One of the reasons for this study was to provide you with enough information to discredit the unceasing criticisms of Christianity and western culture in general. One of the tools of Social Justice Warriors is to repeat the lie that western civilization somehow corrupted, and or destroyed noble native cultures in their drive to colonize the world. The lie is compounded when they try to paint these native cultures as somehow being cultures that lived in harmony with nature, and other peoples. Nah, not so much. As I’ve said before, the carnal human nature is to kill and that nature finds its expression in all peoples. Because we've already looked at the cruelty of mankind through middle eastern biblical references, I want to point toward the savage behavior of native peoples on continents far removed from ‘white’ people. This is to counter the progressive narrative that somehow ‘white people’ have the corner on enslavement and cruelty to others. We’ll begin with what is usually considered to be one of the most peaceful of all cultures, the polynesian culture.
In Polynesian history there is well documented proof of intense ‘pre-contact’ warfare and tribal conflict. Prestige, land, and resources were often the main reasons for conflict. Because Polynesian cultures were a people of the water, we don’t have much proof of their sacrificial religious history, but you can be sure it existed. The numerous gods and deities were violent, and when things went bad on an island, human sacrifice often was the only way to appease their gods.Tribes would often raid other islands, but even on the larger islands, many wars were fought with the tribesmen gathering in a clearing and facing each other in a huge circle. They would often be ‘cheered’ on by their spouses, and their children. When the posturing, and chest beating were over, the battle would wage on till one tribe gained an advantage in numbers. The victors would then chase the losers back to their village, killing wives and children along the way. While we may like the idea of a people who were in tune with nature, respecting the land and ocean, nothing could be further from the truth. There is a proven history of Polynesian cultures devastating the ecology of their island to the point where they had to flee, or worse yet, be starved to death. Cannibalism was not uncommon. Cannibalism can be found in almost all cultures when famine, or sieges happen. Still, the image of calm peaceful polynesian islanders is a falsehood. Somehow, humans always find a way to destroy one another and ultimately enslave one another. The carnal nature is always to kill and destroy.
Before I launch out into criticism of Meso-Americans, let me point out that about 4,000 to 5,000 years ago there was a world wide growth in temple building, and an explosion of city state cultures around the world. This happened without any contact with other peoples. The Ugaritic cultures of the middle east were building walled cities, and establishing trade with Africa, Asia, and Europe, but at the same time the (native?) peoples of the Americas were also building huge structures and cities. Every one of these cultures were built upon war, conquest, and the enslavement of the people in order to satisfy the whims of a crazy, whacked out, bully (The big guy). There was no utopian society, Shangri-la, or whatever you want to call a utopian society. Every group has a carnal nature.
Meso-American’s of South America, and native Americans of North America were warrior peoples who often clashed over territory, and food sources. Tribal rivalries were a part of everyday life for these people. Yet, somehow, thousands of years later we want to make heroes of these ancient barbaric peoples because they ‘worshipped the earth’, or some aspect of it like fire, sky, water, and earth. Somehow this makes them more noble than ‘Christians’ who worship the God who created it all. The ancient peoples were not any more virtuous, or noble than any other culture to this date. Enslavement, genocide, and torture were very common in native American cultures. People are people!!! Witness the return to the worship of the earth in modern culture.
The Olmecs, Incans, Mayans, and Aztec peoples were bloodthirsty beyond our imagination. Throughout Central and South America, there is abundant evidence of human sacrifice, and more specifically child sacrifice. Children were often offered up to appease their gods, or to please some blood lust that is just as alive today as it was then. AGAIN, I will say that ancient cultures never recognized individual worth. Everything that flowed from their religions, or their cultural life was done for a despotic ruler or priest. There was no evil you can imagine that was not left undone in ancient peoples. There was nowhere on this earth where people weren’t killing, or enslaving one another. There was no people group that was free of the curse of subjugation and it continues to this day in our modern world.
Our modern 'cancel culture' is no different than anything that was done in ancient times to control the freedoms of people. Witness the current cancel culture in our Universities and throughout modern media. Today, the focus of hatred isn’t just one race, but is based on skin color. The modern form of blaming others is to say that caucasians are now the reason for all of the world’s ills. Which sounds eerily similar to another pre-genocidal movement called fascism. Enslavement has to remove the danger of dialogue in order to succeed. Genocide is the natural end to the failure to enslave. If one person can’t control another, then they will simply kill you. This is the carnal nature in its purest form.
In Meso-American cultures, the enemy was often just another ‘city’ away. In order to appease the gods of their fleshly nature (fears) they had to give a sacrifice. Conquest could give you an endless supply of sacrifices until you too were conquered and then given as a sacrifice. There was nothing noble or utopian in ancient American cultures. Whether they were Incan, Mayan, or Aztec, they all found their expression of the carnal nature in the same enslavement, torture, and murder cycle. It is time to see the truth for what it is. Native American tribes of North America were warriors who often fought each other over lands, food, and natural resources. This isn’t endemic of ‘white’ culture. Although ‘white’ people have the same carnal nature in them. The carnal nature exists in all mankind! There isn’t one race, or ethnicity who can lay claim to a moral high ground.
There are other cultures that seemingly look to be utopian, but once you remove the veneer of their belief systems you find the same rotting carnal nature. Buddhism with its shrine of enlightenment is rife with death, enslavement, and tribal cruelty. Hinduism, with its caste system is the worst kind of enslavement. It presumes you are born into a caste, and nothing can lift you out of it. It is just another form of tribalism run amok. Thankfully this system is beginning to lose its power.
The tribal systems of Australia, Africa, and North Africa have all been part and parcel of the carnal nature to enslave, torture, and murder those who are different than themselves. Underpinning all of these cruelties is the belief that they were right in doing what they did. Middle Eastern cultures that produced the history we know from the Bible were also the worst expression of tribalism we know.
As we go through this study, I hope to show you how the depravity of the carnal nature was manifested, and how God used the Church to lift mankind up from its wickedness into His Kingdom of Grace and Love. It is not a kingdom based upon conquering, or enslaving people, but upon freeing human beings from their carnal nature. Sadly, it can be subverted by the carnal nature when wicked men seek to use it for that means. These people can be spotted easily by their demand that you do what ‘they’ say because they have heard from God, or because they have been given authority by God to rule over you. In other words, the first sign that something isn’t in line with the gospel is when enslavement to another person occurs. This is different from ‘submission’ which is a willing offering of yourself to others. True Christianity is unique in that it doesn’t demand anything of anyone else. The Spirit led nature wants to give everything to everyone because you know how pleasant it is. This is the Kingdom of Grace and Love. It is the object of scorn and ridicule among the fleshly minded. No other religion in History has made love its guiding principle as Christians have. I am going to make a very bold statement that will be proven in later lessons. The purpose of the church was to set men free to love God, others, and yourself with abandon. We were set loose upon the earth to demolish the strongholds of enslavement, fear, and wickedness to one another. I can point to how the Church has succeeded, and I can point to how much further we have to go. In the end, all of mankind will have no excuse when standing before God to give account of themselves. The lives, and the testimony of the Church will stand in defense of what God has done through the ages. Now let’s get back to Moses.
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