Author(s)

Lisa TimmonsFollow

Date

4-2013

Department

Rawlings School of Divinity

Degree

Master of Divinity (MDiv)

Chair

Edward Martin

Primary Subject Area

History, Latin American; History, General; Native American Studies; Religion, General; Religion, History of

Keywords

Aztec, Cortes, False Worship, Human Sacrifice, Judgment, Mesoamerica

Disciplines

Christianity | Comparative Methodologies and Theories | History | History of Christianity | History of Religion | Latin American History | Religion

Abstract

This thesis covers religious aspects of the Aztec culture before and after the conquest of Hernán Cortés between 1519 and 1521. One aspect of this thesis details the Aztecs' history and rise to power, followed by their rapid demise at the hands of Spanish conquistadors, while the other examines the highly flawed but effective instrument used in the destruction of their sprawling Mesoamerican empire--a conquistador from Spain by the name of Hernán Cortés. At the root of this controversial topic is God's perfect justice in relation to this culture's blatant and repeated disregard for those created in His image--by all accounts a swift and catastrophic judgment--presented here as having been executed through a very unlikely tool in the form of a cunning and calculating Spaniard.

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