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==Human Sacrifice==

==Human Sacrifice==

Human sacrifice was practiced by many [[pagan]] religions as being the most precious, valuable and pleasing offering in the sight of the gods. The [[Aztec]] and [[Maya]] [[Indian]] tribes were particularly prolific in this regard, prior to the arrival of the [[Spanish]] and the subsequent conversion of the Colonial Latin America to [[Christianity]].

Human sacrifice was practiced by many [[pagan]] religions as being the most precious, valuable and pleasing offering in the sight of the gods. The [[Aztec]] and [[Maya]] [[Indian]] tribes were particularly prolific in this regard, prior to the arrival of the [[Spanish]] and the subsequent conversion of the indigenous peoples of Colonial Latin America to [[Christianity]].

The Jewish covenant of [[circumcision]] involved the shedding of human blood by surgical removal of the foreskin of male infants on the eighth day after birth, without the death of those so consecrated to God.<ref>Genesis 17:1-14</ref> The Levitical sacrifices of Israel included the bloody sacrifice of animals, and also unbloody sacrifices of grain, bread, grape-wine, and fruits of the earth.<ref>Leviticus chapters 1–7</ref> Many of the sacrifices were offered up as food [[Consecration|consecrated]] to the L<small>ORD</small> and then eaten as a sacred sacrificial meal, with a representative portion of the sacrificial offering first presented on the altar of sacrifice by the priest as a burnt offering pleasing to God, and, with this having been done by the priest, a portion of the remainder was given from the altar to the (ritually clean) worshiper offering it to be eaten as a meal of sacred communion with the holy presence of God as a partaking of His blessing, and the rest was eaten by the priest and his family as their portion of the sacrifice due to them from the altar.<ref>Numbers chapter 18</ref> The firstborn sons of the people of Israel belonged to God as a sacrificial offering in commemoration of their deliverance from bondage in Egypt on the occasion of the death of the firstborn of the Egyptians and their cattle, and the people of Israel were commanded to redeem the lives of their firstborn sons by the sacrifice of animals and the payment of money as a substitutionary offering on their behalf.<ref>Exodus 13:1-16</ref> The sacrifice of Isaac by his father Abraham in obedience to the command of God did not finally culminate in the death of his son, but was fulfilled in Abraham's utterly renouncing what he loved most, as a sacrificial offering to God. The L<small>ORD</small> did not actually desire the human sacrifice of his son on that occasion, because it was a test of obedience, and provided instead a sacrifice for himself by the substitution of a ram caught in a thicket by its horns, which Abraham offered up to God as a sacrificial offering of flesh and blood in place of his son Isaac.<ref>Genesis 22:1-18</ref> All nations would be blessed because Abraham obeyed the voice of God. By this example, and the strict regulations of sacrificial offering prescribed by God as "most pleasing" in the [[Torah|Law of Moses]], the [[rabbi]]s of Israel and the people of God understood that any ritual worship directly involving the sacrifice of human flesh and blood is absolutely forbidden.<ref>The [[abortion]] of babies before birth, and measures attempted by government officials to legalize [[infanticide]] after birth, is a modern form of human sacrifice for the sake of personal convenience, for treating the emotional stress of women who do not want to bring their pregnancy to term, to satisfy the demands of boyfriends and husbands who do not want responsibility of caring for a helpless infant, and supposedly as a means of economic benefit to human society, to reduce poverty and overcrowding; which is not essentially different from the motives of ancient pagan societies for the sake of benefitting their crops, their businesses, and insuring the defense of their people against disasters of nature, and the arbitrary anger of gods and demons.</ref>

The Jewish covenant of [[circumcision]] involved the shedding of human blood by surgical removal of the foreskin of male infants on the eighth day after birth, without the death of those so consecrated to God.<ref>Genesis 17:1-14</ref> The Levitical sacrifices of Israel included the bloody sacrifice of animals, and also unbloody sacrifices of grain, bread, grape-wine, and fruits of the earth.<ref>Leviticus chapters 1–7</ref> Many of the sacrifices were offered up as food [[Consecration|consecrated]] to the L<small>ORD</small> and then eaten as a sacred sacrificial meal, with a representative portion of the sacrificial offering first presented on the altar of sacrifice by the priest as a burnt offering pleasing to God, and, with this having been done by the priest, a portion of the remainder was given from the altar to the (ritually clean) worshiper offering it to be eaten as a meal of sacred communion with the holy presence of God as a partaking of His blessing, and the rest was eaten by the priest and his family as their portion of the sacrifice due to them from the altar.<ref>Numbers chapter 18</ref> The firstborn sons of the people of Israel belonged to God as a sacrificial offering in commemoration of their deliverance from bondage in Egypt on the occasion of the death of the firstborn of the Egyptians and their cattle, and the people of Israel were commanded to redeem the lives of their firstborn sons by the sacrifice of animals and the payment of money as a substitutionary offering on their behalf.<ref>Exodus 13:1-16</ref> The sacrifice of Isaac by his father Abraham in obedience to the command of God did not finally culminate in the death of his son, but was fulfilled in Abraham's utterly renouncing what he loved most, as a sacrificial offering to God. The L<small>ORD</small> did not actually desire the human sacrifice of his son on that occasion, because it was a test of obedience, and provided instead a sacrifice for himself by the substitution of a ram caught in a thicket by its horns, which Abraham offered up to God as a sacrificial offering of flesh and blood in place of his son Isaac.<ref>Genesis 22:1-18</ref> All nations would be blessed because Abraham obeyed the voice of God. By this example, and the strict regulations of sacrificial offering prescribed by God as "most pleasing" in the [[Torah|Law of Moses]], the [[rabbi]]s of Israel and the people of God understood that any ritual worship directly involving the sacrifice of human flesh and blood is absolutely forbidden.<ref>The [[abortion]] of babies before birth, and measures attempted by government officials to legalize [[infanticide]] after birth, is a modern form of human sacrifice for the sake of personal convenience, for treating the emotional stress of women who do not want to bring their pregnancy to term, to satisfy the demands of boyfriends and husbands who do not want responsibility of caring for a helpless infant, and supposedly as a means of economic benefit to human society, to reduce poverty and overcrowding; which is not essentially different from the motives of ancient pagan societies for the sake of benefitting their crops, their businesses, and insuring the defense of their people against disasters of nature, and the arbitrary anger of gods and demons.</ref>