
Like many indigenous peoples, the Aztecs worshipped numerous gods, and some of them were downright bloodthirsty. One such bloodthirsty god was Tlaloc, who holds a place of honor at Teotihuacán in west-facing temples. Anthropological studies have suggested that the worship of Tlaloc actually precedes the Aztecs in Mexico. Tlaloc was not just a bloodthirsty god, it was specifically demanding of the sacrifice of children.
From Wikipedia: The "Atlcahualo" was celebrated from the 12th of February until the 3rd of March. Dedicated to the Tlaloque, this veintena involved the sacrifice of many children on sacred mountaintops. The children were beautifully adorned, dressed in the style of Tlaloc and the Tlaloque. On litters strewn with flowers and feathers; surrounded by dancers, they were transported to a shrine and their hearts would be pulled out by priests. If, on the way to the shrine, these children cried, their tears were viewed as signs of imminent and abundant rains.
Let me repeat: “they were transported to a shrine and their hearts would be pulled out…”
Savage, isn’t it? It is hard to fathom that people would build shrines and temples for the purpose of ripping the hearts out of children, much less that they would do so in the hope of achieving a benefit to the rest of the community. This continued for hundreds of years and thousands of children and it was not stopped as a widespread practice until the spread of Christianity throughout Mesoamerica.
Except, savage nations continue to build shrines and temples for the purpose of ripping the hearts out of children. I am sad to say that the United States is one such nation, for not only do we rip out the hearts of innocent children on a daily basis, we do so with the hope of achieving a benefit for the rest of the community. Our death toll – 1.2 million each year and nearly 60 million since 1973, certainly exceeds that of Tlaloc.
Greater Columbus Right to Life will be heading to Mexico February 13th through the 20th in 2016. We will be going there on a prolife pilgrimage during the time that the ancient Atlcahualo would have occurred. We will be praying for Life and an end to abortion. We will be climbing this temple, and at the top we will join together to pray for Life. Would you like to join us?
Yes, violent and bloodthirsty cultures have always built monuments and shrines to child sacrifice. Whether it was the ancient Nahuatl or the Aztec in his worship of Tlaloc, or our modern Planned Parenthoods in their worship of choice, the practice of ripping out the hearts of children is nothing new. It has, however, always been the faithful persistence of Christians sharing the message of Christ who have brought an end to the child sacrifice. We invite you to join us to join us in Mexico in February of 2016, and we invite you to join us every day as we pray for life here in Columbus.