Re: The joy of Democracy

On Sat, 2 Nov 2024 22:03:34 +0100, D wrote:

I also have sometimes thought that one "super power" of christianity is
forgiveness and (in theory) an end to family feuds.
 
If your ead Njals saga you can see the power of the family feud and how
damaging it can be to society when more and more people are dragged into
it.

Jesse Byock is an archaeologist at UCLA and has focused on Iceland.
Iceland and its Things are sometimes held up as an example of a
libertarian society. In one of his books Byock characterized it as a
society of feuding farmers.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hatfield%E2%80%93McCoy_feud

Feuds weren't limited to Iceland. I can understand feuds. No blood was
shed but after a perceived slight in the positioning in a funeral
procession my mother never spoke to my uncle again. Likewise, after a
disagreement about the care of their aged mother my father and uncle never
spoke to their sister again. It made Christmas interesting.

I'm not sure Christianity ever took completely in Germans where 'never
forget and never forgive' is more likely.