PART 1 TRANSFORMATIONS OF NORTH AMERICA, Christ, into the world to save humanity from its sins. The Christian Church devised a religious calendar that transformed animist festivals into holy days. The winter solstice, which had for millennia marked the return of the sun, became the feast of Christmas. The Church also taught that Satan, a wicked supernatural being, was constantly challenging God by tempting people to sin. People who spread here- sies — doctrines that were inconsistent with the teachings of the Church — were seen as the tools of Satan, and suppressing false doctrines became an obligation of Christian rulers.
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