First Grade Lesson

While on our way home from school, my son said, “Dad, did you know that quetzalcoatl takes care of the earth?” “Hmm, where did you hear that?” I asked. “My teacher told me.” I proceeded to Google the name. I already knew that it was a deity from the mesoamerican region but I wanted to know what rituals were involved with it. Within a few seconds, I had a response to my son’s inquiry: “No, son, quetzalcoatl is not a good thing to admire. In fact, he is a spirit that pretended and pretends to be a god.” His Christian conviction took over- “Jesus is the only God!” “That is correct”, I said. I like to be as honest as possible to my kids so that they are always discerning between the truth and the lies of the enemy. “Quetzalcoatl also requires the sacrifice of birds and asks people to give him some of their blood. Does Jesus do this?” “No!” He responded with a tone of disgust and repulsion.

I went on to tell my son that it is ok to learn about other cultures but that you have to learn all of the important aspects so that we don’t mistakenly adopt their false teachings on the divine. I also told him that his teacher may not know all there is know about quetzalcoatl (also called the “feathered serpent”). Does this represent intolerance on my part. Yes, I guess. Intolerance towards false teachings and idols. There is a lot to admire about ancient cultures, but that doesn’t mean we have to admire everything about those cultures including deities that require bloodletting to keep the universe in motion.

Many books in the K-12 curricula present a harmless image of other traditions and beliefs (they seem to always exclude Christianity). I don’t see it as harmless. These are ideological and spiritual seeds that are planted in the hearts and minds of our kids. Flash forward many years and you’ll get a “free thinking” individual who believes they can “cleanse” a room by burning sage or by other pagan practices. Both of these practices and so many others can lead to deep moral and spiritual chasms that can only be healed by Jesus. We also see an increase in self-aggrandizing spiritual practices like card reading, divinations, witchcraft, and santeria- just to name a few. The roots of these practices within modern households could and may be traced to early childhood teachings in, let’s say, ancient deities like quetzalcoatl. If you think such lessons in ancient cultures are harmless, that’s ok. But “[as] for me and my house, we will serve the Lord”- Joshua 24:15.