When I was single, I lived next to two young girls who were pagans. I know this because they took every opportunity to tell me they were pagan and relate the pantheon of gods that they worshipped whenever the mood struck them. They were firmly convinced that every nook and cranny of their home was haunted. When one girl's baby began making "strange sounds," they promptly rousted the local Catholic priest out of bed at 11 p.m. because they were convinced the child was possessed. Otherwise, they were your standard-issue energetic, cute, and mildly annoying young women.
One evening, I walked out to my dilapidated porch for a sniff of air, and a flash of movement caught my eye. Break-ins were becoming increasingly common in that neighborhood, so I gave the matter a little more attention. From my porch, I could see through the windows of their house. There was a group of hooded people processing in a circle. I decided that my life was complicated enough as it was and went back inside to finish watching a movie.
But clearly, the young ladies' fascination with the occult had gone next-level. Two days later, one of them came over to say goodbye. She was moving to Salt Lake to study myotherapy. She had apparently had enough. I have no idea what happened to the other one. Sometimes, you get more than you bargained for.
Over on his Substack, Rod Dreher has a photo of Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum in a ceremony meant to honor indigenous women. You can view the photo here. There are robes, people holding staffs, and others bearing incense burners. Now, as an Orthodox Christian, I certainly have no objection to robes, staffs, and incense. In fact, I have no objection to people worshipping however they see fit. At one time, I made a run at Buddhism.
Last year, Sheinbaum was part of a cleansing ritual commensurate with her inauguration. On an interesting note, Dreher said that a friend told him that, based on comments from his Mexican relatives, he would not be surprised if Mexico City returned to using its Aztec name, Tenochtitlán. This move, the friend surmises, is part of an effort to de-Christianize and re-indigenize Mexico. There is nothing wrong with getting in touch with one's ethnic roots, and, after all, Trump renamed the Gulf of Mexico, so Mexico can rename whatever it wants.
Given the bloody and brutal history of the conquistadors and colonialism in Central and South America, it should come as no surprise that there is a move to re-indigenize Mexico and possibly other nations on that end of the world. For example, take a few minutes to look up the story behind the word potosí and the history of brutal slavery that accompanies it. But as Dreher points out, the Aztecs did not have a stellar track record when it came to humane treatment. Dreher cites a quote from journalist Randall Sullivan:
The Spaniards’ new residence was directly across from the spectacular pyramidal temple of the Hummingbird Wizard. The temple had been dedicated just thirty-two years earlier by the man regarded as the architect of the Aztec Empire, Tlacaelel. The highlight of the ceremony was the greatest human slaughter in the history of the Mexica—eighty thousand sacrificed, according to a sixteenth-century Aztec historian; the lines of those who would die stretched for miles, he recalled, and the killing went on without interruption for four days and nights. The Aztec nobility were provided with seats in boxes covered with rose blossoms intended to mask the smell of drying blood and rotting flesh. The stench was overwhelming, though, before even a thousand were dead, and by the second day, nearly every one of the boxes was empty.
Yet the eighty-nine-year-old Tlacaelel remained the entire time, personally observing each and every sacrifice. It was Tlacaelel who had instituted Aztec worship of Huitzilopchtli, the Spaniards would learn, and who had invented the “Flower Wars”—contrived conflicts with neighboring tribes that were intended only to take prisoners for sacrifice to the Lover of Hearts and Drinker of Blood.
Brutality, depravity, slavery, and murder are not unique to white European culture, despite what your family or neighborhood progressive may try to tell you. It has been endemic in cultures across the globe, including indigenous cultures that are held up to be pure of mind, heart, and soul. So this raises the question of just how far re-indigenization will go.
I don't believe for a minute that Sheinbaum will advocate the return of human sacrifices. This is, after all, the 21st century. That said, while people are not being nominally sacrificed to Huitzilopchtli or Molech, how many babies have been killed in the name of convenience and rights here in the U.S.?
Brutality, depravity, slavery, and murder continue apace even in the harsh digital glare of the 21st century. The names of the deity may change, but the focus is still on self-aggrandizement and satisfaction. People will gladly trade one set of brutalities for another, so long as there is something for them in it, somewhere. Christians have done horrible things, but to suggest that anyone's culture has clean hands is pure folly.
According to the website Catholic Vote, the local Satanic Grotto is planning on holding a Black Mass at the Kansas state capitol on March 28:
The satanic ritual is scheduled by The Satanic Grotto. According to a Facebook post announcing the event, Satanists will “dedicate the grounds and our legislature to the glory of Satan.”
“We will be performing rites to the Black Mass and indulging in sacrilegious blaspheme [sic]. God will fall, and Kansas will be embraced by the black flame of Lucifer. Hail Satan,” the Satanists added in the statement.
These people may actually believe in worshipping Satan, or they may believe that they believe. Likely, their goal is to scare the straights and scandalize the Christians, which they appear to be doing. Not only are they striking a blow against Christianity, the patriarchy, or whatever they don't like, but they are getting a thrill out of doing it in an overt manner designed to offend as many people as possible. It's an ego boost and a moment of glee. The reason why one does a thing matters as much as the thing one does.
Any exorcist worth his salt will tell you that pornography, tarot cards, crystals, psychics, curses, and Ouija boards open doors to the demonic. But people engage in those things for the same reasons they indulge in all sins: for money, sexual gratification, revenge, or a desire for power, just to name a few. Ultimately, it is self-interest that drives us to sin. One of the biggest biblical misquotations is, "The love of money is the root of all evil." A more accurate translation of Paul's advice to Timothy is, "Now, the love of money is the root of all kinds of evil" or "much evil." Paul would likely concur that the root of much more, if not all, evil is the love or idolization of oneself.
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