Human Sacrifice Rationalization in 7th Grade Curriculum

San Diego County Office of Education ^ | Schools of California Online Resources for Educators (SCORE) Project

[mvpel]

Do you know what your kids are learning in school?

As part of a debate with apologists for the neck-sawing Islamic lunatics on the Grex.cyberspace.org bulletin board, I did some searching for Aztec human sacrifice information.

I was utterly stunned to find the article linked above, setting out a curriculum for a seventh grade social studies class covering the ancient Aztec culture prior to the arrival of the Spaniards.

One of the units of the curriculum is:

Students will read two versions about the Aztec Sun, complete a Venn diagram and visit web sites that provide background on Aztec religious beliefs and the practice of human sacrifice. They will write a persuasive letter taking the point of view of an [cannibalistic] Aztec noble or a Spanish missionary and create a cinquain poem.

Legend of the Fifth Sun
URL: fifthsun.html
Comments: Story file containing an explanation of the Aztec need for human sacrifice. [emphasis mine]

The Aztec Sun
URL: http://www.storymall.com/aztecsun/aztec.htm
Comments: Different version of the story about the Aztec sun.

The Aztec Rite of Human Sacrifice
URL: http://www.eecs.uic.edu/~agonzale/assignment3/page1.html
Comments: The text is designed for college students.

In ancient times, it was the Caananite culture that was so depraved and corrupt that it merited utter destruction by the command of G-d. In the 1500's and 1600's, when the Spaniards arrived to find 20,000 human beings being slaughtered atop pyramids every year by having their heart ripped out, that distinction fell to the Aztec culture which was subsequently destroyed, its adherents either converted away from their murderous, cannabalistic practices, or killed.

But in our present-day public schools, our 7th graders are being steeped in the worst possible kind of cultural relativism - that which suggests that slaughtering another human being in cold blood and eating the flesh of the corpse is a mere "cultural taboo" that can be rationalized and justified, instead of a fundamental and immutable violation of the law of G-d and nature.

I'm adding this page to my file of reminders of why I will never send any child I might ever have to a public school.

Here's one product of this kind of cultural relativism in school curriculi, a report written by a student at East Whittier Middle School which draws parallels between Christianity and the Aztec religion with an analogy to the death of your Christ and the Communion ritual:
Similarities with the Spanish and Aztec religions

I'm Jewish, and I find it rather offensive and repugnant, I can't imagine how a Catholic might react to it.

Here's a sample of a cultural relativist academic rationalizing Aztec human sacrifice:
Aztec Human Sacrifice

Do you know who's running your schools? Is it one of these academics? Don't you think you should find out?

[D-fendr]

You compare. It's important that you are accurate in your comparisions. For example, the student's essay about a baby's death, limbo, etc. is inaccurate. But you would compare the two religion's history and beliefs - theology and culture would come into play.

Yes, you would teach that in orthodox Christianity, Jesus is fully divine and fully human; and that in jewish belief this violates monotheism - and then how the trinitarian theology addresses this. Then in Islam, the strong teaching that God was not begotten and did not beget…

You would also compare what the religions share: the transcendant, the absolute law giver, absolute truth; the monotheism of ningun braham in hinduism with that of Judeo-Christian theology, the unborn and uncreated in buddhism and so on. You would look at the similarities in development of cultures from magical to heroic to transcendant…

A good example of method, and the primer of comparative religion, is Huston Smith's "The World's Religions."

This can teach students so much about their own religion and others and about truth and goodness and, how to discuss differences in religion without killing each other.

It would be quite a challenge for a middle-school level teacher (and students), I think High School would be better, and perhaps I'm being too optomistic in thinking it could be done justice short of the college level.

thanks for your reply.

[Forgiven_Sinner]

Jews are supposed to find that repugnant, the whole point is that G-d stops the execution because it is wrong, he's demanding Abraham think for himself. Because Abraham failed the test, G-d stopped speaking to him (G-d spoke to Abraham several times before the attempted sacrifice, but never afterwards).

Wow. I've never heard that explanation of Gen. 22 before: that Abraham failed. Why do you think so in view of what God says at the end of the chapter:

22:12 And he said, Lay not thy hand upon the lad, neither do thou anything unto him. For now I know that thou fearest God, seeing thou hast not withheld thy son, thine only son, from me.

22:13 And Abraham lifted up his eyes, and looked, and behold, behind [him] a ram caught in the thicket by his horns. And Abraham went and took the ram, and offered him up for a burnt-offering in the stead of his son.

22:14 And Abraham called the name of that place Jehovah- jireh. As it is said to this day, In the mount of Jehovah it shall be provided.

22:15 And the angel of Jehovah called unto Abraham a second time out of heaven,

22:16 and said, By myself have I sworn, saith Jehovah, because thou hast done this thing, and hast not withheld thy son, thine only son,

22:17 that in blessing I will bless thee, and in multiplying I will multiply thy seed as the stars of the heavens, and as the sand which is upon the seashore. And thy seed shall possess the gate of his enemies.

22:18 And in thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed. Because thou hast obeyed my voice.

God blesses Abraham more intensely than ever before. Verse 17 promises national greatness and dominence of his children and verse 18 promises that the Messiah would come from Abraham's children. So, why don't you think God was pleased with Abraham?

[xm177e2]

Don't contradict the politically correct revisionist history of the Torah set to coincide with modern liberal values. I just might call you a fundamentalist for raising your objections! </kidding>

I dunno, I never really read the chapter...God was probably planning on making Abraham's tribe his chosen people anyway, considering the alternatives. It was Abraham or some Baal worshippers, so God went with the fundamentalist lunatic instead of the demon-worshipping pagans.

And that's why Jerry Falwell is a Christian and the people who wear funny clothes and talk about Earth Crystals and Goddess Energy are not. </kidding, again>

[Big Bunyip]

The Aztecs were weak because they were evil

Well, they were evil, but that wasn't the reason they were ripe for the Spaniards to take down their culture. The real villain: a centralized economy.

Up until about four years before Cortes arrived, human sacrifice was an important part of Aztec religious ritual but, in terms of raw (pun intended)numbers, probably insignificant.

At this point, for reasons much open to debate, the imperial court began to usurp the functions of what we would call the middle class, re-directing the economy to one of tribute rather than trade and putting state resources into temple-building and wars intended to capture more sacrificial victims.

The government class literally ate the will of the populace to support it and, when Cortes arrived on the scene, there was no shortage of allies to bolster his ranks against Montezuma.

The moral: Cut people's hearts out all you like, but don't interfere with the business of trade trade and unfettered commerce that is a nation's greatest strength.

Also, this poster is taking the godless schools schtick a bit too far. Would he stop his kids joining a debating team, where your personal belief in the rightness or otherwise of the contention being debated is immaterial? Imagining yourself to be an Aztec priest justifying human sacrifice doesn't mean you have to agree with those human-skin covered priests atop their bloody pyramids, though attempting to do so might encourage using some of the grey matter schools generally prefer to leave undisturbed.

The jesuits, God bless 'em, have been doing this sort of thing for years (getting kids to play devil's advocate as an intellectual exercise) and it hasn't produced too many ex-pupils who go on to careers of tearing the beating hearts out of fellow citizens.

You'll notice, too, that the question gives students the option of imagining themselves to be a conquistador.

That said, the schools still suck -- mostly because the kids aren't challenged to think (because their teachers can't think, either)

[Big Bunyip]

about four years = forty years.

(jesuits never taught me to type!)

[MHGinTN]

Oh, it's much worse that that; serial killing is protected now in America, so the leftists socialist societal engineers are hard at work making it normative behavior to hire a serial killer, as long as it benefits the agenda of social engineering. Got to get to those formative minds early, to gray out the distinctions between human sacrifice and abortion on demand, don'tcha know!

[Sonny M]

This reminds me of the movie major league, when Sorono wants to sacrifise a live chicken before a game, and they bring him a bucket of KFC.

[dennisw]

From what I've read the Azteca were much bigger devotees of human sacrifice than the Maya. I can recommend a book if you like.

[FITZ]

in terms of raw (pun intended)numbers, probably insignificant.

The numbers were quite significant. One reason the Spaniards won Mexico so easily is that the Indians were tired of being sacrificed by the Aztecs and they welcomed the Spaniards and helped them defeat the Aztecs. The Aztecs would raid neighboring tribes for their victims, they didn't sacrifice themselves.

[Aquinasfan]

This type of thing did not just drop out of the sky onto San Diego. You can be sure that some foundation or the Dept. of Education is behind this.

Disgusting. And a way to prep children to rationalize abortion. At 1 million abortions/year, we make the Aztecs look like pikers.

[HiTech RedNeck]

I dunno, I never really read the chapter

'nuff said

[Aquinasfan]

The old Catholic Encyclopedia has a great entry under sacrifice. It covers the broad history of various forms of religious sacrifice which includes almost all of human history. Very long but very worthwhile read.

[putupon]

Trouble is, if you're going to excuse that, you're also going to have to find some way to excuse the Nazis and the Holocaust, and bin Laden and his Islamofascism

In the case of the muslems, some people already have; make a comment or a joke about about a mohammadan on this board, and some will call you a racist.

[D-fendr]

Thanks, AF, I'm gonna wade on through it, they usually do a great job of research/compilation. I was recently curious on the subject after reading Ken Wilber's "Brief History of Everything." It has an interesting trend-theory concerning the means of production, the role of man/woman, godess religions and human sacrifices.

appreciate the link…

[Catspaw]

From what I've read the Azteca were much bigger devotees of human sacrifice than the Maya. I can recommend a book if you like.

The Aztecs were more fond of human sacrifice than the Mayans, but I did get a kick out of the hordes of tourists at Chichen Itza posing with the chac mool, not knowing what it was used for. I resisted the urge to walk up to a group of smiling tourists and say, "By the way, that's where the heart of the human sacrifice is placed after it's taken out of the body by the high priest."

I think the Aztecs and Mayans both lifted the chac mool from the Toltecs.

[Wrigley]

"In ancient times, it was the Caananite culture that was so depraved and corrupt that it merited utter destruction by the command of G-d. In the 1500's and 1600's, when the Spaniards arrived to find 20,000 human beings being slaughtered atop pyramids every year by having their heart ripped out, that distinction fell to the Aztec culture which was subsequently destroyed, its adherents either converted away from their murderous, cannabalistic practices, or killed."

I was caught off gaurd by a liberal friend of mine a while back about the Spanish actions and relationship with the Aztecs. I wish I would have brought up that point. His mind would have blown at my lack of regard for the native culture. The next conversation will be fun. Thanks.

[kassie]

I guess it's ok to talk about religion if it's done on a secular level?? And it's ok to talk about human sacrifice, but please, NO ONE draw a picture of a gun!! Talk about mixed messages!!

[dennisw]

The Azteca didn't (human) sacrifice 20,000 each year. This was their peak year due to important religious festivities. IIR correctly 20,000 were sacrificed because a new temple to the sun was being dedicated. 

Their prisoners cut out hearts were a sacrifice to their sun god and ensured the sun would rise each day