The Flayed Lord

At the start of this year, archaeologists in Mexico made an important discovery, uncovering a temple to Xipe Tótec - the ‘Flayed lord’- complete with statues and other artwork. A right hand was hanging by his left arm on one of his statues, symbolising the skin of a sacrificed person hanging over him. It is thought that priests would flay victims and then wear their skins over to invoke the god’s pleasure.

"Sculpturally it is a very beautiful piece," said the leading archaeologist, Noemi Castillo, in her excited press release.

Spiritually and morally, it is one of the most detestable things I have ever seen. A deity who goes around wearing others’ flesh and desiring his acolytes to do likewise. These disgusting gods are designed and manufactured in that most awful of studios- the human heart. False gods always want things from us- our money, our children, our skin. The God of heaven seeks to give to us- life, hope, peace and forgiveness. In return, He seeks nothing but our love and affection:

“The Lord, the Lord God, merciful and gracious, longsuffering and abounding in goodness and truth, keeping mercy for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin…” (Exod. 34:6–7a)

The text goes on to describe God’s justice; this loving, kindly God is no modern liberal with mush for brains. He is just and holy, yet willing to forgive and forget because of His Son- the Son whose skin was scourged and torn for us.

Image by OpenClipart-Vectors from Pixabay