mistakes, these are just some of the reasons that it has been so successful. It wasn’t always just forced on people although there was that too. It’s just a really good meme and great story when you get to the heart of it. The people meeting in secret when Christianity started and risking their life to do so weren’t forced into it at all. Like capitalism, Christianity fits a lot of human needs and desires that are hard coded in humans.
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1. hopelite ◴[] No.45110236[source]
I don’t disagree with that perspective and would even go further to say that its structure offers systemic advantages over the indigenous beliefs. That does not preclude being regretful that this meme from the Middle East along with all the other memes don’t that region have devastated the natural ecosystem of the whole world like any other invasive species wrecks natural habitats and ecosystems.

I may not agree with things like Aztec practices, but it would clearly be a far more interesting world if they had been able to served against the Hispanics and were over there still doing mass human sacrifices and rolling heads down pyramid stairs and were replete with gold.