Is it possible that in this day and age, religions could somehow take a dive and return to the practice of human sacrifice?
Many xtian churches teach that at the end times, human sacrifice will again be instituted. This is what they say constitutes the "abomination of desolation".
Following information is from: http://www.usbible.com/Sacrifice/sacrifice_israel.htm
Theistic religions in one way or another were founded upon ritualized murder.
Christians may feel that their religion is above such barbarous practices. That is only because they have been dulled into ignoring the immorality of the torturous sacrifice of one innocent man.
Foundation Sacrifices
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Joshua practiced what is called "foundation sacrifice." In order to protect a structure from evil powers, a person was killed and buried at the foundation of a city or building. Sometimes the victim was walled in alive. In this case, Joshua's victim would be someone's first born.
26 Joshua laid an oath upon them at that time, saying, "Cursed before the LORD be the man that rises up and rebuilds this city, Jericho. At the cost of his first-born shall he lay its foundation, and at the cost of his youngest son shall he set up its gates." 27 So the LORD was with Joshua; and his fame was in all the land. (Josh. 6:26-27)
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also.. another Foundation Sacrifice
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Ahab and his Phoenician wife Jezebel were among God's most infamous royalty. He practiced "foundation sacrifice" in which a child in entombed in the foundation. We are told that Jericho could not be rebuilt without satisfying Joshua's curse (above). I leave it to readers to decide whether Hiel's sons were intentionally sacrificed according to Joshua's prescription or died accidently or by divine will.
33 And Ahab made an Asherah. Ahab did more to provoke the LORD, the God of Israel, to anger than all the kings of Israel who were before him. 34 In his days Hiel of Bethel built Jericho; he laid its foundation at the cost of Abiram his first-born, and set up its gates at the cost of his youngest son Segub, according to the word of the LORD, which he spoke by Joshua the son of Nun. (1 Kgs. 16:33-34)
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...others
King David killed seven of Sauls sons as human sacrifice to lift the curse of famine.
King Solomon built a place for Molech and child sacrifice.
The Moabite god Chemosh defeated Yahweh because the Moabite king sacrificed his son in ritual murder.
According to scriptures, sometimes god shows favor to the heathens in order to punish his people.
Sometimes god punished his people by turning them to cannibals and even brags "I will make them eat their children."
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God purposively gave bad laws which discouraged life and made them offer gifts of their first born by fire. All this was to horrify them and show them he is the Lord. We can presume that God gave these bad laws to Moses too.
25 Moreover I gave them statutes that were not good and ordinances by which they could not have life; 26 and I defiled them through their very gifts in making them offer by fire all their first-born, that I might horrify them; I did it that they might know that I am the LORD. (Ezek. 20:25-26)
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quote:
In one case Ezekiel says God made the Israelites offer their children by fire to horrify them. In the other, he complains when they do the same for other gods.
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Child sacrifice was considered evil when it was done in the name of foreign gods. It wasn't a morality issue. The priests saw it as a violation of the First Commandment: You shall have no other gods before me.
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Human sacrifice was not confined to Middle East countries, it was practiced worldwide. There is evidence of ritual murders in ancient Greece. The Romans practiced it during various periods. The Phoenicians at Carthage in North Africa routinely conducted child sacrifices. When Julius Caesar conquered Gaul and Britain, he found copious evidence of Celtic human sacrifice. In Scandinavia, the Norsemen sacrificed both animals and humans to their deities. The ancient Gnostic sect opposed childbirth in an "'evil" world.
When European explorers discovered new parts of the globe, they found almost every land pursuing diverse forms of human sacrifice. The South American Mayans, Aztecs and Incas were probably the record holders. Whole societies existed for the purpose of conducting human sacrifice en masse, relying on a steady stream of slaves and prisoners of war to keep their crimson altars occupied. One lapse, they feared, would blight their harvests, cause catastrophes, and even prevent the sun from rising.
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Do you think religions will return to human and animal sacrifice?
Can it happen in this day and age?
