Would you sacrifice your child if God demanded it?

Question

I have been in a similar situation but now I regret what I did.

Answer 1

God sacrificed His Son, so we do not need to sacrifice anyone. Jesus was the ultimate and last sacrifice.

Answer 2

No. Because if such a demand were made it could not be from my god. My god does not expect that kind of sacrifice and never demands it. it's off the table.
You might consider that avoiding the question so I will commit. My faith does have limits. I will not murder others or kill myself or torture or condone rape or any other great harm to others in the name of faith. I will not drown my children or cut out their still beating heart in the name of faith. Were I asked then my faith would be broken and I would doubt the goodness of my god. But I have faith that my god would never ask so should the question come up then the asker is an impostor.

I know the story of Abraham but I also know God said he didn't have to do it and that he didn't want human sacrifices.

Answer 3

I think if that request ever came to me from God, I would have more serious things to do than go track down my kid, tie him up and get a knife. Since God is a personal belief for people, evidenced by all the people here who actually know what God would and wouldn't do, I would probably have to wonder how I got to this place, and why is God talking to me all of a sudden...

I was always under the impression that the reason you are taught not to question God is because we can not understand God's reasoning (like why people die when they do, how come some bad people are very successful and good people struggle, etc.).

This notion that anyone knows beforehand what God would do or wouldn't do seems to contradict that. If you believe in the Almighty God of the bible, than that God seems to do whatever God decides to do, and it doesn't matter what you think. If you believe in a more "personalized", custom-fit God that does what YOU think God should do, than that's quite a ways off of the teachings of the organized religion. of course, that type of God might actually condone homosexuality, for example, or allow stem cell research. I mean, who knows what a custom-God can do??

Answer 4

Hello and i must remember who's child it really is, i did not give the child life, i did not form the child and program the child, the child is God's and only He can control life, and if HE ask me back what He gave me and asks me to trust Him can i sacrifice my own will for His, YES, i want nothing between me and The Lord, of course the situation with Abraham was different God did ask Him so do that but He did not allow Him to complete it, but you must look at all of that situation, Abraham had failed a couple of times telling kings that his wife was just a sister, not trusting God, i am sorry your facing a problem but those who are facing trials should read the account of Job put your name in His place, and you CAN trust God find out more free bible lessons www.amazingfacts.org email me [e-mail] God bless

Answer 5

The sacrifice of a child is an ancient device illustrated in the Bible by the action of Abraham against his son Isaac. Designed to test the deciple to the utmost, it was an exercise in obedience to the exclusion and destruction of all that was precious.
It is a classic mythic situation never intended to be acted on in reality but to guage how far human kind should be prepared to go to satisfy devotion to ultimate idealism..
Today it is necessary for the follower to define God and to place God in a current cosmos before coming to the point of blindly following literal interpretations. No loving God, or the God whose titles are to be found in Islamic teaching would condone the destruction of a child for children are precious in God's sight.
I think your answer must lie in a better understanding of the word sacrifice in a modern context and an understanding of the nature of God, starting within the boundaries of the faith you practice. The Folk of the Book, that is the members of Islam, Christianity and Judaism would urge you to engage in a prayerful dialogue with a leader of your community before taking this question further.

Answer 6

Your question harkens back to the Old Testament story "The Binding of Isaac" where God asks Abraham to sacrifice Isaac. There was a lot of emotional fall-out between Abraham and Sarah, his wife.

Answer 7

Wow...that's a loaded question. What would the reason for the sacrifice be? I don't believe God would order anyone to kill their child now because there is no need to make sacrifices for the atonement of sin. Back in the day...Abraham was asked to sacrifice his son and Jephthah killed his daughter, but now there is no point. There are all kinds of mother's who kill their children (Andrea Yates to name one) because "God said so" but afterwards it came to be that they were only suffering from postpardum depression.

Answer 8

As I read various people's responses I feel I must highlight a certain Genesis passage.

"And he said, Take now thy son, thine only son Isaac, whom thou lovest, and get thee into the land of Moriah; and offer him there for a burnt offering upon one of the mountains which I will tell thee of."

Of course for those of you familiar with this story, Abraham does indeed decide to offer up his son, but Isaac is replaced by God at the last moment with a goat.

According to the Bible it was a test to see how far Abraham would go to obey the commands of God.

Answer 9

No. God doesn't ask those things of us. Even in the story of Abraham and Isaac, God only asks that Abraham demonstrate obedience ... not that he actually kills his son.

I can't understand what you mean by being in a similar situation, unless you mean a metaphorical sacrifice -- like kicking your child out of your life ... which I think is pretty awful, also.

Answer 10

Definitely not physically, He may ask you to give your child to Him and be responsible for their admonition in the LORD - but he has already "sacrificed" His Son, on the altar of the cross, He died was buried and rose again the third day for our justification.

Answer 11

Of course not. If "God" demands that of you, then it's time to look for a new god.

Are you saying that God Himself asked you to harm your child?