Christian group vandalizes ancient Mexican archeological site claiming it’s linked to ‘Devil worship

[Judi Lynn]

Christian group vandalizes ancient Mexican archeological site claiming it’s linked to ‘Devil worship’

By DeadState Staff 

Posted on June 28, 2016


[font size=1]
According to local media reports, the sect targeted the ancient ceremonial area because it was “not Christian” and destroyed “at least a dozen” stone alters built by the indigenous Otomi people at the San Bartolo Tutotepec , according to TeleSur TV.
[/font]
Members of a Jehovah’s Witness sect have been accused of vandalizing a 7,000-year-old archeological site in eastern Mexico – all in an effort to stamp out “Devil worship.”

The sect targeted the ancient ceremonial area because it was “not Christian” and destroyed “at least a dozen” stone alters built by the indigenous Otomi people at the San Bartolo Tutotepec archeological site, according to TeleSur TV.

Members of the sect say the destruction was motivated by a belief that the ancient Indigenous religion involved devil worship. The perpetrators claim that they were following the word of god by destroying the temple site.

The Otomi people still hold the site sacred and archeologist say that the site is comparible to Mecca for Muslims or the Vatican for Christians, with people making pilgrimages to the site every year. The ancient religion of the Otomis traditionally holds sacred various deities including earth, water, and fire.

More:
http://deadstate.org/christian-group-vandalizes-ancient-mexican-archeological-site-claiming-its-linked-to-devil-worship/

[Ford_Prefect]

1. ANCIENT TEMPLE OF MEXICAN OTOMI INDIANS DAMAGED- AP post

http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/L/LT_MEXICO_SHRINE_DAMAGED?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT&CTIME=2016-06-28-16-51-40

This seems to say much more about who did it and why:

A researcher who interviewed some of the attackers said they identified themselves as Jehovah's Witnesses and viewed the altars as blasphemy. However, the spokesman for the Jehovah's Witnesses in Mexico said Tuesday that the allegation appeared to be false.

A local official in the state of Hidalgo said Monday that some local residents were angered by what believed to be idolatry and had damaged the remote site.

"I don't know what religion they belong to, but they destroyed several images that were there," said Daniel Garcia, the municipal secretary of the nearby township of San Bartolo Tutotepec. "The thing is, there are some religions that don't believe in using idols."

Luis Perez Lugo, a professor at the University of Chapingo, visited the site in May and talked to residents of a nearby hamlet, El Pinal, whose residents said they had carried out the attack.

"I was there, and the Jehovah's Witnesses said they had done it," Perez Lugo said, noting some were recent converts to the religion who used to go to the site for Otomi ceremonies.

"They said it (the pre-Hispanic ceremonies) weren't in their Bible, and, in their words, they said it was piggish, garbage that wasn't in the Bible, and so they went to clear out what was offensive to their God."

And they say all politics is local...

[mntleo2]

4. As a Christian who respects ALL faiths, this is repulsive! N/t

[Ford_Prefect]

5. Ask yourself if this is the 1st time you have heard of Christian sects acting in absolute ways?

When you were learning about your faith did they not tell you of the unbelievers and the false gods?

[mntleo2]

7. Yeah so true, I never heard about that crap in Sunday School but ...

...have friends of many faiths who have told me plenty of stories about the rudeness and lack of respect they received at the hands of frankly some very ignorant Christians. I find it repulsive at any rate and I have actually strengthened my own faith through sharing with those of other faiths. It is beyond me why it is so darn scary to see something different than what is "traditional" whatever that means. Because if you read about the early Christians who came from cultures from the Far East to Africa to the Celts and in the New World from cultures such as the Yaquis, they found their own paths melding those beliefs together. It is just stooopid and ignorant IMO

My 2 cents,
Cat

[Judi Lynn]

6. Arrrrrghhhhh! Oh, wow. Thank you. n/t

[Nitram]

2. More proof that our reliulous fundamentalists are just as nuts as theirs.

[Ford_Prefect]

3. OP needs to be corrected to read Mexican Christian group did it, as that's the truth.

As the headline reads now it looks as if someone from "El Norte" did it, and that's what I expected to find until I read the full AP account.