What do you think of Human Sacrifice mentioned in the Bible?

Question

The story of Jepthah's daughter--she is sacrificed to the Lord due to a vow Jepthah makes with God saying that if God helps him defeat the Ammonites, he will offer unto him the first thing that walks out of his house upon his return. Which is his daughter. Who he kills to keep his promise. I find this very bizarre--Christians accuse Pagans and the like (falsely) of such practices, and the practice of human sacrifice makes it into their holy text.

Answer 1

"Christians accuse Pagans and the like (falsely) of such practices,"

You don't know basic history. Every ancient pagan culture had human sacrifices. South American Indians like the Azrtecs (HELLLOOO) Celts, had the Wicker Man (mentioned earlier),, skeletons of human sacrifice victims were found at Stonehenge there was a custom to offer sacrifices upon the completion of a new building that seemed to be universal in ancient times...even Confucius wrote about such a sacrifice in that happened in China his life time. Historians are perplexed that even a culture as advanced as Greece had a cult of Ba"al that practiced infant sacrifice.
Rome, supposedly the most advanced of the ancient Pagan nations, was far from non-violent. It's common knowledge that
the heathen Romans were fascinated by the gladiator games, and how it took the death of a Christian monk to finally put an end to this horrible practice. Before then, the Pagans feasted their eyes and ears on the sights and sounds of murder. The Coluseum, which stands today as a testament to the barbarism that was Pagan Rome. According to author Peter Berresford Ellis, to mark the gand opening of this death factory in circa 80 A.D., a total of 9,000 animals were killed in fights with men and women. Romans also practiced the ritual killing of humans for religious purposes , not only for entertainment. During the era of the late Republic and into the early years of the Roman Empire, children were sacrificed so that spirits could be conjured for fortune telling. In 480 B.C. in what is considered the best known account of ritual human sacrifice accord before Salamis. Pagan Roman dieties of war had to be placated with blood, and references to this occuring in the Second Punic wars and 216 B.C. have survived. One account mentions the victims being buried alive under the Forum Boarium. Sacrifices were still being made during Plutarch’s lifetime, from 46 A.D. to 120 A.D. Prisoners of war were offered to the gods many Neopagans claim to worship nowadays. Jugartha, King of the Numidians, Celtic chief Vercingetotrix, and their families, were sacrificed to Mars...but not after being held prisoner for 6 horrible years in an underground prison below the Capitol. [SOURCE: The Druids pgs. 155-156]

Human sacrifices were common place in India , like they were in many Pagan cultures. The practice was finally outlawed after the British colonization of India 250 years ago. Worshipers of Shiva and Kali, and other lifeless idols used to offer human sacrifices until the British officially banned this barbaric and evil practice. But the Hindus found a way to get around this by offering a corpse of someone recently deceased instead. Some say it never really stopped, and was still pacticed remote parts of India. On the 6th of September of 2001, Indian Newspapers reported that a couple was arrested in Bharna, Ghaziabad India, for sacrificing a baby because, ironically, they wanted to conceive. They were told by a Tantric Hindu priest that by doing this barbaric act, they would be blessed with a male child. Please also note the history of violence toward women by Hindus, read The Hindu Genocide of Women By Sita Agarwal (a feminist and atheist)

To be fair, I've also never known Pagans to practice it, either. You would think it would be all over the news!)
Read "At The Heart of Darkness: Witchcraft, Black Magic and Satanism Today by John Parker" for his account of Gerald Gardner's human sacrifice. It was also mentioned in the book Wiccan Roots. http://usminc.org/humansacrifice.html

Answer 2

To clear up some of the confusion...yes, Pagan cultures did offer human sacrifices, including Celtic ones. The practice is no longer done, however.

There is some mention of it in the BoS about it, and since it's even on the 'net now, I will mention it.

“Sorcerers chiefly used the blood sacrifice; and while we hold this to be evil, we cannot deny that this method is very efficient. Power flashes forth from newly shed blood, instead of exuding slowly as by our method. The victim's terror and anguish add keenness, and even quite a small animal can yield enormous power. The great difficulty is in the human mind controlling the power of the lower animal mind. But sorcerers claim they have methods for effecting this and that the difficulty disappears the higher her the animal used, and when the victim is human disappears entirely...There are whispers that when the human victim was a willing sacrifice, with his mind directed on the Great Work and with highly skilled assistants, wonders ensued but of this I would not speak.”

http://www.sacred-texts.com/pag/gbos/gbos19.htm

Yes Gerald Gardner's coven DID allow the older coven members (porbably terminally ill anyway) to VOLUNTARILY offer themselves as a sacrifice.

But it was done as a ritual to stop Hitler from invading England! I think it was justified, don't you? That was an EXTREME CASE at any rate!

Yes, ALL religions have stories of violence and blood and murder. Yes, even the Pagan ones, if you're going to call yourself a Pagan, then deal with this fact. Fluffies, please either do more research before you put your foot in your mouths because I may not always be around to bail you out, or stick with the Barbie Dolls.

Answer 3

As an act of adoration of a mentor, I, knowing very little, most recently have done research about human sacrifice in Pagan Cultures. There certainly appears to be historical evidence as Julius Caesar noted that the Gauls were devoutly religious (Julius Caesar 15 March, 44 B. C. E) and employed Druids to conduct human sacrifice in an effort to placate the gods. Similar practices were conducted in Mayan and Aztec cultures in Mesoamerican. Persons in these cultures were often honored to give the ultimate gift of their life for the betterment of the community and elaborate ritualized ceremonies evolved around human sacrifice. Mesoamerican again was not alone in these respect as the idea of a "wickerman" is found in references in both Irish and Welsh legend to men being placed into a specially built house, which is then set fire, immolating them. The best archaeological data supporting Celtic human sacrifice is the body of the man placed in Lindow bog in the first or second century C.E. The body is for the most part so well preserved that scientists were able to analyze his stomach contents to discover his last meal (a partially scorched grain cake). Lindow man was almost certainly a ritual sacrifice; he was strangled, hit on the head, and had his throat cut, in quick order, then surrendered to the bog. This pattern fits the "three-fold" death referred to in medieval Irish tales. What's more, the man seems to have been of high social rank, and a willing victim. There are also other bog burials (the Tollund Man bog body in Denmark is very similar).
To be certain, these rituals of human sacrifice no longer take place, but certainly the Pagan religion has experienced a renaissance of sorts in the past 40 years worldwide. This certainly dispels the myth of the importance of ritualistic human sacrifice being quintessential to the many practioners of Paganism in the modern world.

Answer 4

All religions have stories about sacrifices. Ancient Pagans didn't offer human and animal sacrifices? Man that's news to me! Haven't you ever heard of the mummies in the Peat Bogs of England? They were sacrfice victims. It was considered an honor to be chosen. Like Dana says fluffies, get your **** together, or get the Hell out. OK, I said that, but it still applies.

I don't know enough about the Cowans Bible to comment, but I think you've taken the reference out of context from what I've read from some of the answers.

I've learned not to worry about what Christians think and do, and since then I've been a lot happier.

Answer 5

Apparently no one is reading Last Ent Wife's Answer, so I will paste it here until it sinks in.

She was NOT killed, she was given as a sacrifice to the Temple, meaning she spent her life in the temple as a virgin serving the Lord.

How do I know this? Read the story again, when she goes to the hills to lament with her friends, she is sad NOT because she's about to die, but because "she will never marry."

Human sacrifice was abhorrent to the Hebrews and no priest would have ever conducted or allowed a human sacrifice to happen.

God bless!

Oh and "Yeah Man!" please don't quote the Bible out of context like that. You know full well that in the very next verse Ezekiel asks God to have him not do the human waste and God says "I am giving you cow dung instead of human waste..."

Indeed, unlike other religions of the day, only Judaism didn't offer human sacrifices. Read the story of Abraham and Issac in Genesis. It is an illustration to show YHVH did want human sacrifices.

A child that has to go through something like that is probably scarred for life. And what does this tell us of the morals that god is supposedly teaching us?

Issac was a grown man when the incident occured. The purpose of the story is to show God does not require sacrifice of our children the way Ba'al and Kali do. If you read the Chapter, you will see it says, God never wanted Issac as a sacrifice. There are not "several instances" (won't you please name them all?), either.

As for the Pagans, they never sacrificed any person or living animal to any deity. It was a story to make people fear Paganism. "
Triforce, you really need to take some history classes.

Answer 6

The same type of vileness is shown in the story of Abraham where he is told by god to sacrifice his son Isaac on Mount Moriah. He bound him to the altar and at the very last minute, just before he would complete the deed with his murderous knife an angel stops him and tells him it was just a test. Just a little joke to check if he really believes. A child that has to go through something like that is probably scarred for life. And what does this tell us of the morals that god is supposedly teaching us?
But hey, because it is in the Bible it's good family values and we should see it as chicken soup for the soul.

Answer 7

If this story is true then it points out the lesson that you should be very care full of what you promise any Deity or person. Think first of the possible consequences of what you are going to promise.
The Bible has many stories of God saying that a father has to Sacrifice one of his children to obtain the favor of God. Most are called off by either God at the last minute or the person says no I cannot do it.
Yes those religions that are older than Judaism did practice human sacrifice. Usually those defeated in battle or volunteers during some of their seasonal rites. Such practices have been done away with.
A P.S. don't forget that Christianity is a Sept or continuation of O.T. Judaism.

Answer 8

She was NOT killed, she was given as a sacrifice to the Temple, meaning she spent her life in the temple as a virgin serving the Lord.

How do I know this? Read the story again, when she goes to the hills to lament with her friends, she is sad NOT because she's about to die, but because "she will never marry."

Human sacrifice was abhorrent to the Hebrews and no priest would have ever conducted or allowed a human sacrifice to happen.

God bless!

Oh and "Yeah Man!" please don't quote the Bible out of context like that. You know full well that in the very next verse Ezekiel asks God to have him not do the human waste and God says "I am giving you cow dung instead of human waste..."

Answer 9

Do you just open the Bible and read a part of something,
and come up with your own conclusion to what you think it says

Answer 10

When I was younger and a forced Christian, my mom would wonder why I had nightmares after she forced me to read the bible. These are examples of why I did. My mom used to be a devoted christian and I kept dreaming that my mom would have to burn me as a sacrifice to her god.