re: #321 Occasional Reader

I am objecting to the idea that Thomas More is mostly “known” for burning heretics, just as Washington’s greatest claim to fame in our culture is not for owning slaves.

The treatment by Washington of his slaves is irrelevant to the analogy.

There is the viewpoint that everyone in the past had blood on their hands due to the nature of civilization which has since advanced a little bit. Very few rose above it. Also, though torture of people is something I would think that would twist a person pretty seriously. One would have to judge carefully what tradition that person hands down to us. There might be something better out there.

In Macchu Picchu, there is an altar with a channel that goes down the mountain. This is used to channel the blood from the human sacrifices they would do as part of their religion.

Often times it’s best to take an essence of a past situation and move it forward discarding the violent shell. Find a way to make the crops grow without killing someone. Build an appetite for traditions that are healthy for people. Religions evolve.