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

[Associate Justice PiT]

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.

[Associate Justice PiT]

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.