reflections on the destruction of the western hemisphere (the aftermath of a demonic invasion)

how can we be so indifferent to this level of destruction? even now, protestant identity drones descend upon latin america to convert catholics to the "correct" brand of christianity.

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Above: Machu Picchu is in danger of destruction under the feet of its tourists

“Who built this sand castle?” An Evangelical American missionary posed this question to me. I was startled, since his “sand castle” was another reminder of the countless achievements of Peru’s indigenous cultures. But he scoffed, hinting that this was simply not as impressive to him as Machu Picchu.

We were in Lima on a guided tour of Huaca Pucllana. This is a beautiful, multi-layered pyramid, a sacred place that was left behind by the priestly leaders of a culture which once flourished around Lima some 1500 years ago. It is a reminder of the great architectural accomplishments of an ancient people whose legacy is now thoughtlessly degraded by many of the American Protestant leaders who routinely fly to Peru. Why do they go there? Theirs is the classic civilizing mission of religious conversion, in the spirit of the clerics who followed the Spanish Conquistadors.

But perhaps this isn’t a fair assessment. The Pennsylvanian who was speaking with me must have imagined himself to be a good person. After all, he was there in order to tell the descendants of the craftsmen who built Huaca Pucllana and Machu Picchu the Good News that their forefathers are all condemned to Hell. But they should not weep! Because those still alive can win eternal life if they only repent of their sins. And no doubt the crimes for which they must apologize would include any persisting spiritual practices passed down to them by their ancestors.

The Evangelical had just finished explaining to us that he and his companions were here to spread the Word of God. In his mind, the people here needed “saving,” particularly by him. That could help explain why he maintained such a proud ignorance of Peruvian history. It may shed light, too, on why it was so easy for him to see this pyramid as inferior to the achievements of his own culture.

But you still might wonder why he would be in Peru of all places doing this. Most people might be aware that about 94% of Peruvians identify as some form of Christian. But “some form” is the key here: 70% of them are Catholics, which is an issue for the American Protestant who goes there. He needs to change this; he needs more of them to be like him. Indeed, to me, as a child, it was simply common sense that Catholics aren’t technically saved. Not to mention, he needs to stamp out the devilish customs that linger from indigenous pre-Catholic traditions. These, he thinks, are more likely to connect their adherents with demons than with angels. And along the way, he will assess the relative entertainment value of the archeological remains which he encounters, as coldly as if he were evaluating the quality of a movie.

Above: The Incas built extensive terraces in the mountains so they would be able to grow crops, even at high altitudes, on artificially flat land. This also enabled different types of food to be grown depending on the altitude of a given terrace.

I thought then about my own life growing up attending a Protestant megachurch in southeast Michigan. They regularly organized missionary trips to Ecuador. I almost went on one in middle school. The Church Elders showed us videos of all the little brown children in the rainforest being saved by Jesus while drawing pictures with crayons. They get candy bars and medicine, and they will be so grateful to you for everything you’ve so graciously done for them. And then there is the promise of adventure for the Americans, since these travelers supposedly touch lives in places so secluded that they need to take tiny planes out into the wilderness. Out there in the villages, these Midwestern Evangelicals can have their own treasured life-changing experience, all while sensing confidently that they have made a difference by correcting an alien spirituality about which they know nothing. But we didn’t go. My parents said they had prayed about it, and God seems to have revealed that these planes were not safe enough. The Lord did not want us to take such risks.

Above: Quipu, an ancient Inca system of record-keeping and writing. While this was once thought to primarily contain numerical information, new research indicates the possibility that there is a phonetic system within Quipu as well.

After encountering the missionary, we also met a secular traveler in Peru. He was an Australian who was backpacking around the world until, as he said, “I run out of money.” We told him we were only in Peru for about 9 days. “That’s a hit and run trip,” he said with a frown. “How can you really experience the country?”

He asked us what we thought about Peru. I had just read The Last Days of the Incas by Kim MacQuarrie. I thought about the heroic resistance of the Incas against the Spanish Conquistadors who destroyed local customs and spread the Catholic religion using the tried and true methodologies of terror, murder, and pillage. The Spanish stole an enormous amount of gold, which even today helps form the basis for the wealth and architectural triumphs of Madrid. A model, perhaps, for the North American companies of a later age, who would ruthlessly exploit the human beings and rich natural resources across South America, greedily funneling the profits back to Wall Street. From there, they successfully lobbied Washington to intervene against Latin American governments who might oppose U.S. corporate interests and prevent North American consumers from enjoying the literal fruits of exploitation.

Maybe I sensed that none of this would interest him. I talked instead about how the Incas had invented Quipu, a fascinating system of record-keeping which uses a series of knots on strings. I had seen an example at a Lima museum. There were people who could read these fluently once. And yet European invaders, not content with striving to erase only the oral traditions of Peru, managed to kill enough of the Inca intelligentsia so that their descendants cannot yet fully access the records of their own history. The knowledge of how to do so was mercilessly eradicated; although, fortunately, progress is being made on understanding this innovative technique.

I told him about Huaca Pucllana, the impressive pyramid right in the middle of Lima, the city in which he had been partying for the last month. I foolishly assumed he would share my enthusiasm about the place.

“Huh,” he said. “I haven’t heard about any of that.”

Above: As a construction technique, the Incas carved stones so exactly that they could fit together like a puzzle. Walls like this one have stayed standing for centuries despite a complete absence of mortar between the stones.

But he was keen on Machu Picchu. Sometimes I think about that great fortress slowly crumbling under the weight of all these travelers, people like us who at our worst just want to be entertained and post to social media. Groups like UNESCO have issued increasingly urgent messages about the scale of the damage being done to Machu Picchu by tourists, and the Peruvian government has restrictions on the number of people entering, though these might not be low enough to save it. I feel lucky to have visited and learned about it. I honestly will never forget the beauty of that place and the majesty of everything the Incas achieved. But a part of me is afraid that the project of extermination which began in 1492 will reach a new climax with the collapse of Machu Picchu. And that is a pain and a loss which wouldn’t belong to me.