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As I have shown in Part I, there were three major "human sacrifices" that are found in the Bible. But they were not the human sacrifices that anti-theists make them out to be: one was a divine act, one was merely a test with no resulting human death, and the last was either done against God's Will or was merely a misunderstanding of a man giving his daughter to a chaste life (though the former is much more likely than the latter). Hardly any of these would count as a bloody human sacrifice equating to that of the Aztecs, or a select other pagan groups.
And yet some people have twisted Scripture (and I mean REALLY twisted it!) to sound as if Yahweh demanded human sacrifice. Along with some clearly anti-Christian websites showcasing the alleged sacrifices in the Bible and one source that barely went over the topic of Jesus's sacrifice, the person also cited a couple Islamic sites as well, telling how Jesus was never crucified (Yes, lets go to the Muslims to understand Christianity; perhaps I should go to a group of American Wiccans to understand the religion of the Iraqi Sabians while I'm at it). These sources are:
www.evilbible.com/Ritual_Human… Evil Bible's Ritual Human Sacrifice
www.revelife.com/729220906/chr… Human Sacrifice: Detestable to Divine
www.freewebs.com/see_the_truth… See the Truth: Human Sacrifice and the Bible
skepticsannotatedbible.com/con… Skeptic's Annotated Bible: Human Sacrifice
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Islamic_… Wiki on Islamic view of Jesus' Death
www.answering-christianity.com… Muslim claiming that early disciples of Jesus never claimed Jesus never got crucified
I will go over the verses cited by the sources, but not the Muslim claims about their view on Jesus. That is an ENTIRELY different topic, and I have no idea why the maker of the stamp would randomly cite Islamic sources about their view of Jesus when the topic is human sacrifice in the Bible. I may or may not be interested enough in the future to write about it myself, but if I do, it will not be a part of this series.
I will also not go over the Christian source on Christ's sacrifice, as I have already discussed it (in much better terms) in Part I.
Bible Verses
Before I tackle each source here, please note that I will ignore their claims on the sacrifice of Jesus, the almost-sacrifice of Isaac, and the non-consented sacrifice of Jephthah's daughter. I have already gone over those in Part I, so there's no point in doing that again. There was also a source that complained about the animal sacrifices as well, and I will be ignoring the verses they cite for that; this is about "human sacrifice" anyway, not a game of "spot the vegan." This same source also noted how certain parts of the Bible were nothing but "bloodshed and mass murder", referring to Joshua 10, and Judges 1 and 3, to which I say that the Ancient times, and even Middle Ages, were full of bloodshed regardless of religion or culture (and isn't that still like that in Modern times?). That's just how it was, and God only condoned wars against people who harmed Israel unjustly or refused to heed His multiple warnings. If you want to b'aw about it, you might as well hate on history books as well.
Note that because there are quite a few misinterpreted Bible verses to debunk, this will be written out as a list. A bit of explaining will be used, but they are more or less straightforward. The books and verses quoted are also "out of order", and I merely wrote them out as I read them from the first source on.
These are all verses used to "prove" that God condoned human sacrifice:
(the sources use a variety of versions, but I will be using the KJV and (mainly) NRSVCE versions since I am most familiar with them and to keep consistency) :
- Exodus 13:2 "Consecrate to me all the firstborn; whatever is the first to open the womb among the Israelites, of human beings and animals, is mine."
"When the Lord has brought you into the land of the Canaanites, as he swore to you and your ancestors, and has given it to you, you shall set apart to the Lord all that first opens the womb. All the firstborn of your livestock that are males shall be the Lord’s. But every firstborn donkey you shall redeem with a sheep; if you do not redeem it, you must break its neck. Every firstborn male among your children you shall redeem. When in the future your child asks you, ‘What does this mean?’ you shall answer, ‘By strength of hand the Lord brought us out of Egypt, from the house of slavery. When Pharaoh stubbornly refused to let us go, the Lord killed all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, from human firstborn to the firstborn of animals. Therefore I sacrifice to the Lord every male that first opens the womb, but every firstborn of my sons I redeem.' It shall serve as a sign on your hand and as an emblem on your forehead that by strength of hand the Lord brought us out of Egypt." (emphasis added).
I should also mention that "consecrate" means "dedicated to a sacred purpose" www.merriam-webster.com/dictio…. Firstborn sons were consecrated by being "saved" from sacrifice as a symbol of their freedom from Egypt, and the first born males of animals were consecrated by being sacrificed to uphold the covenant.
- Leviticus 27:28-29 Nothing that a person owns that has been devoted to destruction for the Lord, be it human or animal, or inherited landholding, may be sold or redeemed; every devoted thing is most holy to the Lord. No human beings who have been devoted to destruction can be ransomed; they shall be put to death.
Devoted of men — Not by men, as some would elude It; but of men, for it is manifest both from this and the foregoing verses, that men are here not the persons devoting, but devoted to destruction, either by God's sentence, as idolaters, Exodus 22:20; Deuteronomy 23:15, the Canaanites, Deuteronomy 20:17, the Amalekites, Deuteronomy 25:19, and 1 Samuel 15:3,26, Benhaded, 1 Kings 20:42, or by men, in pursuance of such a sentence of God, as Numbers 21:2; 3, or for any crime of an high nature, as Judges 21:5; Joshua 17:15. But this is not to be generally understood, as some have taken it, as if a Jew might by virtue of this Text, devote his child or his servant to the Lord, and thereby oblige himself to put them to death. For this is expressly limited to all that a man hath, or which is his, that is, which he hath a power over. But the Jews had no power over the lives of their children or servants, but were directly forbidden to take them away, by that great command, thou shalt do no murder. And seeing he that killed his servant casually by a blow with a rod was surely to be punished, as is said, Exodus 21:20, it could not be lawful willfully to take away his life upon pretence of any such vow as this. But for the Canaanites, Amalekites, etc. God the undoubted Lord of all men's lives, gave to the Israelites a power over their persons and lives, and a command to put them to death. And this verse may have a special respect to them or such as them.
- Joshua 7:15 And the one who is taken as having the devoted things shall be burned with fire, together with all that he has, for having transgressed the covenant of the Lord, and for having done an outrageous thing in Israel.
- 1 Kings 13:1-2 While Jeroboam was standing by the altar to offer incense, a man of God came out of Judah by the word of the Lord to Bethel and proclaimed against the altar by the word of the Lord, and said, “O altar, altar, thus says the Lord: ‘A son shall be born to the house of David, Josiah by name; and he shall sacrifice on you the priests of the high places who offer incense on you, and human bones shall be burned on you.’”
- 2 Kings 23:20-25 He slaughtered on the altars all the priests of the high places who were there, and burned human bones on them. Then he returned to Jerusalem. The king commanded all the people, “Keep the passover to the Lord your God as prescribed in this book of the covenant.” No such passover had been kept since the days of the judges who judged Israel, even during all the days of the kings of Israel and of the kings of Judah; but in the eighteenth year of King Josiah this passover was kept to the Lord in Jerusalem. Moreover Josiah put away the mediums, wizards, teraphim,idols, and all the abominations that were seen in the land of Judah and in Jerusalem, so that he established the words of the law that were written in the book that the priest Hilkiah had found in the house of the Lord. Before him there was no king like him, who turned to the Lord with all his heart, with all his soul, and with all his might, according to all the law of Moses; nor did any like him arise after him.
- Wisdom 3:5-7 (from the Catholic and Orthodox versions of the Bible) Having been disciplined a little, they will receive great good, because God tested them and found them worthy of himself; like gold in the furnace he tried them, and like a sacrificial burnt offering he accepted them. In the time of their visitation they will shine forth, and will run like sparks through the stubble.
- Wisdom 14:21-23 And this became a hidden trap for humankind, because people, in bondage to misfortune or to royal authority, bestowed on objects of stone or wood the name that ought not to be shared. Then it was not enough for them to err about the knowledge of God, but though living in great strife due to ignorance, they call such great evils peace. For whether they kill children in their initiations, or celebrate secret mysteries, or hold frenzied revels with strange customs,
- Ezekiel 21:28-32 (Evil Bible labeled these verses as Ezekiel 21:33-37; I'm not sure if the NLT version is different or if they labeled it wrong) As for you, mortal, prophesy, and say, Thus says the Lord God concerning the Ammonites, and concerning their reproach; say: A sword, a sword! Drawn for slaughter, polished to consume, to flash like lightning. Offering false visions for you, divining lies for you, they place you over the necks of the vile, wicked ones— those whose day has come, the time of final punishment. Return it to its sheath! In the place where you were created, in the land of your origin, I will judge you. I will pour out my indignation upon you, with the fire of my wrath I will blow upon you. I will deliver you into brutish hands, those skillful to destroy. You shall be fuel for the fire, your blood shall enter the earth; you shall be remembered no more, for I the Lord have spoken.
- Deuteronomy 13:13-19 that scoundrels from among you have gone out and led the inhabitants of the town astray, saying, “Let us go and worship other gods,” whom you have not known, then you shall inquire and make a thorough investigation. If the charge is established that such an abhorrent thing has been done among you, you shall put the inhabitants of that town to the sword, utterly destroying it and everything in it—even putting its livestock to the sword. All of its spoil you shall gather into its public square; then burn the town and all its spoil with fire, as a whole burnt offering to the Lord your God. It shall remain a perpetual ruin, never to be rebuilt. Do not let anything devoted to destruction stick to your hand, so that the Lord may turn from his fierce anger and show you compassion, and in his compassion multiply you, as he swore to your ancestors, if you obey the voice of the Lord your God by keeping all his commandments that I am commanding you today, doing what is right in the sight of the Lord your God.
- Exodus 22:29 You shall not delay to make offerings from the fullness of your harvest and from the outflow of your presses. The firstborn of your sons you shall give to me.
- Ezekiel 20:25-26 Moreover I gave them statutes that were not good and ordinances by which they could not live. I defiled them through their very gifts, in their offering up all their firstborn, in order that I might horrify them, so that they might know that I am the Lord.
When you offer your gifts and make your children pass through the fire, you defile yourselves with all your idols to this day. And shall I be consulted by you, O house of Israel? As I live, says the Lord God, I will not be consulted by you.
- 2 Samuel 21:6-10 let seven of his sons be handed over to us, and we will impale them before the Lord at Gibeon on the mountain of the Lord.” The king said, “I will hand them over.” But the king spared Mephibosheth, the son of Saul’s son Jonathan, because of the oath of the Lord that was between them, between David and Jonathan son of Saul. The king took the two sons of Rizpah daughter of Aiah, whom she bore to Saul, Armoni and Mephibosheth; and the five sons of Merab daughter of Saul, whom she bore to Adriel son of Barzillai the Meholathite; he gave them into the hands of the Gibeonites, and they impaled them on the mountain before the Lord. The seven of them perished together. They were put to death in the first days of harvest, at the beginning of barley harvest. Then Rizpah the daughter of Aiah took sackcloth, and spread it on a rock for herself, from the beginning of harvest until rain fell on them from the heavens; she did not allow the birds of the air to come on the bodies by day, or the wild animals by night.
- Numbers 31:25-40 The Lord spoke to Moses, saying, “You and Eleazar the priest and the heads of the ancestral houses of the congregation make an inventory of the booty captured, both human and animal. Divide the booty into two parts, between the warriors who went out to battle and all the congregation. From the share of the warriors who went out to battle, set aside as tribute for the Lord, one item out of every five hundred, whether persons, oxen, donkeys, sheep, or goats. Take it from their half and give it to Eleazar the priest as an offering to the Lord. But from the Israelites’ half you shall take one out of every fifty, whether persons, oxen, donkeys, sheep, or goats—all the animals—and give them to the Levites who have charge of the tabernacle of the Lord.” Then Moses and Eleazar the priest did as the Lord had commanded Moses: The booty remaining from the spoil that the troops had taken totaled six hundred seventy-five thousand sheep, seventy-two thousand oxen, sixty-one thousand donkeys, and thirty-two thousand persons in all, women who had not known a man by sleeping with him. The half-share, the portion of those who had gone out to war, was in number three hundred thirty-seven thousand five hundred sheep and goats, and the Lord’s tribute of sheep and goats was six hundred seventy-five. The oxen were thirty-six thousand, of which the Lord’s tribute was seventy-two. The donkeys were thirty thousand five hundred, of which the Lord’s tribute was sixty-one. The persons were sixteen thousand, of which the Lord’s tribute was thirty-two persons.
- Deuteronomy 28:53-58 In the desperate straits to which the enemy siege reduces you, you will eat the fruit of your womb, the flesh of your own sons and daughters whom the Lord your God has given you. Even the most refined and gentle of men among you will begrudge food to his own brother, to the wife whom he embraces, and to the last of his remaining children, giving to none of them any of the flesh of his children whom he is eating, because nothing else remains to him, in the desperate straits to which the enemy siege will reduce you in all your towns. She who is the most refined and gentle among you, so gentle and refined that she does not venture to set the sole of her foot on the ground, will begrudge food to the husband whom she embraces, to her own son, and to her own daughter, begrudging even the afterbirth that comes out from between her thighs, and the children that she bears, because she is eating them in secret for lack of anything else, in the desperate straits to which the enemy siege will reduce you in your towns. If you do not diligently observe all the words of this law that are written in this book, fearing this glorious and awesome name, the Lord your God,
- 2 Chronicles 34:1-5 Josiah was eight years old when he began to reign; he reigned thirty-one years in Jerusalem. He did what was right in the sight of the Lord, and walked in the ways of his ancestor David; he did not turn aside to the right or to the left. For in the eighth year of his reign, while he was still a boy, he began to seek the God of his ancestor David, and in the twelfth year he began to purge Judah and Jerusalem of the high places, the sacred poles, and the carved and the cast images. In his presence they pulled down the altars of the Baals; he demolished the incense altars that stood above them. He broke down the sacred poles and the carved and the cast images; he made dust of them and scattered it over the graves of those who had sacrificed to them. He also burned the bones of the priests on their altars, and purged Judah and Jerusalem.
So there. The Bible verses that supposedly showcase support for human sacrifice is yet another example of anti-theists pulling verses out of context to desperately attempt to "disprove" and "demonize" the Judeo-Christian religion. Like with any other time they misread the Bible.
The end, and God bless, ya'll.
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This nonsense was a turd and a half to write. *EDIT 8 OCT 2013* I edited the layout a little to make it easier to read.
Comments are open, though I am not interested in debate or even discussion with people who agree with me. I rarely get into biblical debates anyway, since misinformed, anti-religious nuts like to twist verses to fit their extremist agenda and have no interest in being corrected. I made an exception to write this because I was totally surprised that people actually claimed that God condoned/demanded human sacrifice, and defend that claim with the Bible. Because of this new, disturbing topic, I thought it a duty to correct it; that way, non-Christians have an alternate source to read, and Christians can refer to this if need be.
If you don't like how I defended the truth, then tough cookies, pal. I have better things to do then squabble with people who don't care about learning and understanding beliefs that are not their own.
However, if there is anything here that is incorrect, such as a Bibe verse label or certain wording, feel free to let me know. Just don't be a tool about it.
Part I: piewriter.deviantart.com/art/H…
Comments are open, though I am not interested in debate or even discussion with people who agree with me. I rarely get into biblical debates anyway, since misinformed, anti-religious nuts like to twist verses to fit their extremist agenda and have no interest in being corrected. I made an exception to write this because I was totally surprised that people actually claimed that God condoned/demanded human sacrifice, and defend that claim with the Bible. Because of this new, disturbing topic, I thought it a duty to correct it; that way, non-Christians have an alternate source to read, and Christians can refer to this if need be.
If you don't like how I defended the truth, then tough cookies, pal. I have better things to do then squabble with people who don't care about learning and understanding beliefs that are not their own.
However, if there is anything here that is incorrect, such as a Bibe verse label or certain wording, feel free to let me know. Just don't be a tool about it.
Part I: piewriter.deviantart.com/art/H…
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awesome work!