Temple of the feathered serpent

 Spanish clergy accompanied the conquistadors when they took over central Mexico from the indigenous rulers in the sixteenth century. Coming upon the Temple of the Feathered Serpent, most of the priests regarded it as the merest pagan idolatry: primitive, polytheistic, and menacing in appearance. How might you go about refuting such claims today? Would artistic quality enter into the discussion?  (140 minimum )