Was the death of Hellenic and Norse paganism a bad thing?

[Georg Ebner]

Amazing: There are those (protestants aso.), who claim, that we Catholics are cryptoPagans; and then there are the GIBBONs and Nazis, who say the opposite...
Realiter Christianity fulfilled - no: overfilled - all Jewish and pagan dreams.

[Georg Ebner]

Now I don't cry for the loss of religions old and new but the Christianization of Europe coincided with massive acts of brutality and destruction of livelihoods more fulfilling then the clout the Abrahamics with their vastly more stratified society brought in.

There are many things to praise about the classical world, but they were in fact heavily stratified societies, with giant slave populations, a caste system complete with aristocratic orders of patricians and (in ancient Rome) led by an Emperor who anointed himself as a divine figure with his own personal cult.

Yes, they were incredibly stratified. Dissolution of the bulk of that was clearly a big part of the social appeal of Christianity, much as also appears to have been the case with its unusually positive stance towards women - a very big contrast with Classical norms, that.

No, slavery was already in deep decline due to the vulgarStoical ethics so common in Rome. Neiher Christianity's position on slavery (Eph.6,5; Tit.2,9) nor on women (1.Cor.14,34; Col.3,18) was outstanding.

[Georg Ebner]

Ehh, maybe my post works best when referring to the Norse societies pre conversion.

You don’t actually believe that paganism is remotely a force for good, do you?

Paganism typically has its roots in the belief that your people have a patron god, often the common ancestor of your race. That kind of implicit racial superiority is not good for the foundations of a society.

     The idea that all people are fundamentally equal in the eyes of God was a radical innovation in its time. People living today struggle to appreciate how big of a deal the Parable of the Good Samaritan actually is. Folks who try to paint Christianity as a negative social influence are comparing the real historical Christian societies to a utopia that never was.

No, Christianity doesn't teach the equality of all - saints are obviously more gifted and loved by HIM than others.
And while the modern (petty)bourgeois commentators claim, that the Parabel of the Good Samaritan has to do with our own (social) ethics, ORIGENES and other ChurchFathers wrote, that CHRIST referred - as always - only to HIMself.

[Georg Ebner]

Ehh, maybe my post works best when referring to the Norse societies pre conversion.

You don’t actually believe that paganism is remotely a force for good, do you?

Paganism typically has its roots in the belief that your people have a patron god, often the common ancestor of your race. That kind of implicit racial superiority is not good for the foundations of a society.

     The idea that all people are fundamentally equal in the eyes of God was a radical innovation in its time. People living today struggle to appreciate how big of a deal the Parable of the Good Samaritan actually is. Folks who try to paint Christianity as a negative social influence are comparing the real historical Christian societies to a utopia that never was.

No, Christianity doesn't teach the equality of all - saints are obviously more gifted and loved by HIM than others.
And while the modern (petty)bourgeois commentators claim, that the Parabel of the Good Samaritan has to do with our own (social) ethics, ORIGENES and other ChurchFathers wrote, that CHRIST referred - as always - only to HIMself.

     I should clarify that I mean we are equal in our opportunities, and not in our outcomes. The Parable of the Talents illustrates this point. Some people make use of the life they are given to dedicate it to God, and are rewarded greatly. Others squander it in iniquity, and are damned.

In dying all are equal, thus also in the eternal death, which is the hell. Whereas heaven is - as, for example, pope Pius XI pointed out - a strict HierArchy (those of debile aristocrats here on earth mirroring it).

[Georg Ebner]

And while the modern (petty)bourgeois commentators claim, that the Parabel of the Good Samaritan has to do with our own (social) ethics, ORIGENES and other ChurchFathers wrote, that CHRIST referred - as always - only to HIMself.

This doesn't hold up given the immediate context in Luke. Jesus is directly answering a question about interpersonal ethics, even though He's--yes, as always--answering it in a way that also has a Christological meaning.

The ChurchFathers ("my" St.AUGUSTINE in "De quaest. Ev." or "Contra Pel."; ORIGENES in "In Luc. hom." et cet.) and saints (St.THOMAS Aquinas in His "Catena Aurea" aso.) and as a result also i are far away from interpreting Luc.10,33 with a modern moralism!
The key here is 10,27.

[Georg Ebner]

And while the modern (petty)bourgeois commentators claim, that the Parabel of the Good Samaritan has to do with our own (social) ethics, ORIGENES and other ChurchFathers wrote, that CHRIST referred - as always - only to HIMself.

This doesn't hold up given the immediate context in Luke. Jesus is directly answering a question about interpersonal ethics, even though He's--yes, as always--answering it in a way that also has a Christological meaning.

The ChurchFathers ("my" St.AUGUSTINE in "De quaest. Ev." or "Contra Pel."; ORIGENES in "In Luc. hom." et cet.) and saints (St.THOMAS Aquinas in His "Catena Aurea" aso.) and as a result also i are far away from interpreting Luc.10,33 with a modern moralism!
The key here is 10,27.

I'm sensing a false dichotomy here (although I'd obviously rather attribute it to you or me misunderstanding the Church Fathers than to the Church Fathers misunderstanding Scripture).

The totally different commentaries of modern aTheologians and ChurchFathers/saints clearly demonstrate an antagonism: On the one hand - since the "Enlightenment" - the irreligious (petty)bourgeoisie, which reduces religion to (social) ethics. On the other hand we medieval Christians, who despise any ethics autonomous from HIM; who love proton only HIM (cf. Luc.10,27) and deuteron HIS creatures, but only because HE wants it (and only insofar as we are of any worth, i.e. in HIS SON).
"The modern clergymen teach, that we should believe in God, because he loves humans. When we real Christians love humans only, because we believe in God." (GOMEZ DAVILA)