The Circle and the Square:

Why was I interested in this stone?: because I’d seen it before. 

Here are four stones, placed precisely together creating a cross, connected by the carved circle.  It was, perhaps, one of the more interesting things I found at Chitzen Itza.  And I found it by happenstance.  I was not on the beaten path, but was wandering among the trees and ruins of this lost and abandoned city doing my own exploring before having to head back to the bus.

It immediately made me think of the Celtic Crosses of Ireland.

 

 

When the film, Hidalgo, came out in 2004, I was equally intrigued by the necklace the main character, Frank Hopkins, wore as a reminder of his North American Plaines Indian heritage.

 

Was there any connection between Central America, North America and Europe?  As I did a little internet digging, I came across several websites, but I liked this one best, http://symboldictionary.net/?p=784.  I found out that this symbol is not only very old, it’s global, associated with a myriad of ancient religions.  It is often referred to as the Solar Cross, depicting the turning of the year, or, as with some North American Indians, with the ages of Man - infancy, youth, middle age and old age.

That this symbol is associated with so many ancient religions seems obvious.  What is more basic than a circle and a straight line?  Just go into any store that sells drafting equipment.  You will find equipment to will help you draw a perfect circle and a perfect square, or cross.  With these basics, you can draw anything, build anything.  That symbol was used to help people build and define their lives, so no wonder it’s everywhere – it’s likely been around since the very beginning.

So I shouldn’t wonder at it.  If it’s an ancient religious symbol, if people traveled far and wide then as they do now, as the Book of Mormon attests, that symbol would be all over the world. 

And so it is, and I find that very interesting.

Next time:  North American Indians & George Catlin

The Case for the Book of Mormon in Central America

I had to go digging this morning for the pictures I wanted, but I found them.  I can’t believe it’s been 10 years since my trip to Mexico and the Riviera Maya.  I went with my friend, Michelle Krugar, the first of several trips we have taken together over the years since.

 

Michelle was very keen to see the ruins of Central America and connect them to the Book of Mormon.  Although I had read several books and articles on the subject, I had become skeptical.  Nevertheless, I smiled and swam and ate and spent money and enjoyed the trip.  I did, however, learn a few things of interest.

We visited Tulum, an interesting ruin on the coast, south of Playa Del Carmen where our resort was. 

We even visited Chitzen Itza, the grand-daddy of archeological sites on the Yucatan Peninsula. 

 

I wasn’t surprised to learn that all these sites were from the later periods, 1000 A.D. to 1500 A.D.  In fact the earliest indicators for these people seem to be that they moved into the area around 400-500 A.D. at a time of massive migrations and movements of people.

I also found a people obsessed with the heart.  In this little temple in Tulum, just above the door you see the figure of a man, upside down, head and hands toward the opening.  You can’t see it in this photo, but the tour guide explained that in this man’s hands is a human heart.

 

We look at the Maya and the Aztec as a bloodthirsty people, who captured their enemies and cut their hearts out, offering them to their bloodthirsty gods.  What an apostate twist - a literal interpretation of the admonition to “offer your heart” unto God.  I can just hear these blind people asking, “How do we offer our hearts to god?” and some wicked tyrant, in a bid to control his people and expand his territory insist it was literal, “but if your good, we’ll get a proxy for you.  We’ll defeat our enemies, take their lands and offer their hearts for yours.” 

There are two principles here, and both are Christian.  One, the need to give God your heart so that He can heal you, and, Two, proxy work.  Both of these principles are evident in the New Testament when Christ admonished his disciples to love God with all their “hearts,” and when Paul declares to the Corinthians “Else what shall they do which are baptized for the dead, if the dead rise not at all?”  Anciently, there was obviously proxy baptism for the dead.

And, of course, the greatest proxy work of all was when Christ offered himself a ransom for our sins.

The case for Central America being the land of the Book of Mormon is interesting, and there are those who are absolutely certain that it is so.  I’m still skeptical.  What I found was a people who had known the light, had fallen and migrated, bringing their apostate ideas with them to the Yucatan.

 

But where did they migrate from?  Well, here's an interesting stone I found amidst the ruins of Chitzan Itza.  We’ll take a closer look at it next time.